Screening, staffing, and emergency preparedness at worksite wellness facilities.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this survey was to examine compliance of worksite health and fitness facilities with the American Heart Association/American College of Sports Medicine (AHA/ACSM) recommendations for cardiovascular screening, staffing, and emergency policies for health and fitness facilities.


METHODS
A survey was developed and sent to 529 worksite health and fitness facilities.


RESULTS
A total of 221 surveys were returned (42% response rate). Twelve percent of facilities had no staff supervision. Among facilities with staff, 12% were not certified in basic life support, and 6% had no national professional certification. Ninety-two percent of facilities followed a health history screening policy although 13% of these facilities administered it irregularly or not at all. Of a total 187 responding facilities, 122 (65%) defined "at risk" as two or more risk factors for heart disease. Of these, 97% either required or recommended new members obtain physician clearance before participation. Four (3%) responding facilities did not require physician clearance. Twenty-five percent of facilities experienced at least one emergency that required ambulance support in the previous year.


CONCLUSIONS
Although this was a low response rate, most responding worksite health and fitness facilities appear to be in compliance with the AHA/ACSM recommendations yet have inconsistencies in some specific practices. There appears to be a need for further consistent implementation of these recommendations into worksite settings.
Morrey
Michael A
MA
Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center and Division of Preventive Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. morrey.michael@mayo.edu
Finnie
Steven B
SB
Hensrud
Donald D
DD
Warren
Beth A
BA
D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000592:standards*; D020446:Fitness Centers / Q000592:standards*; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000592:standards; D008487:Medical History Taking / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000592:standards*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States; D017132:Workplace / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*