Piedmont Health’s Approach to Cancer Care

June 08, 2023

Cancer treatment should focus not only on the disease, but also on social, emotional, and physical well-being. Since the late 1990s, Piedmont Health has understood the value of this integrated approach with its multi-faceted Cancer Wellness program. Until the development of the Wellness Center in 2019, Piedmont Health lacked appropriate space for physical wellness programming. Fortunately, patients now have access to MyFitRx®, a prescriptive fitness program with a Cancer Fitness pathway.

The Cancer Wellness program: History and Description

Piedmont Health’s Cancer Wellness program began as an extension to outpatient oncology care at Piedmont’s Atlanta Hospital in the late 1990s. Since then, Piedmont Health has grown this service from that single Atlanta hospital site to 20 care sites located throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area. 13 years ago, the Cancer Wellness program expanded to Piedmont Fayette.

The Cancer Wellness program encompassed multiple treatment modalities. According to Catherine Hoffman, Piedmont Fayette’s Director of Oncology Services, “we understand the connection between mental health and physical well-being and the role this connection plays in managing this disease and improving outcomes.”

Piedmont Health and Power Wellness – Partnering to Grow

As word of the Cancer Wellness program’s positive results spread among providers and the community, Piedmont Fayette looked to expand the program. “We wanted to transition the things we didn’t do well or couldn’t fully staff, such as a strength program we couldn’t staff full time. We weren’t set up for the volume of patients we were seeing,” according to Hoffman. “The Cancer Wellness Program was educating a volume of patients on how to care for themselves underneath the umbrella of strength and movement and needed a partner who not only had right space to support a larger participant volume but could also continue to build the Program’s reach while continuing its positive impact.”

Piedmont Fayette Cancer Wellness Program + MyFitRx® at the Piedmont Wellness Center

In 2019, Power Wellness was selected by Piedmont Health to open and manage a medically integrated fitness center near the Piedmont Fayette Hospital campus. The Wellness Center features 54,000 square feet offering cardio and strength equipment, therapy and lap pools, group exercise, and Human Performance. Piedmont Health was “seeking a partner who could execute the type of differentiated facility” that the community and the hospital needed.

This cooperative relationship ensured a solid foundation for relocating and expanding the Cancer Wellness Program to the Wellness Center. This move resulted in multiple benefits including a non-clinical and less intimidating setting for patients, additional program space and equipment, and integration with MyFitRx®, the Wellness Center’s prescriptive fitness program.

Current Successes

Piedmont Health oncologists can refer a cancer patient to MyFitRx® at any point in the patient’s care. Many providers have long understood that exercise, movement, and stress management are complementary to cancer treatment and symptom management. Providers and patients alike, however, have not always had appropriate professionals or locations for this patient cohort “If there’s ten patients here right now you can ask all ten about exercise, they don’t know where to begin,” added Hoffman. MyFitRx®’s Cancer Fitness pathway provides safe and effective programming relying on the latest guidelines from organizations such as the American Cancer Society and oncology-specific physician associations.

In the future, MyFitRx® will be an option within Piedmont Health’s electronic health records system. This will create a HIPAA-compliant, secure data connection between providers and the Wellness Center. Participant activities and results will be incorporated into the patient’s chart for ease of referring physicians’ access.

Removing patient financial barriers was also important. Currently the hospital’s oncology service line “has dedicated funding to sending patients who are at the flex point of care, where an exercise and well-being program can build strength, both physically and mentally,” said Hoffman. To date, more than 400 people have been referred to the MyFitRx® Cancer Fitness pathway, and over 150 have successfully completed the 8-week program. Here’s what some participants are saying:

“Fabulous interaction with staff, both in exercise sessions and classes. All made the effort to learn my name and were available for questions and advice. I’ve already recommended this program to numerous friends.” – Sally

“Thank you for this most useful experience.” – Joan

“Staff is always pleasant and positive. They always provided me with help and knowledge when I needed it.” – Patricia

Conclusion

The Cancer Fitness MyFitRx® pathway at Piedmont Wellness Center uniquely provides holistic fitness and wellness programming aligned with the Cancer Wellness Program’s objectives: “long-term survivorship, transition to the outside world, and symptom management for patients under active treatment.”

“My biggest test for success is what’s the difference in when we sent them to where they are when they leave? The cornerstone of what we hope to achieve with every patient…we want to increase their strength…make sure that they feel better than when they started,” said Hoffman.

To learn more about Piedmont Health and Piedmont Fayette, please visit www.piedmont.org, and to learn more about Power Wellness, go to www.powerwellness.com.