Cedars-Sinai program helps patients walk their way to surgical recovery

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Cedars-Sinai patient Ilya Livston just got back from a walk and is now checking his progress with the help of a Fitbit and information screen provided by the hospital.

It's all due to a recent study conducted by urologist Dr. Timothy Daskivich.

"We employed regular Fitbits to monitor how much patients were walking after surgeries," said Daskivich.

Daskivich says along with metrics like blood pressure and urine output, movement is a key component to healing. They put Fitbits on 100 patients after major surgeries and asked them to aim for 1,000 steps daily.

"The finding from the study was for every 100 steps the patient took towards 1,000 steps for the day, it was associated with a 4% reduction in their length of stay. So if they got the goal of 1,000 steps per day it was associated with the 40% reduction in a prolonged length of stay," said Daskivich.

Like any hospital the hallways are filled with medicinal apparatus. So to help them get their laps they actually have museum-quality art throughout the hospital. There's even an app for that.

"We are actually now pairing it with art tours around the hospital. So we created an app that provides a curated art tour. It motivates patients to get up and get out of bed."

Each art tour has an specific step count. And this art can be found on each surgical floor.

"It is getting them up and about and ready to be on their own at home. We're trying to utilize this pop technology for clinical purposes," said Daskivich.

And just like anyone working on their fitness, checking results can be rewarding.

"I didn't mind because I know I have to take a walk after the surgery. The more you walk the better you are," said Livston.