Director steers MUSC towards better
health
by Cindy
AbolePublic Relations
Basketball coaching legend John Wooden once said, “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”
MUSC Wellness
Center director Bobby Shaw, right, reviews membership information with
staff members Jennifer Bowens and Michael Desrosiers in the cardio
arena.Motivating others to find personal success in their fitness and wellness goals is also a philosophy shared by Florence native Bobby Shaw. As the new director of MUSC Wellness Center, Shaw will manage an established program that offers a variety of wellness and fitness options as well as knowledgable staff.
“At MUSC, there’s just so much opportunity,” said Shaw, who reported to work at the Wellness Center Nov. 12. “This truly is a wonderful facility with a lot to offer and a great staff that’s both supportive to Wellness members and our overall mission. Right now, I’m taking some time with the staff to learn and explore established programs and evaluate our current needs. From there, we’ll be able to consider new options of what we can offer.”
What the Wellness Center has to offer is the Lowcountry’s most complete, professionally-managed health and fitness facility. Since the 1980s, the MUSC Wellness Center has focused on the development of total well-being with its members, and that wellness is attained through a harmonious balance between social, emotional, spiritual and physical health. Most importantly, the facility complements the goals of the institution’s mission to prepare future health professionals and provide a facility where students, faculty and staff can interact socially while supporting healthy lifestyles.
In early spring 2006, a formal search began to replace retiring director Julian Smith. Valerie West, Ed.D., associate provost for Education and Student Life, led the search and organized a campuswide search committee led by co-chairpersons Darlene Shaw, (no relation) Ph.D., executive director of student health and wellness, director of counseling and psychological services, Education and Student Support; and Larry Blumenthal, M.D., assistant professor, medical director of Student Health Services.
“The group was tasked with a challenge from the very start,” said West. “They searched for the right person with the correct skills set; an individual with an expertise in health and wellness, plus management experience to lead the Wellness Center and take it to the next level of excellence.”
“We've seen many excellent applicants with extensive training and experience with health and fitness in various professional areas,” said Blumenthal. “In the end, Bobby stood out from the pack. His proven success at developing and running a top-notch facility in Florence and widespread respect from colleagues were admirable. He excelled in all the desired qualities we were looking for in a new director.”
Shaw’s involvement in sports and athletics seemed to be predestined. The youngest of three boys, Shaw grew up playing sports year-round in Florence. He eventually focused on basketball during his final years in high school and went on to play ball at Francis Marion University and then Lander University in Greenwood. In 1979, he graduated from Lander earning a degree in health physical education and recreation. But like most confident, young athletes, he held on to greater ambitions and pursued a dream to play round ball for the European basketball league playing holiday tournaments before returning home to the Pee Dee area.
At that same time, the Florence area embraced the emerging fitness phenomena that swept across America and focused on running, aerobic fitness and the popularity of health clubs. Surprisingly, it was in Florence that the state’s first wellness center was established, the Fitness Forum, affiliated with the Bruce Hospital System. Shaw worked various jobs at the Forum for nine years starting as a fitness leader and assistant conducting health/fitness assessments for members and maintaining equipment. He then became activities director and eventually, director of cardiac rehabilitation.
After earning his master’s degree in exercise science from the University of South Carolina in 1992, he founded his own business, Mr. Fit, Incorporated, a private health facility that allowed him to train and personally manage fitness programs for clients. Also during that period, he completed training to become an American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Health and Fitness Instructor examiner preparing and certifying instructors as to ACSM guidelines.
In 1999, Shaw helped open the McLeod Health and Fitness Center as executive director. The 100,000 square-foot facility offered the Florence community the most complete medically supervised and professionally managed exercise facility. The modern facility offered a variety of fitness programs and activities as well as sports medicine programs and services for the regular athlete.
“Back then, the trend for hospitals was to promote preventative medicine,” Shaw said. “This was a huge advantage to a small town like Florence. Like Bruce Hospital, McLeod Health wanted to be progressive in its thinking and create a project that could help shape people’s attitudes toward good health and exercise. This was all part of McLeod’s mission—to improve the health status of the citizens of the Pee Dee region.”
For now, Shaw wants to help his staff match their interests and talents with the center’s needs by improving customer service. He wants to especially work with students and members through continuous feedback with staff and the Wellness Center Advisory Council composed of current members.
“The best thing about our facility is our staff,” Shaw said. “In the next six months, I’m hoping to work closely with them to determine their strengths, goals and needs and coordinate ways to channel their interests in ways to support members and benefit our facility. We want to be more than just a building with equipment for students and people to use. We want to take a proactive approach to our students and members and develop new programs to help them reach their fitness goals.”
Wellness Center Search Committee
Co-chairs Drs. Darlene Shaw and Larry Blumenthal, Robin Hardin, Jo Ann Bolchoz, Scott Lewis, Janis Newton, Jim Tomsic, Ronnie Hayes, Willette Burnham, Dr. David O. Sword, Lilla Folsom, Jim Breeden, Dr. C. David Geier Jr., Dr. Patrick M. O’Neil, Antuan Herriott, Jessica Erin Carlton, and
Susan Fox.
Friday, Jan. 12, 2007
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