Burnaby residents getting ready for the ordeal of surgery now have access to an innovative program aimed at bettering their chances of a successful operation and recovery.
Fraser Health has partnered with NBA star Steve Nash's 17 Fitness World and Sports Club gyms to offer pre-operative patients five free weeks of gym access and two one-hour sessions with a personal trainer for an initial and followup assessment.
The goal of the program is to increase a patient's level of fitness, which helps the patient recover faster and get back to life as normal after surgery.
"Fraser Health is proud to be teaming up with such a talented professional athlete," Dr. Nigel Murray, Fraser Health's president, said in a press release. "Our surgical patients will benefit from the improved outcomes that will result from this innovative partnership, helping us to achieve our mandate to deliver the best health-care services possible for our region."
Medical evidence shows that individuals who are physically fit have better surgical outcomes than those who are not. Benefits include shorter recovery times, shorter hos-pital stays, fewer complications and overall long-term health improvements.
Patients must be referred to the fitness program by their surgeon to ensure that their individual condition will benefit from the program. After the referral is made, a certified personal trainer discusses fitness levels and the best exercise options with the patient prior to their surgery. Fraser Health will not share any personal medical information with the trainer, and participation is voluntary.
Fraser Health will evaluate the results of this program to assess the value of a longterm commitment to pre-operative fitness training.
