LETTER FROM HPA PRESIDENT THE VALUE OF HEALTHPLEX ASSOCIATES IN MANAGING MULTIPLE HOSPITAL-BASED WELLNESS SITES September 2026 Newsletter Hospital-based wellness centers occupy a unique space between clinical care, rehabilitation, prevention, and community fitness. To succeed, they must deliver a high-quality member experience while remaining aligned with a hospital system’s mission, clinical standards, financial goals, and population-health priorities. Managing 13 such sites requires more than conventional fitness-industry expertise—it demands a consistent, healthcare-centered operating model. Healthplex Associates brings value to this challenge through its specialized focus on clinically integrated medical wellness. The organization’s management approach is designed to help hospitals and health systems operate wellness facilities as an extension of care rather than as standalone gyms. Its experience includes operational management, clinical integration, feasibility planning, financial strategy, facility development, and performance assessment. Consistency Across a Multi-Site Network Managing 13 hospital-based wellness sites creates opportunities for scale, but it also introduces complexity. Each location may serve a different community, operate within a different hospital culture, and have distinct membership, staffing, programming, and financial needs.
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Healthplex Associates can provide a common management framework across all sites while preserving the flexibility needed at the local level. This includes standardized operating procedures, staff development, memberservice expectations, reporting practices, safety protocols, and performance measures. A coordinated approach helps leaders compare results across facilities, identify best practices, and address challenges before they become systemic. At the same time, a successful wellness network cannot rely on a “one-sizefits-all” model. Healthplex emphasizes a hands-on, partnership-based approach that recognizes each community and healthcare organization has different needs. This balance—central standards with local responsiveness—is particularly valuable when overseeing a portfolio of 13 sites. Connecting Wellness With the Hospital Mission The defining strength of a hospital-based wellness center is its ability to support patients and community members beyond traditional episodes of care. Rather than treating fitness as a separate retail activity, Healthplex Associates positions wellness as part of the continuum from clinical treatment and rehabilitation to long-term lifestyle support. That clinical connection can strengthen referral pathways from physicians, rehabilitation teams, cardiac programs, physical therapy services, and other hospital departments. It also gives members confidence that the wellness environment understands the needs of individuals managing chronic conditions, recovering from illness or injury, or seeking medically informed lifestyle guidance. Healthplex Associates describes its model as one that integrates fitness and healthcare with sensitivity to the healthcare organization’s broader mission. For a 13-site network, this focus can help ensure that every location supports not only membership growth, but also patient engagement, preventive health, and community well-being. Operational Expertise and Financial Discipline Wellness centers must be mission-driven, but they must also be operationally sustainable. Staffing, programming, facility maintenance, membership retention, technology, scheduling, sales, and customer service all have a direct impact on financial performance. www.healthplexassociates.com
A specialized management partner can bring disciplined oversight to these areas. Healthplex Associates offers management and operational-analysis services aimed at improving center performance while maintaining clinical alignment. Across 13 sites, this can translate into stronger budget management, more reliable reporting, shared purchasing opportunities, improved staffing models, and more consistent member experiences. Scale also allows the organization to learn from performance across the entire portfolio. If one center develops a successful program for older adults, cardiac maintenance, medical weight management, aquatics, or corporate wellness, the concept can be evaluated and adapted for other locations. This type of knowledge-sharing helps each site benefit from the broader network. A Strategic Partner for Long-Term Growth The value of Healthplex Associates is not limited to day-to-day operations. Its broader consulting capabilities can help hospital leaders evaluate expansion opportunities, assess underperforming programs, improve clinical integration, and align wellness services with changing community needs. For a network of 13 hospital-based wellness sites, this means management can become a strategic asset. With the right partner, the organization can deliver consistent quality, strengthen its connection to clinical care, improve operational discipline, and build a more sustainable model for prevention and lifelong health. Ultimately, Healthplex Associates offers value by helping hospital wellness centers fulfill a larger purpose: supporting healthier communities while operating with the professionalism, accountability, and mission alignment expected of a healthcare organization.
Don Doyle CEO/ President Healthplex Associates Email: ddoyle@healthplexassociates.com Phone: 412-721-9469
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MONTAGE WELLNESS CENTER – PROFILE
The Montage Wellness Center has two facilities located on the Monterey Peninsula in California. The locations are in Marina, CA, and Salinas, CA, and are part of the Montage Health medical system. The two facilities offer 45,000 sq. ft. of fitness space, including warm-water and lap swimming pools at each. The combined membership is near capacity with over 5,100 total members. We strive to keep our facilities clean, well-maintained, and most importantly friendly and fresh for members. Our membership population and fitness offerings include a unique mix of integrated public and medical fitness options.
Membership Our facilities offer public memberships, medical enterprise employee memberships, Medicare Advantage, and Montage Health Comprehensive Cancer patients. This unique balance maximizes membership population to achieve a goal of improving overall health on the Monterey Peninsula. Our employee memberships are offered to our affiliated Montage Health system employees and represent 5% of our total population. Employees are offered access to both facilities at a reduced cost that is one-half of the public rate. Our Medicare Advantage membership population represents 25% of our population and is offered to Aspire Health plan members. The Aspire Medicare Advantage health insurance plan is offered through Montage Health. The goal for the fitness membership is to improve health, improve outcomes, and, of course, reduce the overall health insurance claims from this population. Members in this category have no out-of-pocket expense to use the fitness facilities. www.healthplexassociates.com
Our Comprehensive Cancer population membership launched in 2025 and represents 2% of our total population.These members receive a 1-year complimentary membership as they navigate the cancer treatment process. Our Clinical Coordinator, Elizabeth Ayala, MS, coordinates fitness programming, orientations, pre- and post-test screenings, and data collection for this group. Members receive a SECA biometric scan at the beginning and end of their 1-year membership. This scan tracks simple biometric measurements such as weight, body mass index (BMI), fat mass percentage, and muscle mass percentage. As we evaluate graduating cohorts, we are seeing improvement in all categories with individuals who have attendance that includes 5 or more visits each month. We hope to publish this biometric and attendance data to help improve treatment outcomes and emphasize the importance of exercise in future cancer treatment protocols.
Fitness Both fitness centers include aquatics with 2 lap pools and 2 warm water therapy pools. Additionally, our Marina, CA facility offers a hot tub and steam rooms. Our combined centers have a large cardio and strength training footprint. Both centers also have 2 large group fitness studios with a combined 100 classes available for every member as part of their membership. Many of our classes are appropriate for a medical fitness population and include yoga, tai chi, aquatic, balance, and strength classes. A significant referral source of our new members is discharged patients from our affiliated health partners. These include our Physical Therapy department, Cardiopulmonary department, and Primary Care family physicians. All of which are located at the same location as the wellness centers. These membership referrals help improve health outcomes, prevent readmissions, and reduce length of stay in our hospital system.
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Outreach Our membership and fitness teams regularly participate in local and hospitalaffiliated events and partnerships in the community. These include employersponsored health fairs and ZUMBATHONS, while also offering membership raffle donations for community health organizations such as the “Power Over Parkinson’s” local chapter. Our facilities include conference rooms that regularly host ongoing programs such as the “Kids Eat Right” program and our “Cancer Survivorship” series. Our team collaborates with other Montage Health entities to participate in the “Walk for a Cause” event. Held in October, this event raises funds and bring awareness to support early diagnosis detection and other support for Breast Cancer.Additionally, we participated in our annual Cancer Survivor Day hosted at the local professional soccer club stadium, Monterey Bay Football Club. Montage Health is the official sponsor of the soccer club jersey, and their field/facility played host to over 2,000 cancer survivors and affiliated health teams. This 3-hour event included entertainment, lectures, giveaways, and a barbecue lunch free for all attendees.
Our fitness facilities host over 1,000 members on a daily basis. As a very public-facing entity, the Montage Wellness Center is proud to be a connector of purpose for the health of our community.
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