LETTER FROM HPA PRESIDENT HEALTHPLEX ASSOCIATES: STAYING CURRENT WITH TRENDS IN FITNESS AND MEDICAL WELLNESS August 2026 Newsletter The fitness industry is changing rapidly. Today’s wellness centers are no longer simply places where people exercise—they are increasingly becoming important partners in prevention, rehabilitation, chronic disease management and overall population health. Healthplex Associates (HPA) has built its business around this evolution, helping hospitals, health systems, universities and community organizations create and manage clinically integrated fitness and medical wellness facilities. With more than 25 years of experience and work with more than 400 healthcare and wellness clients, HPA has developed an approach that connects traditional fitness operations with the broader healthcare system. The company emphasizes clinical integration, lifestyle management and programs designed around the specific needs of each community rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all model. Following the Shift from Fitness to Medical Wellness One of the most significant trends in the industry is the expanding role of fitness centers within the continuum of care. HPA recognizes that wellness facilities can contribute to population health by helping people make sustainable lifestyle changes, while also providing a bridge between clinical care and everyday wellness.
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That philosophy is reflected in HPA's focus on clinical integration. The company works with healthcare organizations to develop programs that can help patients transition from medical treatment into appropriate exercise and wellness activities. Its experience includes strategies involving physician referrals, clinical programming and connections between healthcare providers and wellness centers. This approach reflects the growing recognition of exercise as an important component of health management. HPA has previously worked on initiatives connecting wellness centers with electronic medical records and physician referral systems, making it easier for healthcare providers to guide patients toward appropriate exercise programs. Keeping an Eye on Emerging Fitness Trends Staying current requires more than monitoring equipment and workout trends. HPA follows developments in programming, member engagement, clinical services, technology and the business side of operating wellness centers. The company's Everything Medical Wellness podcast is one example. Launched to share knowledge with healthcare and fitness professionals, the podcast explores population health, clinical programming, fitness industry trends, club operations and strategies for building successful wellness centers. Recent episodes have addressed topics including exercise as medicine, corporate wellness, body-analysis technology, cancer wellness, clinical integration and youth programming. This broad range of subjects demonstrates how the medical fitness field continues to expand beyond traditional gym-based exercise. Technology and Data Are Becoming More Important Technology is also influencing how wellness centers engage members and measure progress. HPA has highlighted the use of body analyzers and personalized data to give members greater insight into their health and fitness. Providing measurable information can help people understand their progress and remain engaged with their wellness goals. www.healthplexassociates.com
Technology can also strengthen the relationship between fitness and healthcare. HPA's earlier work connecting wellness centers with electronic medical records illustrates the potential for better communication between providers and exercise professionals. The objective is not technology for its own sake. Instead, the goal is to use appropriate technology to support better communication, personalization, accountability and outcomes. Looking Ahead The future of fitness is increasingly connected to the future of healthcare. As consumers seek more personalized wellness experiences and healthcare organizations place greater emphasis on prevention and population health, medically integrated fitness centers have an opportunity to play an even larger role. Healthplex Associates continues to position itself at that intersection by monitoring industry developments, sharing expertise, developing new programming and working with healthcare organizations to adapt wellness facilities to changing community needs. Its ongoing educational efforts, consulting services and focus on clinical integration demonstrate a commitment to keeping fitness and medical wellness relevant in a changing healthcare environment. For HPA, staying current is ultimately about more than following the latest fitness trend. It is about understanding where healthcare, exercise, technology and community wellness are headed—and helping organizations build programs that turn those trends into meaningful, sustainable health outcomes.
Don Doyle CEO/ President Healthplex Associates Email: ddoyle@healthplexassociates.com Phone: 412-721-9469
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MORE THAN NEW TECHNOLOGY: TURNING INNOVATION INTO BETTER MEMBER EXPERIENCES
Adding new technology to a fitness facility is easy. Making sure that technology actually improves the member experience, supports staff, strengthens programming and creates opportunities for growth takes a more intentional approach. At Baptist Healthplex-Anderson, our newest example is the addition of the Styku 3D Body Scanner. Styku provides a quick and simple way to capture detailed body measurements and create a three-dimensional representation that can be used to monitor changes over time. The scan itself takes only moments, while the resulting reports give our fitness professionals another objective tool for helping people understand progress beyond what they see on a traditional scale.
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For our personal training clients, Styku can establish measurable baselines and provide another way to demonstrate progress throughout a training program. Weight alone rarely tells the entire story. Changes in measurements and body composition can provide useful feedback and help trainers and clients evaluate whether a program is moving them toward their goals. We also see significant potential for Styku within our clinical integration efforts. As a hospital-affiliated wellness center, we have an opportunity to help bridge the gap between healthcare and long-term physical activity. Objective assessments can add another layer of information as individuals transition into exercise and wellness programming and work toward meaningful lifestyle changes.
Our sports performance programs provide another opportunity. Athletes can be assessed periodically as they progress through training, allowing our staff to monitor physical development alongside performance measures such as strength, speed, power and agility. But bringing Styku into the facility was not simply a matter of plugging it in and putting a price on a scan. Before introducing the service more broadly, our staff became the first participants. Team members completed their own scans, practiced operating the equipment and spent time learning how to interpret and communicate the reports. That hands-on process allowed our team to experience the service from the member perspective before asking members to experience it themselves.
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That approach reflects a larger philosophy behind Healthplex Associates and its management of medical fitness and wellness facilities: continually looking for practical ways to improve operations, expand services, develop staff, strengthen clinical integration and create additional value for the communities we serve.
Technology by itself is not the strategy. The strategy is identifying the right tools and determining how they can support a facility, its members, its healthcare partners and its long-term growth. Styku is one example of what that type of operational focus can look like.
For organizations considering how to move a fitness or wellness facility forward, innovation does not always require reinventing the operation. Sometimes it means taking a closer look at what members, patients, clinicians and staff need and then finding the right tools and processes to connect those pieces.
After completing his own scan, the General Manager reported that the Styku was very objective and maybe a little rude.
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