Nursing program brings fun, fitness and fellowship to Boykin Center
By Katie Garfinkle Email
Tucked away one mile from the busy surroundings of Auburn University sits a small building that long ago served as a school for the Boykin community. The Boykin Community Center, now home to daycare and senior citizen programs, is the site of a new venture sponsored by Auburn University’s School of Nursing designed to promote better health to a group of women in the community.
Dr. Robin Pattillo, director of the Boykin Fitness program, is using this pilot program to prevent health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Auburn’s University Outreach funded the program as a branch of the Tiger Fitness Program from the Department of Health and Human Performance.
The Boykin Fitness program was created to increase physical activity and incorporate exercise as a part of everyday life for women with barriers keeping them from local gyms, Pattillo said.
Pattillo, an associate professor in nursing at Auburn, has a master’s degree in secondary science education and nursing. She also has a doctorate in exercise physiology.
She designed the program to provide a workout consisting of aerobic and resistance training using treadmills, stationary bikes and free weights.
The Boykin Center room holds three treadmills, two stationary bikes, a universal gym, benches and free weights. Pattillo has put a small television on a shelf for the women to watch while walking and placed free weights on shelves that line one wall.
“Each person gets individual attention, an exercise program and supervision,” Pattillo said. The program is located in the women’s community. Most of the women are friends and attend church together or have known each other for years.
“Studies show that women are more motivated to exercise if done with peers, and that is what the program is focusing on,” Pattillo said.
The program is designed to last for six months, and the women will come to the gym one hour a day, three days each week.
Before beginning the exercise program, the women were taken through Auburn’s TigerFit program where they underwent thorough lab work and physical assessment.
After the first few months, Pattillo still faces challenges with the program. She is working on making charts for the women to track their progress regarding exercise routines. Her biggest challenges have been with developing the program.
Each participant is at a different level, Pattillo said. It is hard to give everyone an accurate assessment and to create the right program for each individual.
Dr. Royrickers Cook, assistant vice president of University Outreach, approved the program and signed off for the program’s funding. University Outreach gave the program $50,000 to purchase equipment and pay for the use of the room at Boykin.
It’s Only Fun If You’re Doing It
Fun, fellowship and fitness are a few of the reasons why the women joined the program. Inez Martin, 63, heard about the program through members of her church.
She wanted to participate to stay healthy, and she wanted someone to tell her what she should do to stay in shape, Martin said while taking a break from lifting free weights.
Martin is familiar with the small, rectangular, white room where the program resides. She attended first grade in the same room when the community center was once a school.
Pattillo’s hardest worker is Patricia McNeal, 57. McNeal comes three or four days a week and spends one hour walking on the treadmill.
McNeal joined the program for health reasons, she said. Diabetes runs strong in her family. “I love the program,” McNeal said. “I like the exercising and stretching.”
In its first months, the program already has success improving spirits among its participants. “I enjoy the program very much,” Pat Brady, 55, said. “To have the opportunity to come and exercise and be encouraged by my fellow peers motivates me to be more active.”
Annie Craig, 73, comes to the gym with her sister, Mary Nelms, 69. Craig is the oldest of all the women and struggles the most with the exercises. Starting the program to become healthier, Craig is now more capable of doing more physically draining exercises.
“It made me feel good to know that I can do that,” Craig said after riding the stationary bike one mile.
Craig and Nelms cherish the time they get to spend together while exercising at Boykin. “I enjoy being with her,” Craig said referring to her sister. “That’s why we come together.”
“It’s better when you do it with someone,” Nelms said. “I have enjoyed it from the very first day we went for the physical.”
According to the Experts
Alabama ranks above the national average in deaths due to heart disease, according to the state’s Department of Public Health, with more women dying of heart disease than cancer.
The 2001 Alabama State of the Heart Report from the American Heart Association and ADPH states that in 1998 heart disease was the cause of 41 percent of deaths in women. The report also says that weight loss and physical activity on a regular basis can have positive effects on health status and lower risks for heart disease, high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes.
Based on the State of the Heart Report, rural counties, especially in the Black Belt and northeast Alabama rank the highest among deaths related to heart disease. In 1998, heart disease was the cause of death for 16, 911 Alabamians.
Heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure can be prevented with exercise and hard work. The Boykin Center exercise program sponsored by University Outreach works with women in the community to prevent health risks and promote a healthier lifestyle.
For more information, visit www.adhp.org.
TigerFit Program Pays Off
Participants can receive a complete health and fitness report that would cost over $600 at another facility for $80 at TigerFit, Grandjean said.
TigerFit is a curriculum-based outreach program involving undergraduate and graduate students conducting the testing under the supervision of Grandjean. Outside physicians and physical therapists also provide help with tests and screening.
Grandjean created and directs the program out of Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. “I just started it,” Grandjean said. “I had the vision before Auburn made the semester transition, and there was no other program like it in the area.”
Grandjean said he believes the program is beneficial to everyone who works with TigerFit, not just the participants of the program.
The students and physical therapists gain experience. Physicians are able to train residents to conduct health assessments, and through Outreach, people receive in-depth screenings at a low cost. “The program has reached success from all perspectives,” Grandjean said.
Students are quickly elevated to higher positions because they have had the training from the program, and more than 50 residents have obtained credentials needed for jobs.
Most importantly, thousands of individuals have gained valuable health information in screenings, sometimes revealing underlying issues, from TigerFit.
Thanks to generous partners to help with equipment and operation costs, the TigerFit program has been successfully running for six years.
For more information on TigerFit Health & Fitness Assessments see: http://education.auburn.edu/centersandinstitutes/clinicandlaboratories/tigerfit.html.
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Last updated May 03, 2007