SUPPLEMENT TO THE OKLAHOMAN | SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016
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THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
RESEARCH
Future cancer therapies may follow specific approaches BY PAULA BURKES Staff Writer pburkes@oklahoman.com
A Utah man with colon cancer decided recently to stop the chemotherapy that left him feeling sick — it wasn’t working anyway. Instead, he resolved to enjoy what time he had left, starting with going deer hunting. After the man returned home with his deer, his family convinced him to sequence the DNA of his tumor, which uncovered a gene mutation that is common to a type of breast cancer and for which there was an effective drug. After taking it, the man’s tumor melted away. “It’s a powerful example that doesn’t happen often enough,” said David Jones, the doctoral scientist who heads a team of 20 cancer researchers at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. But the case of the man — who was treated by an oncologist and former student of Jones’, with whom he collaborates weekly via Skype — illustrates the future of cancer treatment. Soon, therapies will focus on treating the specific respective genetic mutations that cause cancers — whether inherited or triggered by environmental DNA-altering factors such as sunburns and smoking — versus today’s “sledgehammer, guessing-game approach,” namely radiation and/or chemotherapy to block cancers’ ability to grow, Jones said. “We’re hoping to start adding real information in the next 20 years to eliminate that guessing game,” he said. The challenge, he said, is cancer is hundreds of different diseases; not just breast, colon and lung cancers, for example, but numerous subsets within them. Moreover, for any given tumor, there are six to 20 mutations that can range from an extra copy of a gene, which is common to many types of leukemia, to misplaced chromosomes, he said. “Think of a chromosome as an organizational filing cabinet of thousands of genes, or curlicues of DNA packaged into a familiar thing we know as Xs, which are really strands of DNA sprinkled with genes that give instructions to cells on what to do,” Jones said.
BIOTECH COMPANY ACQUIRES OMRF BRAIN CANCER DRUG A Korean biotech company recently entered into an agreement with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation to acquire the rights to a new investigational drug to treat glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. Under a new company named Oblato Inc., G-treeBNT announced in February that it’s assuming exclusive rights to the OKN-007 compound developed by OMRF doctoral scientists Rheal Towner and Robert Floyd. Since August 2013, clinical trials at the University of Oklahoma’s Stephenson Cancer Center have shown the drug protects nerves and reduces both the death of body tissue and the growth of the cancer. Oblato will initiate additional trials to study the efficacy and safety in larger patient populations and eventually develop an oral form of the drug, which now is administered as an infusion Glioblastoma each year strikes roughly 12,000 Americans who typically live only 12 months to 18 months after diagnosis.
Before coming to OMRF two years ago, Jones worked 18 years at the University of Utah, where he studied one gene that causes colon cancer. He ultimately wants OMRF to systematically study the 5,000 known cancer-causing genes — 1,000 over the next five years — and hopes to hire five to 10 more researchers over the next five years. It’s just been in the past five years that DNA, through an easy mouth swab, can be sequenced in an affordable, routine way, Jones said. He said there are only about 35 to 50 drugs to treat specific genetic mutations in leukemia, breast, skin and lung cancers; all of which are exceptions to the rule, he said.
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OUTLOOK 2016: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
DIAGNOSTICS
Company’s growth soars from rural beginnings BY JIM STAFFORD For The Oklahoman
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists, from left, Dr. Judith James; Dr. Eliza Chakravarty; Samantha Webb, Ph.D.; and Dr. Melissa Munroe. [PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN]
For scientist, career is personal crusade BY JACLYN COSGROVE Staff Writer jcosgrove@oklahoman.com
Every day, Dr. Judith James thinks about how to develop a cure for lupus. Because when James thinks about that cure, she thinks about the faces of patients who could benefit — and the hundreds of patients that she has seen die after struggling with the autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body. In the 1950s and 1960s, lupus could shorten a person’s life by an estimated five to 20 years, depending on the severity. “Now, fast-forward 65 years, and we have much better treatments,” said James, a scientist at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. “We know about monitoring for kidney involvement because it’s silent, so you have to check urine frequently, and we have better therapies, even if they’re not perfect.” James is the arthritis and clinical immunology research program chair at OMRF, a nonprofit biomedical research institute on the Oklahoma Health Center campus in Oklahoma City. Over the past several years, James, 48, has helped bring in millions of dollars in grants to finance research to OMRF and Oklahoma. For example, in 2013, James worked on a $20.3 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health, awarded to University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in collaboration with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, focused on helping scientists answer some of the state’s most pressing health questions, especially in underserved populations.
PRESIDENTIAL ACCOLADES James’ accomplishments could fill a newspaper. Her curriculum vitae, which explains her career since the late 1980s, is 75 pages. In 2000, she was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. She continues to serve in national advisory roles, such as on the board of scientific counselors for the NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, a significant responsibility and accomplishment for a scientist, her peer says. And James has published research in more than 200 publications. Overall, though, James is a humble scientist who is grateful for her team at OMRF and the
people she has worked with along the way. For example, James recruited Dr. Eliza Chakravarty from Stanford University. Chakravarty works with patients diagnosed with lupus, and she specializes in working with women who have high-risk pregnancies as a result of having lupus. Also on James’ team, Samantha Webb is a post-doctoral fellow in OMRF’s arthritis and clinical immunology department. Webb conducts scientific research, manages research projects, performs lab management responsibilities and contributes to grant writing. And Dr. Melissa Monroe, a research assistant member in the arthritis and clinical immunology department, works in James’ department studying lupus in its earliest stages of developing, along with studying patients who have active disease. Monroe looks at what happens in the immune system when disease activity goes up and down with the goal of predicting and preventing lupus flares. James works with a large number of female scientists and researchers. Of the 134 people who work in OMRF’s arthritis and clinical immunology department — the program James chairs — 87 staffers are women. There are 17 senior-level scientists in the program, eight of whom are women. James said overall, it’s a wonderful group of people who collaborate to understand complex diseases. “We have incredible investigators at OMRF, some that are really working on the genetics, some that are working on the basic mechanisms of how things happen,” James said. “And then my research, our group, has been really focused on what are the first things that go wrong (in autoimmune disorders).”
AN EARLY START For James, her interest in science started at an early age. Many family members had asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis, one of the disorders that she studies, runs in her family. James grew up in Pond Creek, a small Oklahoma town of 900 people, about 20 miles north of Enid. James’ mother, Ruth James, remembers one of the first times she realized that her daughter was an advanced learner. Ruth and her daughter were traveling down the street when a 5-year-old Judith started reading billboards. At the time, kindergarten was not free for every child, and Judith wasn’t going to school yet. Ruth realized that Judith had taught herself to read. This was the first glimmer that Judith was
going to shine academically. Judith had asthma, and at the pediatrician, Judith always asked her doctor a lot of questions. And when she was 10, Judith gave herself allergy shots without any trouble. Judith was also a cheerleader in high school, and more than once, an athlete with asthma needed medicine that Judith James had on hand. “A couple of boys had asthma, and a couple of times, she had something they needed when they were having a problem,” Ruth James said. “We were very fortunate because her asthma was bad.” Over the past several years, Ruth has enjoyed watching her daughter thrive as a scientist. “She is very, very loyal and just loves Oklahoma, too,” Ruth James said. “That’s one thing about her, because she had a lot of opportunities to go other places, but she just really feels like she’s an Oklahoman through and through.” Paul Kincade, vice president of research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, has known James for more than 20 years. “I would describe her growth as meteoric,” Kincade said. “She was the pick of the litter when she came here as an early student, and she just has done phenomenally well.” James’ first role at OMRF was as a Fleming scholar, a program that gives high school and college student hands-on biomedical science experience. After James completed that program in 1988, she essentially never left OMRF. During her time at OMRF, she has been able to organize large groups of scientists and researchers to tackle complex diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and Sjogren’s syndrome, Kincade said. For one of her research projects, James was able to collect samples from the U.S. military, studying people before they became sick and measuring antibodies, Kincade said. Getting those samples required a lot of diligent work — and most people avoid that type of bureaucracy, but not James, Kincade said. Today, James has a team of investigators housed throughout three of the five buildings on OMRF’s campus, Kincade said. “In science, you always feel like there’s an advantage if you’re in the East or West Coast, if you’re in one of the Ivy League schools — Harvard or Stanford,” Kincade said. “Consider what she has accomplished, being from Pond Creek, Oklahoma, and she never went to one of those fancy institutions. I think, really, all of her career has been here, but she has competed effectively with people all over the world.”
NORMAN — IMMY is a developer and manufacturer of medical diagnostics across a broad range of health conditions, operating at the intersection of cutting edge research and development and social good. Founded in 1979 by Stan Bauman, IMMY originally operated out of a barn in the rural Goldsby area. The company launched with a focus on mycology, or the study of fungi, which was considered a neglected area of research into detecting fungal infections. Today, Stan Bauman’s sons, Sean and Scott, share management of the company that was recognized last year on the Inc. Magazine 5000 list as one of the Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. Sean is president and chief executive officer. Scott is chief operating officer. “We have over 70 different products that we sell all over the world,” Sean Bauman said. “All of these products were developed right here in Norman, and we take great pride in the fact that our team manufactures, packages and ships everything we sell.” IMMY has evolved into an organization with a global focus on saving lives through its innovative products. The company produces diagnostics for devastating diseases such as tuberculosis and cryptococcal meningitis, both of which claim hundreds of thousands of lives annually in developing countries around the world. “Currently, the test that is making the greatest impact around the world is a rapid, dipstick test (similar to a pregnancy test), which diagnoses HIV patients with a potential fatal fungal disease called cryptococcosis,” Sean Bauman said. “This disease, if left untreated, will become meningitis, and it currently kills 300,000 people every year.” IMMY’s diagnostic test, the CrAG LFA, is considered the “gold standard” for diagnosing cryptococcosis because it is easy to use and takes only 10 minutes to run. In Janu-
Sean Bauman
Scott Bauman
ary, Newsweek magazine published an article that described the positive impact that IMMY’s diagnostic test is having in developing countries. The company has operated out of a 15,000-square-foot facility in south Norman for the past decade, but will soon move to a larger building under construction near Norman’s Max Westheimer Airport. It employs more than 35 people. “We are very excited about moving to our new location in north Norman,” Scott Bauman said. “The new building will be close to three times the size of our current facility, which will allow us to continue to add more staff and increase the inventory of our ever-growing product offering.” Sean Bauman said after 35 years the company’s mission is still aligned with the original focus of developing diagnostic products to save lives worldwide. “It is amazing to think about where our father started IMMY back in 1979 and where we are today,” Sean Bauman said. “But it is also amazing to think that many of those products that were developed in our first location are great products that we still produce and sell. Every day, our team is creating products that will impact the lives of people all over the world.”
NEXT UP: EDUCATION Next Sunday, Excellence and Innovation in Education will be the fourth and last part in our “Outlook 2016: Going for the Gold” series. The first in the series — The Way We Live — was published April 3, and the second — Business & Technology — on April 10. You can also access all the news from each section online at NewsOK.com.
Outlook editors CLYTIE BUNYAN PHILLIP O’CONNOR Cover designer TODD PENDLETON
Section designer CAROLINE WERTZ Advertising JERRY WAGNER, sponsorship manager, 475-3475
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OUTLOOK 2016: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
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PAUL DEANGELIS, INNOVATOR
Research into sugar science helps deliver commercially viable therapies BY JIM STAFFORD For The Oklahoman
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INSIDE a tiny, windowless office on the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campus, Paul DeAngelis, Ph.D., sat before a computer screen on a recent afternoon, working on a grant application. DeAngelis is seeking grant funding to conduct research on a new way to use a sugar polymer known as heparosan as a drug delivery platform. New heparosan synthesis and medical application methods were developed in DeAngelis’ OU laboratory together Paul DeAngelis with a spin-off commercialization laboratory in nearby OU Research Park. “This grant application I’m writing right now is for a new version where we can put a drug inside of something like a sack that carries the medicine, and we can sugar-coat the outside of the sack so that it behaves better in the body,” he said. “We are playing around with that idea right now.” A Presidential Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the OU Health Sciences Center, DeAngelis has focused his research over the past two decades on discovery and exploration of sugar molecules found in the body. EEP
SCALING UP DeAngelis developed a process by which he can make sugar polymers — large molecules made of smaller repeating chains — at prescribed sizes for different medical uses such as a drug delivery platform. “My lab discovered really good enzymes that can make these polymers,” DeAngelis said. “In sugar science, I don’t think anyone has scaled up as much as we are.
We can make bigger amounts of better quality polymers than virtually anyone on the planet. That’s why we started these companies.” DeAngelis has received funding from the state of Oklahoma through the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology to support ongoing research into sugar polymers. From this initial support, millions of dollars in private and federal research dollars followed. “OCAST funding helped different facets of our technology progress from the laboratory discovery stage to better proof-of-concept and scale up production that helped us get other National Institutes of Health and/or commercial funds,” DeAngelis said. “Overall, OCAST gave the extra resource needed to leap the chasm of the ‘valley of death’ that looms in the early days of any company or new venture.” Through basic research conducted in his laboratory and through early collaboration with fellow OU researcher Paul Weigel, Ph.D., four Oklahoma City-based companies were founded to translate the science into commercial success. Today, DeAngelis is a chief scientist of four Oklahoma City-based life science ventures: Hyalose, Heparinex, Choncept and Caisson Biotech, all of which licensed the technology from OU. Austin, Texasbased Emergent Technologies Inc. became a major investor and provides management for each company. “Paul DeAngelis could be described as a pioneer in the field of glycobiology and a true innovator with an out-of-the-box, creative mindset,” said Breca Tracy, vice president and a managing director for Emergent Technologies. “One of Paul’s greatest strengths is his ability to design ‘quick and dirty’ experiments efficiently testing his innovative ideas, which have led to groundbreaking, differentiated and marketable products.” In 2014, pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk signed a $167 million licensing deal with Caisson Biotech for use of the sugar polymer technology in the development of drugs for diseases such as
diabetes. “They are using our polymer with their own drugs to see if they can make the medicine perform better,” DeAngelis said. “Some are in evaluation and some of them are in pre-clinical mode where they have done animal work and are progressing towards going into humans.” The continuum of research begins with basic research in the lab and continues through a commercialization stage as therapeutics are taken through a series of clinical trials to prove they are safe and
effective. DeAngelis, the scientists at Caisson Biotech, and the business team at Emergent Technologies found a quicker way to market by partnering with bigger biotech and pharma companies using the sugar polymers, which occur naturally in the human body, as a drug delivery platform. “The University of Oklahoma gets royalties and dividends from all these deals,” he said. “So, it’s good for the university and good for patients, because we can make things happen faster.”
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Center offers patients rare opportunities for MS care BY MELISSA HOWELL Staff Writer mhowell@oklahoman.com
A progressive and unconventional mode of treating patients and conducting research within the same facility is yielding promising results at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation’s Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence. The model, which accommodates “translational research,” allows for multi-level collaboration among neurologists, immunologists, geneticists and others researching multiple sclerosis. “There are very few institutions where you combine the clinical and the basic science in not only one institution, but in one geographical location,” said Dr. Gabriel Pardo, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence. “We have a multidisciplinary team of core providers, physical therapy, vision nurses, case workers — all of that so that patients are well taken care of. “But in addition to just taking care of them, we are in the business of advancing knowledge and science,” said Pardo, who is a neurologist and ophthalmologist with a specialty in neuropthalmology.
PROGRESS AT THE CENTER Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling, disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The most common form of the disease is “relapsing MS,” where symptoms are intermittent. Less common is a progression of the disease called “primary progressive MS.” Among the center’s recent successes is a clinical trial for the drug Ocrelizumab, which has been successful in patients with relapsing MS and also in the less common primary progressive MS, for which there is no treatment, Pardo said. “This is certainly a breakthrough that will eventually, if the FDA approves it, provide something for these folks that so far have had no treatment,” Pardo said. To date, 13 medications have been approved to stop the progression of the disease. But now the research focus is shifting to not just stopping it from doing more damage, but restoring function that has been lost. “The next quest that we have in front of us is, is there something we can do to improve function in patients that have MS already? Sort of regaining the mileage that has been lost,” he said. “That is the new frontier in MS and we are involved in a trial that certainly is looking at that.” The drug in trials at the center now, Anti-LINGO, seeks to block natural elements in the body that hold back the process of renewing the myelin, the protective substance in the central nervous system that helps transmit nerve signals. MS is caused by an abnormal response in the body’s immune system that attacks myelin. “So if we block the blocker, hopefully we will allow the myelin to be regenerated,” Pardo said.
‘A COMPLICATED DISEASE’ MS is difficult to diagnose and complicated to treat because of the broad array of symptoms ranging from tingling in the hands to gait problems, bladder problems, headache, vision problems, vertigo and depression. “MS is a very complex disease; it is complex because there is no one patient like the other,” said neurologist Tania Reyna, who works with Pardo at the center. “You can go out to the waiting room and see patients with wheelchairs and canes and … patients with symptoms that are invisible — tingling, pain, numbness, vertigo. Even though you don’t see it, the patients are significantly disabled by these symptoms. It can affect the eyes, it can affect cognition.” But the earlier a patient can receive treatment, the better the outcome. “Untreated, 60 to 80 percent of those with relapsing MS will go on to develop progressive MS, which is much more complicated,” Reyna said. “So our goal is to try to diagnose patients early on, put them on treatment as soon as we diagnose … and try to change that progression.” And with proper treatment, patients often can live a relatively normal life. “I had a patient who was admitted to the hospital. She was very young, probably under 30 — walking with a walker ... and (had) a lot of pain. We put her on medication and saw her back six months later. She was walking without a walker, had makeup on,” Reyna said. “I see cases like that all the time. But we have cases also that are more progressive and don’t respond like the others. That’s what makes MS such a difficult disease to manage because we have two patients — very similar, age, sex, backgrounds and very similar symptoms, and they respond very differently to medication.”
WHO GETS MS? Multiple sclerosis affects 400,000 in the U.S. and 2.5 million worldwide. It is more common in females at a ratio of 3 to 1. It can appear at any age, but the average age of diagnosis is 30.
Dr. Tania Reyna, clinical assistant, left, and Dr. Gabriel Pardo, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, are shown in an examination room at OMRF in Oklahoma City. [PHOTO BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN]
An estimated 3,500 people in Oklahoma have MS. The center treats 2,500 of those and follows those patients for life. And the number is likely to rise. Is there a way to avoid contracting MS? Not really, Pardo said, but it does require a “perfect storm” in a sense, to develop the disease. “The cause of MS is not fully known,” he said. “Different things have to come together at one time to develop the disease and the three things are one, genetics. We know there are certain genes that increase the risk of having MS but those genes alone will not give you the disease.”
MICROBIOME MAY HOLD CURE The goal of the MS research community is to develop medications that first, stop the progression of the dis-
ease; second, reverse the damage; and third, cure the disease. Interestingly enough, a cure may be hiding in an individual’s gut bacteria, called microbiome. It’s a burgeoning area of research that shows promise in repairing the body’s immune system. “The gut is the biggest immune organ in our body,” Pardo said. “The composition of that material might play a role. But this is in the very early stages of development.” And Pardo cautions that although the possibilities are exciting, as physicians, their first priority is to treat the debilitating effects of MS. “We can have very lofty goals, but we need to be more realistic in the sense that we have more immediate goals for our patients,” he said.
OUTLOOK 2016: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016
EYE HEALTH
Eye care innovations, treatments abound at Oklahoma City institute BY DARLA SLIPKE Staff Writer dslipke@oklahoman.com
Advances in glaucoma surgery and the treatment of macular degeneration and tumors affecting the eye are among the innovations taking place at the Dean McGee Eye Institute. There are many exciting developments in medical and surgical eye care, and they touch on a number of different areas, said Dr. Gregory Skuta, president and chief executive officer of the Dean McGee Eye Institute. Surgeons at Dean McGee are using a combination of technologies to increase the precision, accuracy and success of cataract surgery. One of the most recent technological developments is an increasing use of the femtosecond laser, which can precisely perform some of the critical steps in cataract surgery. The Dean McGee Eye Institute has surgeons who employ that technology, Skuta said. About two years ago, Dean McGee recruited an ocular oncologist, Dr. Brian Firestone, who trained at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and has allowed Dean McGee to increase its ability to care for patients with various cancers of the eye, including ocular melanomas, Skuta said. Firestone works closely with staff at the Stephenson Cancer Center. Dean McGee has other doctors who are adept at treating tumors of the eyelid and of the orbit, which includes the tissues around the eye, Skuta said. Glaucoma sur-
geons at Dean McGee offer minimally invasive glaucoma surgical techniques, such as canaloplasty and the iStent, which make them national leaders in terms of offering the latest advances in glaucoma procedures, Skuta said. Those techniques carry fewer risks than traditional glaucoma surgery and often allow patients to reduce their dependence on medications. On another front, Dr. Michael Siatkowski and Dr. Lloyd Hildebrand participated in what Skuta described as a “landmark study” in helping to develop broader methods of screening for premature infants with the potential for developing a potentially blinding eye disorder called retinopathy of prematurity. Retinopathy of prematurity primarily affects premature infants who weigh about 2 ¾ pounds or less and are born before 31 weeks of gestation, according to the National Eye Institute. As part of the study, nurses in neonatal intensive care units were
trained to use a special camera to take pictures of babies’ eyes. The photos were sent to an image reading center for evaluation, where people who were trained to recognize signs of retinopathy of prematurity identified when infants should be referred to an ophthalmologist for evaluation and potential treatment. Their evaluations were compared to those of ophthalmologists. The study showed that telemedicine could be used to aid in early detection of the eye disease in premature babies.
‘MIRACLE DRUGS’ Another innovation relates to treatment of age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, a leading cause of legal blindness in elderly patients. Years ago, Skuta said, there were no useful treatments for people with the “wet form” of macular degeneration, which generally is caused by abnormal blood vessels that leak fluid or blood into the part of the retina that is responsible for central vision. N o w , doctors are
able to use anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor agents, or anti-VEGF agents, which have had a “transformational impact” on the treatment of AMD, Skuta said. Doctors administer the agents directly into a person’s eye through an injection, thus reducing the risk for the wet form of AMD to progress to a blinding condition. The agents have had a “remarkable impact” on the preservation of vision and prevention of blindness from AMD, Skuta said. “These are, in my view, miracle drugs,” he said. Those are just a few of the studies and advances taking place at the Dean McGee Eye Institute, which provides care to people from throughout Oklahoma and the surrounding region. The institute, which recorded more than 176,000 total patient visits last year, has attracted ophthalmologists and scientists from around the country and from many leading programs to join its faculty, Skuta said. Not only does the institute seek to provide innovation to its patients and to all Oklahomans, but it also strives to provide leadership and service to the profession as a whole, which ultimately benefits patients, Skuta said. Dr. David Parke II, the former CEO of the Eye Institute, served as president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 2008 and went on to become the executive vice president and CEO of the academy in 2009, Skuta said. Skuta served as president of the academy in 2014, and Dr. Cynthia Bradford, who also serves on the faculty at Dean McGee, will be president of the academy in 2017. [THINKSTOCK PHOTO]
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EXERCISE
Veteran says exercise saved him — and it can help save others, too Derek McElroy runs a class at CrossFit HomeBase Central in Oklahoma City. McElroy, 33, returned home from serving in the Iraq War and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder.
BY JULIANA KEEPING Staff Writer jkeeping@oklahoman.com
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n a balmy spring evening, six women and three men walked through the open doors of a spacious garage-turned-gym in northwest Oklahoma City for an evening exercise class, plopping gym bags on a table. Rap music blasted from speakers. On a back wall, the gym’s name was stenciled in patriotic red, white and blue lettering — CrossFit HomeBase Central. The gym’s owner, Derek McElroy, 33, took a break on a folding chair to talk shop as his Army buddy, Kevin Foley, 32, in town from Boston, started instructing the night’s students. Located in an alley behind a tire shop in the Quail Plaza Shopping Center, the space looks a lot like any other CrossFit Gym, one of numerous franchises in the metro and thousands throughout the United States known for weight training programs and a voracious fan base. But to McElroy, the space he created is a lot more than a gym. “I joined the Army to serve, to help and protect people,” McElroy said. “This is my way to serve the people outside of my service.” Like in the Army, the gym lets McElroy change and save lives, he said. That all started with his own life.
WANTING MORE McElroy grew up in Holdenville. After 9/11, he joined the Army, a move anchored in both patriotism and his desire to leave small-town life behind. He rolled into Iraq as a cavalry scout in 2003, at the start of the war. Out of the Army by 2006, he returned to Holdenville, attended college and got a good job in the oil and gas industry. “It looked like everything was OK,” he said. But everything was not. Though he refused to admit it to himself for a decade, McElroy suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. He treated it by drinking. He became an alcoholic,
[PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN]
slowly self-destructing. He hoped and prayed that the next time he picked a fight at a bar, it would be the one that ended his life. In the meantime, Foley, a friend from the same Army platoon, had returned to the Boston area and become a cop. Like McElroy, he suffered. Foley eventually turned in his badge and decided to open a CrossFit gym in Boston. He called it Home Base. “I wanted to do more,” Foley said. “I wanted to improve myself and others. CrossFit was that for me. ... It shows a lot of truth about who you are as an individual. Having a community where everyone supports each other builds you up.” From Oklahoma City, McElroy watched his friend’s transformation on Facebook. It inspired him to try CrossFit workouts in 2014. The challenging workouts reminded McElroy of the friendships and even hardships of Army life that he missed. During
the workouts, there were no headphones, no mirrors, just buddies pushing buddies to get through it all together. Surely, he thought, if I got through basic training, I can push myself to commit to these workouts. McElroy quit drinking. He quit smok-
ing. He started working out before the sun came up. At his apartment in Oklahoma City, he blasted music by alternative rock band Evans Blue, pumping himself up for the day. VETERAN, PAGE 10
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Right: Kevin Foley runs a class March 3 at CrossFit HomeBase Central in Oklahoma City. Below: Derek McElroy demonstrates an exercise as he runs a class March 3 at the CrossFit gym in Oklahoma City. [PHOTOS BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN]
Veteran FROM PAGE 8
That music — it bugged his neighbors, the couple who lived in the apartment downstairs. The neighbor woman knocked on the door and told him to turn it down. She next asked if he was single. “Yeah, don’t I look like I’m single?” he responded. The neighbor set him up on a blind date with a friend of hers, Heather.
No time to waste In September, McElroy opened CrossFit Home Base Central. On a recent evening, Foley, McElroy’s Army buddy, helped his nine students kick into headstands against a wall and lower themselves by the arms until their heads touched a stack of pillows. The class clapped and cheered each other. Foley was in town because McElroy was getting married that weekend — to Heather, the woman he met on the blind date, the one he met because his music was too loud. His music was too loud because he’d decided to stop wasting time, to live, to become a new person, one
who took care of himself. It was going to be a huge wedding, McElroy explained, around 200 guests, and a good 60 of them were new friends, members of the gym he started after being inspired by Foley’s journey. McElroy doesn’t drink or smoke anymore. He still has PTSD, he said, and expects to always have PTSD. Doing CrossFit is the best way he’s found to manage it. He wants to use his business to help more veterans like himself, and to help anyone who lives with trauma, as so many do, and not just veterans. He wants to keep growing his “HomeBase Central Army.”
Also on the back wall of the gym hangs the picture of Pvt. Michael J. Deutsch, one of five soldiers on a “Wall of Heroes.” All died in the post-9/11 wars. McElroy met Deutsch in Germany. A tribute hanging in the gym describes the soldier as a soft-spoken young Iowan who mostly talked to complain about a loudmouthed, obnoxious field artillery guy he served with. Deutsch disliked the Iraq War before it was a thing to dislike the Iraq War. But he was still a committed soldier compelled to protect his brothers. “HomeBase comes in here every day and we face and conquer challenges to honor real Heroes like Michael Deutsch. ’Til the other side brother!” the tribute reads.
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
OUTLOOK 2016: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016
11
TRIBAL HEALTH
Oklahoma City Indian Clinic aims to help kids avoid illness, disease Dr. Jennifer Williams conducts a health check on Briana Knott, 8, of Yukon, during a children’s health fair July 10, 2015, at the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic in Oklahoma City. The clinic’s mission includes teaching children about healthy lifestyles and exercise, Director David Toahty said.
BY JULIANA KEEPING Staff Writer jkeeping@oklahoman.com
Oklahoma City resident Brenda Littlecalf received worrying news about her 5-yearold girl: Cheyenne was overweight. Diabetes runs in the family, Littlecalf, 25, said. Making matters worse, Littlecalf learned she was pre-diabetic. Littlecalf enrolled her daughter in several exercise and healthy-eating-themed afterschool programs offered by the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic. For the past year, Cheyenne, now 6, has participated in activities like tennis, running club and jump rope. In a program aimed at the whole family, mom and daughter learn about healthy eating and get physical activity at least three times a week. “We used to just go the park and that was pretty much it,” Littlecalf said. “With this, she gets to play with other kids her age, and she has fun. She’s being active.” Littlecalf discovered that her daughter is a strong and fast runner. Cheyenne is going to participate in the fun run portion of the Oklahoma City Memorial Kids run in April. “They say she has lost weight, gotten slimmer, and she is really fast. I never knew how fast she was,” Littlecalf said. Diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease are overrepresented in American Indian populations. Teaching children early about healthy lifestyles and exercise is what programs like these are all about, said David Toahty, the clinic’s chief development officer.
[PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES]
“We want to start early with the children to let them know, just because your parents, your grandparents had diabetes doesn’t mean you have to have it,” Toahty said. The Oklahoma City Indian Clinic is a nonprofit outpatient health care provider that serves urban American Indians. It opened as a tiny volunteer clinic in Oklahoma City in 1974. Today, the clinic at 4913 W Reno Ave. employs 165 people and serves 20,000 patients as a contractor to Indian Health Services, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. The services are free and are only available to patients who are members of a federally recognized tribe, or who have a Certification of Degree of Indian Blood or a letter of descendancy from a federally recognized tribe.
About a quarter of the patients are under age 17. “Because of that, we are trying to make sure the kids can get the health care that they need,” Toahty said. Besides after-school programs, the clinic oversees day camps, like Turtle Camp, which took place in mid-March, as well as day camps during the summer, said Michelle Dennison, health promotion and disease prevention director. In a different division at the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic, Stephanie Rice, a developmental optometrist, treats eye issues common in American Indian children, like lazy eye or eye-turn issues and poor eye tracking abilities. Children with eye tracking and eye movement problems, a muscular issue and an increasingly
common one, may also have behavior problems. The good news is that vision therapy corrects eye tracking and improves related behavioral issues. The trick is catching the problem, Rice said. “The scary thing is most of these kids have 20/20 vision, so they pass the eye tests given for screeners at school or at pediatrician’s office. Underlying problems don’t get caught without a comprehensive eye exam. They’ll get missed; the doctor will tell them ‘You have 20/20, you’re good.’” Unless the eye tracking issue is detected, a child will continue to struggle, year after year. Rice said she is seeing more and more kids with tracking problems, and believes a lack of outdoor play is to blame. When children play outside, swinging, running and spinning,
they are also unknowingly training their eyes and eye muscles. “Vision is learned, and it’s learned through movement; we learn where things are in space and how to maneuver around space, all of that teaches our eyes to start moving.” An eye tracking problem becomes especially pronounced once it’s time for a child to learn to read. “They start having selfesteem issues and think they’re stupid, because they can’t get things done within the same time frame as the person next to them,” she said. Behavioral issues kick in, Rice said. In her three-and-a-half years at the clinic, Rice has seen big changes in patients who take on vision therapy. Behavior and self-esteem improve; children discover athletic abilities they never knew they had. She treats 100 patients a month and has a wait-list 20-kids deep. Care can take anywhere from 12 weeks to a year, depending on the problem. Therapy entails activities like hand-eye coordination movements while swinging. It is free to participants and would otherwise cost up to $7,000. “It’s important we have this program for these young people,” Rice said. “A lot of them will have zero self-esteem, maybe even depression, because they’re struggling so badly, and their parents are fighting with them to get their homework turned in. This helps them to gain the visual skills they need to succeed.” For more information about the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic, call (405) 948-4900.
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SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016
OUTLOOK 2016: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
DENTAL HEALTH
Foundation reaches Oklahomans through low-income care, empowering message AT A GLANCE A look at the programs funded through Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation: RESOURCES: “Resource for Dental Care” is a directory of free and low-cost dental clinics and programs throughout the state. Updated quarterly, the publication is widely used by agencies, nonprofits, schools, churches, dental offices and individuals. For a free copy, call 607-4725 or go to www.ResourceForDentalCare.org MOBILE SMILES OKLAHOMA: A partnership program of the Oklahoma Dental Foundation and Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation, MobileSmiles features two RV-style dental offices on wheels that travel throughout Oklahoma to eliminate barriers to dental care. Learn more at www.MobileSmilesOK.org CAPTAIN SUPERTOOTH: Provided at no cost to Oklahoma schools, the foundation’s Captain Supertooth program travels the state teaching kindergarten through third-graders the lifelong benefits of good dental care habits. The program’s website features games for kids, tips for parents and resources for teachers. Learn more or request a visit from the Captain at www. CaptainSupertooth.com. OKLAHOMA MISSION OF MERCY: The first weekend of each February, Delta Dental partners with Oklahoma Dental Association and Oklahoma Dental Foundation to conduct the Oklahoma Mission of Mercy — a two-day free dental clinic event. Thanks to volunteer dental professionals, each year more than 1,500 patients receive donated dental care valued at almost $2 million. Events have been held in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, McAlester, Lawton and Enid. More details are at www.OKMOM.org. CLINIC & PROGRAM GRANTS: Through the foundation’s annual grant program, it provides funding to dental care and education programs throughout Oklahoma. OU COLLEGE OF DENTISTRY: To help ensure Oklahoma has enough dental professionals, Delta Dental supports the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry and its students through annual scholarships, funding for various programs and major capital contributions.
Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation’s Captain Supertooth makes an appearance Feb. 5 at the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic to kick off National Children’s Dental Health Month. Captain Supertooth travels the state to teach young students about the importance of dental care.
BY MELISSA HOWELL Staff Writer
R
ECENT STUDIES have found that poor oral health has been linked to heart disease, stroke, infection, diabetes, low birth weight and premature birth. Despite the health risks, 42 percent of Americans and almost 50 percent of Oklahomans have no dental insurance and can’t afford steep out-of-pocket expenses. Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation is looking to change that through outreach programs designed to address a critical deficit in access to dental care and provide early oral health education in Oklahoma. In all, the foundation has donated in excess of $16 million since 1998 to reach Oklahomans with dental needs and spread a message on the importance of oral health, said Terrisa Singleton, director of the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation. “Delta Dental of Oklahoma is a not-for-profit 501(c)(4), so we’re committed to public benefit and not committed to stockholders,” she said. “That’s why the foundation chooses to donate so much — because it is part of their mission. We believe slightly over half of Oklahomans have dental benefits through their companies. The foundation truly is there to reach out to that other half.” This is achieved primarily through grants to clinics that provide services to low-income patients, and partnerships with Oklahoma Dental Foundation and Oklahoma Dental Association to provide free care to those who can’t afford it or bring services to locations that lack adequate dental facilities. In addition to these programs, the foundation provides education to kindergarten through third-grade students with its Captain Supertooth initiative.
[PHOTO PROVIDED]
A free service to Oklahoma schools, Captain Supertooth, a costume-clad dental crusader, visits classrooms throughout Oklahoma teaching children about the lifelong benefits of good oral health. “This program has been with us since 2000,” Singleton said. “Our goal is basically to get some oral health education into public schools. This is empowering kids to take responsibility for their oral health.” During his visits, Captain Supertooth gives a 20- to 25-minute presentation that is interactive and fun for the students. Currently, the program serves about 20,000 students per year totaling more than 225,000 since its inception. In the near future, Singleton said the foundation will be about to reach more children because of
increased funding. “Right now, we’re concentrated on getting to as many schools as possible,” she said. “But we’re in the process of ramping that up.” Although Captain Supertooth is not an outcome-based program, Singleton said she is keeping a close eye on the Third Grade Oral Health assessment that will be released later this year by the Oklahoma Department of Health. Depending on the findings, the report could indicate to what extent children are heeding the foundation’s message of personal responsibility for oral health. In a nutshell, our mission is to improve the oral health of all Oklahomans through whatever means that requires,” Singleton said. “Our success is in how many kids receive this positive and empowering message.”
OUTLOOK 2016: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016
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HOSPITALS
Above: An architect’s rendering shows what’s planned for Norman Regional Moore when it opens in May. Left: A grand opening ceremony for Norman Regional Moore hospital, shown under construction in February, is planned for May 7. [PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN]
After 2013 tornado, Moore facility’s reopening to celebrate resiliency Left: An emergency power generator is shown at the rear of Norman Regional Moore as Richie Splitt, interim president and CEO of Norman Regional Health System, gives a tour in February.
DARLA SLIPKE Staff Writer dslipke@oklahoman.com
MOORE — A scripture passage inscribed above the main visitor’s desk inside the old Moore Medical Center served as a reminder of the hospital’s beginning. A chaplain selected that scripture when the building was dedicated, and volunteers wanted to make it a part of the structure. The message, which read, “Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds,” took on even greater meaning after May 20, 2013, when an EF5 tornado devastated the community and destroyed the building. After the storm passed, that visitor’s desk still stood amid debris, and so too did that passage on the wall behind and above it. “Its meaning became so much more important to our employees as they saw the building and then paid their respects to the building before we went through the demolition process,” said Richie Splitt, interim president and CEO of Norman Regional Health System. “It almost became a rallying point.” When the new Norman Regional Moore building opens in May, that scripture again will be displayed in a place of honor — inside the main atrium of the building — so employees and volunteers can once again see it and be inspired by its meaning. That is just one of the ways in which officials intend to celebrate the community’s strength and resilience while also honoring its past in the new 117,000-squarefoot Norman Regional Moore building, which is being built on South Telephone Road. The facility will house physicians offices, an emergency center and community meeting space. It will provide a number of services, including a 24/7 emergency room, as well as diagnostic imaging, laboratory services and physical therapy. A tattered American flag also will be displayed inside the new building. During the 2013 tornado, the flag that flew outside the old Moore Medical Center disappeared. Weeks later, a man who was cleaning debris found an American flag strewn across the fence in his backyard on the opposite side of Interstate 35. Officials think it was the same flag that had flown outside the medical center. Hospital officials framed the tattered flag and plan to keep it in a place of honor inside the new building.
A HARROWING DAY The opening of the new hospital no doubt will be an emotional day for the community. About 400 people rode out the tornado inside Moore Medical Center. They survived, but the tornado cut a path
Below left: Richie Splitt gives a tour of the mechanical area of the hospital that’s set to open in May.
of destruction across Newcastle, south Oklahoma City and Moore, leaving 25 people dead, including seven students at Plaza Towers Elementary School. Stories of courage and neighbors helping neighbors emerged from that horrific day. As people hunkered down in the cafeteria at Moore Medical Center, several nurses stayed with a woman who was actively laboring and couldn’t be moved from the second floor. The nurses held the woman’s hand and prayed with her, Splitt said. They would not leave her. “The louder the storm got, the louder they prayed and the more tightly they hung onto each other,” Splitt said.
After the storm passed, the woman delivered a healthy baby boy, Splitt said. Dr. Misty Hsieh, a family medicine physician who worked at Moore Medical Center, left work early May 20, 2013, because she didn’t have any patients scheduled that afternoon. The tornado sirens sounded while she was picking her children up from school in Norman. As the storm passed through the area, Hsieh was getting text messages intermittently. A message from her sister came through, informing Hsieh there had been a direct hit at Moore Medical Center. “I really didn’t know what to do with those words,” Hsieh said. She worried her friends were injured or
dead. She had no idea at the time just how many people were taking shelter in the building. Hsieh said there aren’t really words for the emotions she felt when she went back to the hospital site and saw the destruction for the first time. After the tornado, Hsieh’s office moved to Norman. She will be moving back to Moore, into Norman Regional Moore, when the building opens. Hsieh said she is looking forward to the move. “I think that it has such a potential to really bring healing to our community as a whole,” she said. “ ... We’re going to give the same kind of care we gave before the tornado, that we’ve given since the tornado, but just that feeling of hope and a place to call home is going to be, I think, very therapeutic for all of us.” The building has a number of design elements that are intended to promote hope and healing, including an outdoor public work of art titled “Sanctuary.” More than 100 artists submitted proposals for an “Art for Healing” project. “Sanctuary” will be made with steel rods and prismatic crystals. The threedimensional pyramid will use the Norman Regional Health System logo for its base, symbolizing the links between physicians, staff, patients and the community. Each rod represents the strength of people individually, Splitt said. As the rods come together, they become even stronger, he said. The crystals will reflect rainbows when the sun shines on them, representing the calm after the storm and the hope of the future, Splitt said. The public is invited to attend a grand opening ceremony for Norman Regional Moore from 9 a.m. to noon May 7.
CEO oversees St. Anthony Hospital expansion BY BRIANNA BAILEY Business Writer bbailey@oklahoman.com
Joe Hodges, CEO of SSM Health Care of Oklahoma, has overseen a rapid expansion at St. Anthony Hospital over recent years. Hodges has been with SSM for 20 years, starting as a part-time employee in the business office at St. Anthony Hospital in 1992. He became the hospital’s president in 2005 after being promoted six times. He was named CEO of SSM Health Care of Oklahoma in February 2012. Under Hodges’ watch, St. Anthony is wrapping up construction on its $53 million pavilion south of 10th Street between Dewey and Walker Avenue.
SSM Healthcare of Oklahoma also has expanded its presence around the Oklahoma City metro area with several freestanding emergency rooms called Healthplexes over the past four years. Healthplex campuses feature emergency room services, as well as diagnostic imaging and laboratory services, among other offerings. St. Anthony now has Healthplex locations at N Western Avenue and Memorial Road; Interstate 40 and Douglas Boulevard; SW 134 and I-44 in Oklahoma City; and at E State Highway 152 and Sara Road in Mustang. St. Anthony Hospital’s Midtown pavilion will house a new emergency department, intensive care units, and inpatient care areas.
The 111,000-square-foot, fourstory facility is slated to be complete this spring. The expansion represents the largest part of a $220 million campus development plan St. Anthony launched 11 years ago when the hospital decided to remain in its Midtown location. The emergency room and intensive care pavilion, first announced in 2012, was put on hold and redesigned to eliminate two stories of structured parking and allow for easier ambulance access. The addition will allow the hospital to consolidate its two separate emergency units and expand bed counts, while freeing up existing space for other hospital operations.
Construction at St. Anthony Hospital is seen from a rooftop in November. The hospital is wrapping up construction on its $53 million pavilion at NW 10 between Dewey and Walker. [PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES]
14 SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016
OUTLOOK 2016: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
WORKPLACE FITNESS
For employers that offer incentives for healthy behaviors, ‘fit happens’ BY PAULA BURKES Business Writer pburkes@oklahoman.com
About 80 percent of the 300 employees of the eight Bob Mills Furniture stores across Oklahoma own Fitbit bracelets, which wirelessly track the number of steps each one walks a day, calories burned and other personal metrics. Bob Mills last year paid half of the costs of the digital step trackers for employees who wanted them, conveniently deducting the remainder from their paychecks. Taking it a step further, the company — to incentivize employees to compete for the highest number of steps walked — offered $150 gift cards to each member of the winning seven-person team each month and $10 Subway gift certificates to top individuals every week. The winning team logged more than 700,000 steps for a month, while employees companywide averaged 8,300 steps per week. It was all part of a 2015 Januarythrough-March “Get Fit” challenge, said Chris Dyson, director of business development. “The health and well-being of our employees is a top priority at Bob Mills Furniture, and we are always looking for fun and innovative ways to engage them,” he said. This year’s “Fit Happens” challenge built on that momentum and featured biggest loser contests, store-to-store challenges, intra-departmental contests, free T-shirts and more, Dyson said. Participants could earn extra-credit points toward a variety of prizes simply by bringing their lunch to work or taking a selfie at the gym. Offering financial incentives
Tulsa-based Wallace Engineering offers yoga and other fitness courses weekly, as part of its overall wellness program. [PHOTO PROVIDED]
to encourage healthy behaviors is a trend across workplaces nationwide, said Bob Helbig, media partnerships director for Exton, Pa.-based Workplace Dynamics. The company is the leading provider of employee engagement surveys on which The Oklahoman’s annual Top Workplaces list is based. Other top employers in Oklahoma that are financially encouraging workers to be healthy include Tulsa-based Wallace Engineering, which offers subsidized on-site fitness courses, and Oklahoma City’s Star Building Systems, which offers employees up to 20 percent discounts on their health premiums by accumulating
points through health screenings and healthy activities. Wallace Engineering has had a wellness policy in place for more than four years, said Tom Hendrick, principal and chief operating officer. “We believe an investment in wellness can help cut health care costs by having fewer claims, decreasing absenteeism and boosting employee productivity, and we believe an employee is most likely to perform well when the employee is in optimal physical and psychological health,” Hendrick said. “Wellness defined here is simply the opposite of sickness. It’s about preventing illness, disease or injury from occurring in the first
place and we want to encourage preventive medicine, health risk reduction and positive behaviors,” he said. Along with paying $500 incentives to employees who quit smoking or meet Weight Watchers goals over certain time periods, Wallace Engineering offers yoga classes Mondays, strength courses Tuesdays and fitness boot camps Wednesdays. Roughly half of its 100 Tulsa employees have participated, Hendrick said. “We pay for half and the employee pays for half,“ he said. “We wanted employees to have some buy-in to the program, rather than sign up because it was free,” he said, “though one
of our owners routinely pays the other half of the employee cost for someone new to the program.” Hendrick said companywide camaraderie has been an unexpected benefit. “We have owners of the firm working out with employees of all levels. It’s been great,” he said. In south Oklahoma City, Star has a wellness program “that literally pays to participate,” human resource manager Carissa Smith said. “If an employee meets the required points that are earned by checkups, activities involving exercise, and flu shots, they get 20 percent off their medical premiums,” Smith said. Employees can earn 300 points toward the 400 points maximum simply by doing a biometric screening with their health care providers, she said. A flu shot earns employees 25 percent; colorectal, breast and cervical cancer screenings, 100 points each; and regular exercise, 200 points. Other Oklahoma employers, including Kimray Inc. and Vance Air Force Base, are installing Fresh Health Vending machines to provide employees with convenience and health food options. “A lot of companies have internal healthy living initiatives, and these vending machines support those initiatives, giving their health-conscious employees easy access to better snack options,” said Katie Higman, spokeswoman for the San Diego franchiser. The machines, Higman said, are stocked with such products as Skinny Pop, Clif Bar, Annie’s, Popchips, Hansen’s natural soda, TAZO tea, Stacy’s pita chips, Hubert’s Lemonade, PowerBar and Horizon organic low-fat milk.
OUTLOOK 2016: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016
10 ways to stay healthy in OKC
7. Take a cooking class
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
15
RECREATION 1. Hit the trails Most metro communities boast at least one large park equipped with trails for hiking, walking, biking, jogging or exploring, and the OKC Trails system spans about 80 linear miles of multipurpose trails. Lace up your hiking boots or break out your bikes and hit the trails around the Oklahoma River, Lake Stanley Draper or Edmond’s Arcadia Lake. Families don’t even have to leave Oklahoma City to escape into the woods in Martin Park Nature Center or Bluff Creek Park. The Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department last fall officially dedicated the new Wilderness Matters trail, which is wheelchair-accessible, at Martin Nature Park. “It’s not just about the physical health and the benefits of physical exercise, but there have been many, many studies that show the mental and the psychological benefits of going out and experiencing nature,” said OKC Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Jennifer McClintock. INFORMATION: www.okc.gov/trails, www.okc.gov/parks, arcadialaketrail.com or look up your community’s parks and recreation department
Coach Aasim Saleh lowers Lillian Cooper, 11, into the water from the dock during her first kayak lesson May 5, 2015, at the Boathouse District’s Devon Boathouse.
The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, and swimsuit season is getting closer. That means many Oklahomans have health and fitness on their minds. Not only does the Sooner State have some of its nicest weather in the spring, but there also are plenty of ways in the Oklahoma City area to stay active, fit and healthy year-round. Features Writer Brandy McDonnell takes a look at the options.
Even if you aren’t whipping up health food per se, a recent report from Johns Hopkins University found that people who cook their own dinner most nights tend to consume significantly less sugar, fat and calories than people who rarely cook. Cooking classes are available through Platt Colleges’ Edible Adventures, at Francis Tuttle Technology Center and at Norman’s International Pantry. OKC dietitian Becky Varner regularly shares her healthy cooking expertise at Buy For Less and Uptown Grocery locations. INFORMATION: www.plattcolleges. edu/events, www.francistuttle.edu, www.intlpantry.com, www.buyforless ok.com, www.uptowngroceryco.com
8. Adopt a pet Whether you opt for a canine running partner, a feline cuddly companion or another furry friend, research has shown that people with pets are healthier in many ways than those without. According to Psychology Today, one study indicated that pet owners exhibited greater self-esteem, were more physically fit, less lonely, more conscientious and more socially outgoing, and had healthier relationship styles than non-pet owners. If you’re looking for a new animal pal, the OKC Animal Shelter is a great place to start your search. INFORMATION: www.okc.gov/ animalwelfare
People play bubble soccer at halftime during the OKC Energy FC soccer game against Orlando City SC on April 26, 2014, at Pribil Stadium in Oklahoma City. [PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES]
[PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES]
2. Get on, in the water Even in landlocked Oklahoma, exercise adventures aren’t limited to dry ground. RiverSport Adventure Parks rent kayaks and stand-up paddleboards on the Oklahoma River and Lake Overholser. Plus, the downtown location offers pedal boats that resemble bikes that traverse the water, said Greg Newby, marketing and public relations coordinator for the Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation. Rentals are available on weekends through Memorial Day and daily throughout the summer. Plus, RiverSport Rapids, Oklahoma City’s new $45.2 million whitewater rafting and kayaking center, will have its grand opening celebration May 7 and 8. One of only three man-made whitewater venues in the nation, it was built in the city’s Boathouse District as part of MAPS 3, a one-cent sales tax initiative to fund projects to enhance the quality of life for metro area residents. With summer just a couple pages away on the calendar, there’s no time like the present to get ready for swim season. The OKC Parks and Recreation Department’s Foster Indoor Pool, 614 NE 4, offers yearround swimming lessons for both youth and adults, as well as individual instruction and water exercise classes. INFORMATION: www.boathouse district.org and www.okc.gov/parks
4. Push the pedals
5. Make art, friends
Not only is a riding a bike a great workout, but it’s also a great way to get where you want to go. In OKC, you don’t even need to own a bike to do it: The Spokies bike-share program allows you push the pedals around downtown, Bricktown, Midtown and surrounding areas for a nominal fee. You also can rent bikes and pedal Jeeps at the Chesapeake Boathouse, and the Boathouse District boasts the Momentum Pump Track, a fiberglass mountain bike/BMX course designed with a series of berms, bumps and jumps. It is billed as the largest composite bike pump track in the U.S. If a nighttime ride seems more your speed, the Myriad Botanical Gardens resumes its Full Moon Bike Rides and Sunset Runs on May 23. The rides and runs continue monthly through
Want to keep your brain healthy? Try making some art —and some friends. People who participate in arts and craft activities and who socialize in middle and old age may delay the development in very old age of thinking and memory problems that often lead to dementia, according to a new study published last year in the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study involved 256 people with an average age of 87 who were free of memory and thinking problems at the start. The participants reported their participation in arts, such as painting, drawing and sculpting; crafts, like woodworking, pottery, ceramics, quilting and sewing; social activities, such as going to the theater, movies, concerts, book clubs, Bible study and travel; and computer activities such as games, web searches and online purchases. Participants who engaged in arts in both middle and old age were 73 percent less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than those who did not report engaging in artistic activities. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center and Fine Arts Institute of Edmond are among the places in the metro that offer adult and children’s art classes. INFORMATION: www.okcmoa.com, oklahomacontemporary.org, www.edmond finearts.com
October, said Leslie Spears, the gardens’ marketing and public relations director. INFORMATION: spokies okc.com, boathousedistrict. org, www.myriadgardens.com, www.okc.gov/trails
3. Make the climb The Boathouse District also offers several exercise options out of the water: Its RiverSport Adventure Park boasts a variety of climbing opportunities, including an 18-foot indoor wall in the Chesapeake Boathouse and the SandRidge Sky Trail, which is billed as the tallest adventure course of its kind in the world. A sort of playground in the sky, the 80-foot Sky Trail features six levels of challenges, including rope bridges, balance beams and zig-zag elements that increase in difficulty the higher you climb. Climb Up in Norman offers a variety of bouldering and climbing terrain for people of all ages and abilities, and for folks who want to elevate their workouts, the recently remodeled Climb Up OKC is situated in a repurposed grain elevator. Formerly known as Rocktown Climbing Gym, the brightly painted silos have become a downtown landmark that last year was named one of “The World’s 10 Coolest Climbing Gyms” by TheCoolist.com. INFORMATION: boathousedistrict.org and www.climbupgym.com
Heidi King, left, and Janet Mills walk with their dogs Hot Rod, left, Tassie Devil, and Samson during the St. Augustine of Canterbury dog show and pet adoption event June 13, 2015, at the church on N May Avenue in Oklahoma City. [PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES]
9. Take a walk As far as exercise goes, it’s hard to beat walking: It’s free, it’s easy and you can do it almost anywhere. And the health benefits are vast: Walking improves circulation, lightens mood, strengthens muscles, improves sleep and more, according to the Arthritis Foundation. Plus, taking a stroll within the manicured expanses of the Myriad Gardens or Will Rogers Horticulture Gardens is a great way to take in some of OKC’s prettiest scenery. The Myriad Gardens has launched hour-long walking tours at 10 a.m. the last Saturday of every month. If the spring rains keep you inside, your gym’s indoor track or even the halls of Northpark Mall are available. INFORMATION: www.okc.gov/ trails, www.okc.gov/parks, www. myriadgardens.com or look up your community’s parks and recreation department
10. Try something new
Above: The Boathouse District’s RiverSport Adventure Park boasts the SandRidge Sky Trail, which is billed as the tallest adventure course of its kind in the world. [PHOTO PROVIDED]
6. Join a group While socializing has brain-boosting value, working out with a friend can double your chances for fitness success. A support system for your workout can be the single most important factor in reaching your exercise goals, according to Experience Life magazine. If you don’t have a pal in your normal social circle who enjoys the same kind of exercise as you, joining a league, class or club can help you find fitness buddies. The Oklahoma City Running Club, Oklahoma Bicycle Society and Oklahoma Earthbike Fellowship are active groups for active people. The OKC Parks and Recreation
Department offers adult leagues each season, including basketball, volleyball, flag football, soccer, baseball and softball. Co-ed softball starts April 26, and men’s spring baseball begins April 30. Players must be at least 18 years old (and out of high school), and can register as an individual or as part of a team. From No Meat Athlete-Oklahoma City to 4 F’s: Fitness, Food and Fabulous Friends, many local health buffs also have formed Facebook groups designed to unite like-minded fitness fans online. INFORMATION: www.okcrunning. org, oklahomabicyclesociety.com, okearthbike.com, www.okc.gov/parks, www.facebook.com
Right: Heide Brandes performs as Aini Amar with Aalim Bellydance Academy on Sept. 28, 2013, during the annual Plaza District Festival in Oklahoma City. [PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES]
Exercise doesn’t have to be boring, and mixing up your workout routine can keep it from becoming, well, routine. If you feel like dancing but Zumba isn’t your speed, try a different style: Take adult beginner dance classes through The Dance Center at Oklahoma City Ballet, shimmy through belly-dancing lessons at Aalim Bellydance Academy or swing your partner with the OKC Swing Dance Club. Grownups and children can add some bounce to their lives at Elevation Trampoline Park in Edmond or Moore. The OKC Parks Department’s Athletics Division occasionally offers bubble soccer classes. INFORMATION: www.okcballet. com, www.aalimdanceworld.com, www.cdsda.com, www.elevationtp. com, www.okc.gov/parks
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OUTLOOK 2016: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
TAKING IT TO THE STREETS MATT PATTERSON Staff Writer mpatterson@oklahoman.com
What began as an experiment in raising awareness for health and fitness three years ago is fast becoming an Oklahoma City staple. Open Streets OKC drew 25,000 people in its first year. It’s not just a run-of-the-mill health fair. The event, held this year in Uptown, promotes biking and walking as not only a way to get from one place to another, but to boost fitness and community awareness and interaction. This year’s Open Streets was April 3 along NW 23 between Western and Robinson. The street transformed into a carfree space for biking, walking and other outdoor activities. The Oklahoma City-County Health Department puts on Open Streets OKC. In the beginning, organizers didn’t know what to expect. “At first, we were hoping to get 5,000 people out and we had 20,000,” said Shannon Welch, director of community health. “It showed us the community wants the opportunity to be active. Families are coming out with bikes and people are bringing their pets out. It’s become a community experience.”
Above and at left: Festival-goers walk or hula-hoop along NW 23 between Robinson and Western during Open Streets OKC in 2014 and 2015. [PHOTO ABOVE BY NATE BILLINGS/PHOTO AT LEFT BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES]
OUT AND ACTIVE As Oklahoma City works to add more sidewalks, the idea of walking or biking for transportation may become even more popular. “The city has done an amazing job of building more sidewalks and bike lanes,” Welch said. “It helps to encourage people who want to get out and use active modes of transportation.” The 2016 event included 20 food trucks, all of which offered at least one healthy option, Welch said. Other features included outdoor basketball courts,a smoothie bike where people could make their own drinks, and RiverSport will bring land rowing and kayak ergometers.
Open Streets OKC has become a popular event since it began three years ago. It encourages walking and biking as a means of active transportation. [PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN]
“There’s a huge variety of things people can do, but the thing that we hope they enjoy most is getting together with the rest of the community,” Welch
said. “It’s a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon and it’s amazing the things you notice about the area when you’re out walking or biking and not in your car.”
Olympic gymnasts shine light on their sport, others with annual event BY CHRISTIAN CLARK Staff Writer cclark@oklahoman.com
In February, Olympic gold medalists Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci gave Oklahoma City families the chance to watch thousands of athletes compete and train in various Olympic sports in an effort to promote health and wellness. The Bart & Nadia Sports Experience featured about 2,500 athletes participating in a variety of Olympic sports during the event at the Cox Convention Center. The event also provided information on nutrition and staying fit, and allowed children to compete in activities such as kayaking, archery, basketball, rowing, bicycling, slack lining, tennis, softball, gymnastics, weightlifting, soccer, baseball, cricket and a mega obstacle course. February’s event was the sixth straight year Conner and his wife, Comaneci, have coordinated the event. “We decided to create something of a sports festival where kids can come down and get exposed to sports that they might have otherwise not known were available in Oklahoma,” said Conner, a former University of Oklahoma gymnast who won gold on the parallel bars at the 1984 Olympics. Comaneci won five gold medals with Romania at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics. “Obviously, the main three sports every kid kind of knows are football, baseball and basketball. In our community, we have
ONLINE: Find more information about the event and stay up to date about the 2017 Bart & Nadia Sports Experience online at www. bartandnadiasportsexperience.com.
Judo expert Michaela Barnes flips teammate Morgan Ray during the Bart & Nadia Sports Experience on Feb. 13 in Oklahoma City. [PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES]
world-class judo. We have world-class gymnastics, rowing and kayaking. We have a professional soccer team now. If we put everybody in one room and create something of a festival experience, kids might learn about those opportunities. Who knows what you might enjoy?”
A big plan Conner said Mayor Mick Cornett’s 2007 challenge to Oklahoma City residents to lose 1 million
pounds helped inspire their idea. Cornett’s goal was realized in 2012 after 47,000 residents had shed the weight together. “It was a clever idea just to remind people that fitness should be a part of your mindset,” Conner said. “Obviously, over the years we’ve seen a lot of headlines about Oklahoma, unfortunately, not faring well on that health meter. But there’s been a lot of good things happen since then.”
ONLINE: For more information about Open Streets OKC, go to www.openstreetsokc.com.
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
OUTLOOK 2016: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES Artist renderings show plans for the NorthCare campus at the corner of Gen. Pershing Boulevard and N Villa Avenue in Oklahoma City. The center is expected to open in July. [PHOTOS PROVIDED]
Nonprofit to expand reach with new campus in OKC BY SILAS ALLEN Staff Writer sallen@oklahoman.com
It may not look like much now, but a tract of land at the corner of Gen. Pershing Boulevard and N Villa Avenue will soon be home to the newest piece of Oklahoma’s mental health system. The site is the planned location for a 23-acre healthcare campus operated by NorthCare, a mental health services nonprofit. Although the campus will focus on mental health, it also will offer patients other services, including primary care. “It can kind of become a one-stop outpatient facility for their whole being,” said NorthCare CEO Randy Tate.
SAFETY NET NorthCare provides mental health services to patients in communities across western Oklahoma. The nonprofit functions as a so-called safety net provider, meaning it pro-
vides services to patients who likely wouldn’t be able to afford them otherwise. The new campus is expected to open in July. At the center, NorthCare will provide a wide range of mental health care, including counseling, rehabilitation and education classes, as well as case management services. The center will also provide outpatient care for physical illnesses like diabetes or high blood pressure, Tate said. There’s a critical need for those services. Oklahoma has among the highest rates of mental illness in the country, according to data from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. But 70 percent of adults who need mental health treatment don’t receive it because of an overburdened mental health system, according to data from the state Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Department. Bringing a wide range of health care offerings onto a single site will
give some patients access to care they may not have had otherwise, Tate said. It also will allow doctors to coordinate patients’ care more effectively and allow patients to get a series of problems addressed at a single location. For example, a patient who comes to the center for counseling services could also get lab work done in the same visit, he said.
DEMAND FOR SERVICES The area where the new facility will be located has been designated as an economically distressed census tract, meaning NorthCare qualifies for tax credits that ensure the nonprofit gets favorable loan terms, Tate said. The area is also medically underserved, he said, meaning there’s high demand not only for mental health services, but also for primary care and other services. “What this facility does is really help bring all that together and streamline the care and better coordinate it,” he said.
ONLINE: Go to northcare.com for more information about NorthCare and the services it offers.
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THE OKLAHOMAN
NEWSOK.COM