Still Strolling After 20 Years

A cardiologist in Ohio had a creative idea 20 years ago. It's still going today.

Source: Ray Bilcliff/Pexels

David Sabgir, a cardiologist in Columbus, Ohio, saw a problem 20 years ago.

In his view, the medical system was failing. He simply couldn’t affect the behavioral change that he desired in patients. “The necessary conversations I had with patients were not effective,” he told me via email.

The creative answer was straightforward: If one setting isn’t working, try a different one.

He invited patients to go on a Saturday morning walk with him. Though patients seemed interested in the idea, he wasn’t sure if that would translate into their showing up.

Over 100 people arrived for the first walk. He described his reaction as “pleasantly surprised, but not shocked.” He quickly realized that just one isolated walk wasn’t sufficient. “One walk doesn't build a community or establish a necessary habit,” he maintained. “Weekly walking does.”

The Saturday rituals grew, as did the attendance, with continued promotion. He talked to patients at their visits, started emails with an opt-in distribution list, and sent an admittedly “goofy” email reminder every Friday.

The success of the idea reinforced his thinking. “I was concerned my obsessive belief in this concept would be incongruous with reality,” Sabgir confessed.

“Walk with a Doc” became a crucial addendum to the medical system that he envisioned, and developing the idea further was, in his words, “a no-brainer.”

Sabgir’s seemingly simple innovation “worked.” His grassroots effort toward patient health blossomed into 500 walking chapters throughout the world, some of which include an optional blood-pressure check. A nonprofit entity for the program started in 2009.

One offshoot—a “Walk with a Future Doc”—features events with medical students. Another type of event, “Just Walk,” is led by other licensed healthcare providers.

The program seeks to not only promote a more active lifestyle, but also aid community members in their healthcare literacy and social health. "Walk with a Doc" survey participants expressed multiple benefits of the program. Over 90 percent indicated that they are more inspired to adopt a healthy lifestyle since joining the program, with a similar number expressing increased health knowledge.

Those physicians and other providers leading the walks have related another benefit: It makes providers in general more approachable. “Our docs are wearing ballcaps. They're with their family, including their dogs. There are no white coats, co-pays, test results, or sterile office walls,” he said.

The patient-centered, nature-focused walking idea is more in line with Sabgir’s thinking over the past two decades, yet he’s not fully content. “We need thousands of chapters,” he said.

His dedication to bridging healthcare providers to patients through walking continues. “We will get there,” he maintained, “but currently we are restless to bring this proven program to where it needs to be.”

He’ll keep walking to ensure it does.