A wise man (Benjamin Franklin) once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
photo credit: Michael H Parker via photopin cc
In today’s ever-changing and unknown field of “healthcare” and insurance, many progressive doctors are leading the way by starting to educate their patients on the importance of optimizing their health and fitness; not just masking their symptoms of poor health with more medication.
The CF Affiliate model gives the owner an open platform to establish such a facility. A great way to separate you from the pack, and establish expertise for your affiliate is to add this healthcare model to your gym. With the growth of Affiliates, the consumer has many more options than 5 years ago. We are now dealing with a more educated consumer. The benefits of the addition of such a provider to your Affiliate are many. First, it adds credibility to your affiliate. From the public perspective, you are now a safer alternative than another affiliate. For the affiliate owner, you now have people on “your team” that you can refer to for members with musculoskeletal concerns, and injuries. “Your team”, being healthcare professionals that understand the benefits of working out as a rehabilitation tool, versus those whose ignorance doesn’t allow for that.
Chiropractors, physical therapists, and massage therapists can be a great fit for an Affiliate.
What to look for in one of these providers is a topic for another day. They are not all created equal.
The goal is to allow the provider an opportunity to establish their business within your business. Laws vary from state to state regarding renting space to a healthcare provider (so check those!). I would recommend setting the rental amount as a gross percentage of collections with a monthly cap as the best way to go.
Now that the provider is in place, getting this benefit to the members is the final step. I would recommend adding an evaluation from the healthcare professional with all your new members. This will give an opportunity for them to build their business, and allow for the members to discuss injury concerns with a professional. This evaluation can be a big selling point for members that are concerned about injuries preventing them from being able to exercise. Another helpful way for the healthcare provider to get involved with the memberships base is through education. Setting up 60-90 minute seminars are various topics pertaining to recovery, prehab, rehab, improving athletic performance, and more are effective ways for the members to become more familiar and comfortable with the provider at your Affiliate.
This post was written by Brian Strump. Brian graduated from Logan Chiropractic College in 2003, and always had an interest in biomechanics and working with an athletic population. Eight years ago, he moved to Charlotte, NC and opened an office in a globo gym; all the while doing CrossFit at a local affiliate. After 4 years of practice in the globo gym, he decided to move closer to his home in Charlotte, and create a facility that would have his doctors office, and a CrossFit affiliate under one roof. In 2010, he opened CrossFit Steele Creek, and Premier Health and Rehab Solutions. The goal in opening an affiliate was to give patients a way to get stronger and move better under the supervision of coaches, as well is offering another avenue to patients to help with their overall health and fitness. This combination has lead to many other opportunities including writing articles in Muscle & Fitness and The Box Magazine, as well as being asked to be the team chiropractor for the Olympic Lifting team, Muscle Driver USA.