Baptist Health Corbin seeking new manager for Baptist Family Fitness

One of the area’s most robust, full-featured fitness facilities could soon be run by a third-party management company, the top official at Baptist Health Corbin said Tuesday.

Baptist Family Fitness has been operated by the hospital for over two decades. Interim president Anthony Powers confirmed that principle negotiations have been completed to lease the facility to a third party.

“Right now, it’s work being done by attorneys basically,” Powers said. “We are just waiting for each party’s lawyer to come back with the contracts.”

The hospital has been seeking another company, he said, to take over operation of the fitness center because it has become increasingly challenging, to “make that a financially salvageable and sustainable model,” Powers said.

“The hospital is a great health care facility. Our expertise are in health care, not in running wellness and fitness centers, and we are looking for a partner who really has more expertise in the fitness area.”

Powers said he hopes, if an agreement is reached, that Baptist Family Fitness can offer more programs and perks to its members. He said a new operator of the facility would likely be able to decrease some of the cost structure and overhead that the hospital bears.

Powers said he could not name the third party the hospital has been negotiating with.

Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington closed it’s own fitness center about six month ago. Powers said Baptist Health Corbin does not want to go that route.

“We are committed to providing high quality service there at the fitness center. he said. “We have no plans on closing that facility.”