BCHS cardiac & pulmonary rehab patients travel up, up, and away (USA)

Battle Creek has a long history of international balloon competitions. Keeping that theme in mind, earlier this spring 65 cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation patients at Battle Creek Health System, Michigan, began their 'flights to fame' too. Their training did not include stretching nylon material or loading propane tanks into gondolas, but instead involved putting on tennis shoes, hiking up their workout gear, and 'walking' 'cycling,' 'stair climbing,' and 'rowing' their way around the world on the BCHS campus. Even though 18 of them logged in enough miles to 'finish,' all of them experienced a successful journey. "The goal was to have our patients 'travel' the 23,180-mile circuit, the same distance as circling the globe in a hot air balloon," says Nathan Burns, exercise specialist at Battle Creek Health System. "Our patients weren't out sailing in the atmosphere per se, but they did receive credit for exercise they completed in the rehab exercise program. One hour of exercise computed to 400 miles of credit. The goal was to log in 23,000+ miles from last October through this spring. Our patients worked this challenge by using a wide variety of exercise equipment from treadmills and cycles to recumbent steppers and rowing machines. All told, more than 1.1 million miles were completed by our patients." - BCHS