Cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation is now available on-site at Wake Forest Baptist Health - Wilkes Medical Center in North Wilkesboro.
A grand opening and open house for the hospital’s new 3,000-square-foot facility is from 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday. It’s in the former medical records area, with an entrance near the hospital lobby.
The cardiac and pulmonary rehab facility has brand new state-of-the art equipment, including a multi-station weight machine, 130-foot-long track, 16-channel telemetry system and 20 aerobic exercise stations, with treadmills, stationary bikes, upper body exercisers and a NuStep cross trainer.
The medically supervised program is designed to help people recover from a heart attack, heart-related surgery or a diagnosis of heart disease through individualized services that improve physical and mental functioning and reduce the risk of another cardiac event. This program is also for those who have been diagnosed with pulmonary disease.
Participation requires physician referral and financial clearance and begins with orientation, which includes a detailed medical history and physical, six-minute walk test and more.
Participants can generally expect 36 class sessions of exercise and education on nutrition, stress management, heart medication and other topics to help them adopt healthier lifestyles and promote recovery.
The hour-long classes are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with about 20 people per class series. Different time slots are available because multiple class series are underway simultaneously.
Butch DeBoever, MS, a fellow of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, is the program director. The staff also includes Kim Metzler, BSRT, RCP, pulmonary specialist, and Meredith Miller, RN and BSN, who works in cardiac rehabilitation.
More details are available by calling DeBoever at 336-651-8106.
Media Contacts:
Carolyn Sheets, casheets@wakehealth.edu, 336-651-8357