Meet Bob Brown
Bob Brown received his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Sports Science with a Concentration in Athletic Training from the University of South Carolina at Aiken in 2003. While working on his degree he completed over 2,000 internship hours. He received numerous awards in the athletic department including: All Academic Peach Belt Conference 2002-2003, Athletic Training MVP in 2003, and lettering his Junior and Senior years. He spent time at the Medical College of Georgia during his internship participating in all stages of their sports medicine clinic from on field coverage to the operating room. This allowed him to see the patient from onset of injury all the way to the rehabilitation of the injury.
From 2003 to 2005 Bob was the Manager of Peak Performance in Hilton Head. While at Peak he had worked on lactic acid testing as well as strength and conditioning. He had trained various professional athletes in multiple disciplines including: hockey, golf, tennis and cycling. However, Bob wanted to focus his career path on the clinical side of healthcare and not the sports performance side.
In 2005 Bob started working at LifeFit Wellness at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. In the fall of 2005 he enrolled in graduate school at Walden University. Bob wanted to work on a dual master’s degree in Public Health and Business Administration. While working full time Bob graduated with honors from the program in 2007. In 2006 LifeFit Wellness was awarded the AACVPR Innovation Award. The Cardiac Rehab program was certified by AACVPR during this time period.
From 2007 to 2011 Bob continued to work at LifeFit Wellness and became manager of LifeFit Wellness Services. He oversaw the wellness program and the Cardiac and Pulmonary rehab programs. Bob helped to launch a bariatric program, metabolic testing, and participated in developing an employee wellness program looking at contributing money to Health Care Savings Account.
Bob has been a member of the Medical Fitness Association (MFA) since 2007. He has held various positions in the organization. He has worked on the certification committee, and headed up the new certification subcommittee for the organization. He has served on the Annual Conference Committee as well as the Outcomes committee. Currently he is Chair of the Outcomes Committee.
Since 2009 he has been actively involved in the SC State Association (SCAACVPR) where he served in various positions including: Symposium Chair, Communication Chair, and President of the association.
March of 2011 Bob moved to Spartanburg SC to work with Spartanburg Medical Center. He is the Manager of the Heart Wellness Program, Heart Resource Center, and Heart Failure Center. Upon his arrival at Spartanburg, Bob completely renovated the old Cardiac Rehab program. This included facility renovations that upgraded all equipment and added strength training machines to the program. After the renovations were complete, new program lines of Medical Fitness and Employee Wellness were added as the rebranding of the Heart Wellness Program became a reality in the fall of 2011. The AACVPR certified phase II cardiac rehab program has averaged over 10k visits a year while Bob has been at the facility. He has earned his green belt in Six Sigma process and led the Medication Reconciliation Project at the hospital. He has taken the Heart Failure Center from a productivity of 85% to over 125% in less than a year. This has led to fewer readmissions of CHF patients in the hospital. He has accomplished this feat while being under budget and decreasing FTE’s in his areas of responsibility.
In 2012 he was elected as chair elect of the South Eastern Medical Fitness Association (SEMFA). He served as Chair from 2013-2015. SEMFA is the regional association of the MFA which includes: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. One of the main agenda items Bob took on as Chair was increasing membership of SEMFA. He led the Executive Leadership to do, two free educational events in the region each year. These were to focus on front line staff, and how we can improve the facilities. Bob personally holds a one day symposium every February that generates close to a 100 participants from the region, and offers free CEU’s for the event. He was also awarded by SCAACVPR with the Service Award.
While serving as president of the state association in 2013-2014, his personal mission was to turn around the financials of the organization. Bob understood the importance of communication and membership benefits as he chaired and started the first website of the association. He was the first to hold individual programs accountable for their state dues. By making the State Board aware and accountable for the financial performance of the organization he was able to successfully turn over the reigns with a positive cash flow.
In 2013 Bob was the youngest fellow of the Medical Fitness Association. He was also awarded General Manager of the year from the Association. In 2016 He was awarded the Medical Wellness Director of the year from MFA.
Bob joined the AACVPR Certification Leadership team in 2014 as a Co-Chair for remediation. In 2014 he was asked to participate in the Quality of Care Committee as well. In 2015 Bob became a Board Member for AACVPR. In his Role he is the Board Liaison for Program Certification. In 2016 he became a Fellow in AACVPR.
He has been asked to present at the AACVPR National Meeting, Various State Meetings, MFA national conference, SCAACVPR state conference, and the Medical Fitness Institute. He truly has a passion for Healthcare and serving people. He believes that Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab are foundational building blocks in the ever changing climate of the Affordable Care Act.
Currently he serves as the Director of Outpatient Cardiology at Spartanburg Medical Center. He oversees the Cath and EP Labs, Cardiopulmonary Labs, Heart Failure Clinic, Heart Resource Center and the Heart Wellness Program. His areas of responsibility include three hospitals and one outpatient clinic. In his spare time he loves spending time with his family and traveling.
