DHRH Cardiac Rehab & Wellness Center 20 Year Anniversary

DHRH Cardiac Rehabilitation & Wellness Center 20 Year Anniversary

Raleigh, NC -- Bill Breedlove said it’s the place he made lasting friendships. Liz Holland said it gave her the ability to play with her grandchildren. Patient Mary Anne Barbour said it saved her life.

Over the past twenty years, the Cardiac Rehabilitation and Wellness Center at Duke Health Raleigh Hospital has meant many things to many people. On October 17, 2006, the center’s current and former patients, staff and physicians will gather for a reception in honor of Wake County’s oldest hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation program and to celebrate 20 years of improving patient’s lives.

Formerly named Health Plus, the center began as a cardiac rehabilitation program under the direction of Dr. Robert Bilbro at the YWCA in downtown Raleigh. The center relocated temporarily to the Calvary Baptist Church, and then to Park Place on Six Forks Road. Finally in 1988, the Center moved into the permanent home on the campus of DHRH, then named Raleigh Community Hospital.

“We worked to make the program the best post-myocardial infarction program possible,” said Dr. David Millward, the Center’s medical director from 1985 until 2004. “One of the program’s biggest strengths has always been its size. Patients get individual attention and the ability to talk with clinical staff and get their questions and concerns addressed individually.”

Many patients have seen the center change and develop over twenty years. Mary Anne Barbour has been a patient in the program since 1982 and says she remembers being one of the first women to join the program. “The men looked at me kind of strange when I first walked in, but pretty soon I wasn’t the only one,” she said. “I also remember when we didn’t have music! One day when I first started, I went to the director and said I thought we ought to try aerobics in the center. So we did, and then we got our music too!”

Bill Breedlove first entered the program after having a heart attack and being referred by Dr. David Millward in 1985. “I’ve seen the staff change through the years, but it’s always a fine staff here. It’s nice to know that I have their expertise and this program when I need it to recover from surgery and even just to maintain my health.”

Cardiac Rehab patient Paul Carver said he began the program after a heart attack on Friday, April 13, 1986. “Dr. Bilbro sent me to the program, and I attribute it to a long life. I’ve had no heart problems since 1986.”

Many patients who have been a part of the cardiac rehab program for the better part of twenty years regularly visit the center to exercise and for regular monitoring. Barbour continues to work out at the center, going every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:00 a.m. “I feel better physically and mentally when I go. I like coming here because having the ability to exercise with medical staff supervision makes me feel confident in what I am doing.”

Carver continues to walk on the treadmill and ride the stationary bike. He said he values the clinical resources available to help with other aspects of his lifestyle including diet. “The dietician’s advice – to help you with excess pounds and eating right – has really made a difference for me and made me learn healthier eating habits,” he said.

Today, the center serves 218 patients ranging in age from 24 to 95. The center’s fourteen staff members are trained to help special populations including people with diabetes, heart disease, obesity, arthritis and osteoporosis. The staff includes a registered dietitian, certified stress management counselor, exercise physiologists and a registered nurse. Although the center originally opened as a cardiac rehabilitation facility, the center now hosts 20 weekly exercise classes and 9 cardiac rehab classes.

“Our members really enjoy the personalized wellness services,” said Gail Orrin, Director of the Cardiac Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. “We’re also expanding the tailored wellness and rehab programs we can offer by adding pulmonary rehab, cancer wellness, life coaching and osteoporosis programs in the coming months.”

One of the center’s newest offerings is the Lose to Live weight loss program providing customized nutritional and exercise plans for program participants. Liz Holland said the program changed her life.

“Lose to Live has given me options in life,” Holland said. “I have lost 70 pounds through the program – that’s amazing! It’s helped me in my mission work – I went up a mountain in Haiti and carried my backpack and my friend’s. I’ve never been able to do that before.”

Although the program is only 12 weeks long, the goal of Lose to Live is to teach the importance of lifestyle changes.

"I’m totally committed. It’s been over a year since I started and my lifestyle has forever been changed. It taught me how to relearn to eat and gauge portion control. I also learned stress management and all of my triggers. I’ve gone from only being to exercise 15 minutes, to wanting to help teach the exercise classes now. It’s truly changed me,” she said.

As the Cardiac Rehabilitation and Wellness Center continues to grow, the patients and staff attribute much of the program’s success to one integral asset. “I think the thing that inspires me most here is the people,” Holland said. “That’s what encouraged me every day. They never let me feel discouraged – no matter who it was, a patient or a staff member, someone was always pushing me. What an amazing place.”

Duke Health Raleigh Hospital, an important member of the Duke University Health System, is a 186-bed acute-care facility on Wake Forest Road in North Raleigh with services including a 24-hour emergency department, intensive and critical care, cardiovascular center, cancer center, musculoskeletal center, diabetes center, cardiac rehab and wellness services and community education. For more information, visit www.dukehealthraleigh.org or call 919-954-3293.