JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Despite a recent transitional period, Joint Base San
Antonio-Randolph’s newly named Human Performance Resource Center continues to
provide Department of Defense beneficiaries with the means to achieve healthy
lifestyles through an array of classes and fitness programs.
Formerly known as the Health and Wellness Center, the HPRC
supports the Air Force Health Promotion program, which, according to Air Force
Instruction 40-101, “drives the Air Force toward a ‘Culture of Health’ that
optimizes Comprehensive Airman Fitness” and “strives to make healthy living
become the default lifestyle choice and social norm across the base community.”
Aracelis Gonzalez-Anderson, 359th Aerospace-Medicine
Squadron health promotion programs coordinator, said her role at the
JBSA-Randolph HPRC is to “help provide installation-specific guidance and
resources on nutritional and weight status of units, as well as strategies to
improve health and mission productivity.”
Her other duties include providing support and guidance, and
implementing healthy living programs while engaging in the community to satisfy
AFI requirements and meeting local mission demands.
“Target areas include tobacco-free living, nutritional
fitness, physical activity and healthy weight,” Gonzalez-Anderson said.
She said the HAWC’s mission was “primarily focused on health
and fitness improvement concepts and programs,” while the HPRC’s mission is to
“coordinate, evaluate and promote installation-specific, evidence-based
interventions that support healthy behavior change to optimize health and
resilience in Air Force communities.
“We will also be marketing healthy living through social
media such as Facebook and Twitter to help reach leaders and the community in
enforcing healthy lifestyles,” Gonzalez-Anderson said.
The HPRC also contributes to the culture of health through
human performance improvement.
“There are different types of programs related to human
performance improvement throughout the Air Force,” said Karl Leonard, 359th
AMDS exercise physiologist. “That includes improving Airmen’s scores in the Air
Force Fitness Test and its components of pushups, sit-ups, running and body
composition.”
Leonard is based at the JBSA-Randolph HPRC, where he
conducts one-on-one gait analysis evaluations that help Airmen and civilians
improve their running form, leading to faster times, fewer injuries and a more
enjoyable running experience.
“What I do is help Airmen’s performance on the fitness
test,” he said. “The gait analysis has been very successful at capturing Airmen
who have failed the test, and those who are at the borderline of failing it,
and getting them up and running again.”
Leonard, who said gait analyses are the HPRC’s most popular
appointment, has helped hundreds of runners improve their form since coming to
JBSA-Randolph in 2013.
“The majority are from Randolph, but I see people from all
over JBSA,” he said.
Gait analyses, which Leonard called one-hour assessments of
the whole body, including strength and flexibility, are offered on an
appointment basis four days a week.
Leonard also conducts the Air Force Fitness Program courses;
“Be Well Aerobic Development and Introduction to Strength Training,” and the
basic and advanced levels of “Squadron Physical Training Leader.”
Be Well and PTL classes are offered on Wednesdays.
Another human performance evaluation tool at the HPRC is the
Bod Pod, an egg-shaped chamber that measures a person’s body mass index,
providing an important baseline measurement that helps gauge individual
improvement.
Bod Pod testing is provided by appointment from 8-11 a.m.
Monday-Friday.
The HPRC is also the site of a variety of classes provided
by the 359th MDOS’ Mental Health Flight.
Designed to enhance life skills, they include topics such as
parenting, dating, mastering emotions, social media, and stress and time
management.
Gonzalez-Anderson said the HPRC is continuing to evolve.
“We are rebranding, reinventing and taking a look at how we
can be as effective as possible with the resources we have,” she said. “The
goal is to get our staff out to the base. We will be scoring units with a
scorecard, then targeting health promotions education to meet the units’ needs
instead of people having to come to the facility for information.
“We are also going
to be conducting the Military Nutrition Environmental Assessment program, which
will inspect and score bases’ eateries based on their support of nutritional
options across the base, making sure there are healthy options available while
recommending healthier options,” Gonzalez-Anderson said.
She said the HPRC “will look to partner with other agencies
so we can try and continue as many health programs as possible for our
community as we have gone down in personnel.”
For more information, call the HPRC at 652-2300.