GRMC reopens program for cardiac rehabilitation

Graham Regional Medical Center announced recently that it has reinstated its Cardiac Rehab program with Abi Gonzalez serving as the cardiac rehab technician for the program. Director of Fitness and Rehab Aaron Walker said the program was something GMRC wanted to provide again as additional support for the community.

“It’s a service to the community,” he said. “It is something we felt like we could do and at least be able to break even.”  

The program is a professionally supervised session that is designed to help patients recover from heart attacks, heart surgery and heart disease, along with improving the overall health and well being of the patient. The program is one that is meant to grow the initiative of the hospital to offer an additional service for the hospital, according to Walker.

“We don’t want to be stagnant as an organization; we want to grow,” he said. “With this and the sleep study program, everything happening here is part of the growth initiative.”

Gonzalez starts the patients out with a warm-up during each session to get them moving and uses one of three exercise machines to monitor the patient. According to Gonzalez, the program for each patient is specifically based on the condition of the patient’s heart and the progress they have made related their heart condition.

“We would base the program off where they (the patient) are at and just take their initial blood pressure, their blood pressure during exercise and blood pressure after, blood pressure and heart rate and just monitor them throughout the session,” Gonzalez said.

The rehab program includes supervised exercise, education and support for the patient and family which provide patients with heart and body strength improvements, increased energy levels and the knowledge to manage and improve their overall health. Just through word of mouth, Walker said, they are getting referrals from other larger hospitals in the surrounding area.

“We are getting referrals from doctors in Fort Worth and Wichita Falls already for patients to come to the program,” Walker said. “We’ve also met with the local doctors and told them what we are doing.”

Gonzalez holds an exercise physiology degree from Midwestern State University and also holds an Advanced Cardiac Life Support Certification. Gonzalez currently has five patients in the program and Walker said cardiac rehab is something that she previously had interest in.

“This is something she wanted to do,” said Walker. “She has an exercise physiology degree, but she took classes for cardiac rehab in school and so this is something that she had a desire to do, is to work with those kind of patients.”

Gonzalez previously worked at the Fitness and Rehabilitation Center for a year as a personal trainer and receptionist, which she will continue to assist with as the program is being built, according to Walker.

“Our goal would she would have the cardiac rehab full time and I could bring somebody in to cover her job over here,” said Walker.

A doctor’s order is needed by the patient to be eligible to schedule an appointment for the program.

To file for an appointment those interested can visit the Fitness and Rehabilitation Center, but the program is run in the old women’s center in suite 1 at GRMC.

Along with the cardiac rehab program the Fitness and Rehabilitation Center offers programs in physical and occupational therapy, group water aerobics and group fitness classes and individual personal training sessions.

To make an appointment or learn more about the cardiac rehab program or other programs through the Fitness and Rehabilitation Center, call 940-521-5310.