Norm Judd has been named director of the new St. Bernards Health & Wellness Institute.
A native of Kirksville, Mo., Judd comes to St. Bernards with more than 15 years of experience in health and wellness focused programs.
Most recently he worked for Trinity Health, a community-based not for profit healthcare organization in Minot, N.D. At the new Health & Wellness Institute at St. Bernards, he will be responsible for the overall operation and will oversee a large team of fitness professionals, ensuring they deliver expert instruction and guidance to members of the facility. In addition, he will serve as the point person, representing the Health & Wellness Institute in the community.
Judd holds a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., and a master’s degree in human performance and sports studies from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He grew up in northern Missouri and southern Minnesota.
At Trinity Health, he created an exercise physiology department for the hospital from the ground up and built a collaborative program between the hospital and the Minot YMCA that provided medically based wellness and fitness programs. He was there 11 years. Before that, he directed fitness and recreation programs for Subaru Isuzu of America in Lafayette, Ind.
He is certified as a strength conditioning specialist by the National Strength Conditioning Association and as a cancer exercise specialist by Rocky Mountain Cancer Rehabilitation Institute.
He and his wife Rene have two children, Tyler, 10, and Ashley, 9. They are sixth- and fifth- grade students, respectively, at Valley View. Judd is a member of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The new St. Bernards Health & Wellness Institute is a one-of-a-kind facility that integrates medically based fitness, treatment and prevention services, offering a variety of wellness resources in a single place. It provides convenient access to outpatient services, wellness programs, medically based fitness opportunities and more. The 54,000-square-foot structure will house a state-of-the-art fitness center with memberships available for the general public.
Also located at the Institute will be programs such as Senses Spa (complete with skin and body care, massages, manicures, pedicures and more), the Café on the Mile (where you can stop by for a tasty snack or quick and healthy lunch or dinner) and a Kids’ Club.
Clinical departments of St. Bernards that focus on behavior changes and healthy living also will be housed in the Institute which is located at 1416 East Matthews (between Matthews and Washington Avenues just west of the new overpass leading to the Arkansas State University campus.) Those include the Center for Weight Loss/HMR Program, Diabetes Management, Cardiac Rehabilitation, Outpatient Physical Therapy and Sports Performance Training.
At the fitness center, members can take advantage of 90 cardio machines – including elliptical trainers, treadmills, stair climbers, upright and recumbent bikes, the latest free-weight equipment and a full line of plate-loaded and selectorized weight resistance machines. In addition, the facility will have two indoor walking tracks, an aquatics center with a four-lane lap pool for swimming and water exercise classes, a warm water therapy pool for special classes and rehabilitation, group class exercise rooms, a dedicated pilates studio and more.
Members benefit from an initial health/risk assessment – a one-on-one session with a fitness professional – that establishes a baseline of their current fitness levels and identifies potential areas of health or injury risk. Professionals use that information to develop personalized exercise prescriptions for members.
The St. Bernards Health & Wellness Institute is scheduled to open in October.