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Health and Safety Are at the Center of a UNC Asheville and Asheville Police Department Partnership

A campus–community partnership helps Asheville police officers boost fitness while giving UNC Asheville students real-world training

By UNC Asheville

September 26^th, 2025

A new partnership between UNC Asheville’s Health Sciences Department and the Asheville Police Department is putting officer wellness—and community health—front and center.

Launched in 2024, the initiative gives APD officers access to comprehensive cardiovascular and fitness assessments at the UNC Asheville Wellness Evaluation and Lifestyle Lab. With state-of-the-art equipment and personalized evaluations, the program is designed to help officers improve and maintain long-term health while also creating hands-on learning opportunities for students.

The Wellness Evaluation and Lifestyle Lab—open to students and the community—was established in 2018 through the vision and efforts of former East Carolina University professors Michael McCammon and Dr. Richard Croskery, with the help of volunteers. The two established a similar program with Greenville’s police and fire departments, creating the blueprint for the current UNC Asheville program.

The lab at UNC Asheville has since flourished into a self-sustaining health resource that provides an opportunity for trained students to gain real-world, hands-on experience on campus while strengthening community ties and making Asheville healthier.

Asheville Police Department Connections

This isn’t the first time that the APD and UNC Asheville have had a productive relationship. “Mike (McCammon) and his program are just the most recent example of the ways UNC Asheville has supported the police department,” explains APD Chief Michael Lamb. In the past, the University has offered officers access to its Division I athletic facilities and professional coaching.

The current program, which is voluntary and free for the APD, received a positive reception from officers who are eager to take part. “It’s been getting good traction, that’s for sure!” assures APD Wellness Coordinator Matthew Eichman.

Officers may have to quickly move from sitting in a patrol car to a sprint to wrestling someone into custody, which is physically demanding and would spike their heart rates.

“Officers who have an improved fitness level are more motivated, more functional, and better able to carry out their job duties, especially when it comes to strenuous activity,” explains Chief Lamb of the importance of the program. “Our greatest concern, especially as officers age, is their heart attack risk, so the cardiovascular testing really helps us assess… and gives us a baseline on officers’ cardiovascular level and where they can improve.”

The assessments can also flag potential health concerns, guiding participants toward safer choices. For example, an iDXA scan can reveal issues with bone density—a common concern as women age—while an EKG test offers insights into heart health. Based on these results, Dr. Croskery provides personalized fitness recommendations and tailored exercise prescriptions to help participants improve safely and effectively.

Asheville Police Department Master Police Officer II Chad Bridges receives cardiovascular and fitness assessments at the UNC Asheville Wellness Evaluation and Lifestyle Lab. Photo courtesy of APD

Chief Lamb notes that safe and appropriate exercise can also boost quality of life, longevity, and mental health. After getting his own assessment, he learned that he was in better shape than he thought and was holding himself back. It was reassuring and helped him push himself even further in his fitness.

Another goal of the partnership is to prepare officers for the Police Officers Physical Abilities Test (POPAT), which North Carolina currently requires only for new recruits. By providing regular assessments and guidance, the program helps officers identify areas for improvement and work toward achieving peak fitness throughout their careers.

Master Police Officer II Chad Bridges receives cardiovascular and fitness assessments at the UNC Asheville Wellness Evaluation and Lifestyle Lab. Photo courtesy of APD.

Giving Students a Leg Up

Students are often the ones conducting these assessments. They learn how to perform stress tests with EKG, iDXA scans for body composition and bone density, flexibility assessments, and grip strength tests through McCammon and Croskery’s “Health and Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription” class. Five students are currently considered “highly trained,” according to UNC Asheville's Health Sciences Department Chair Aubri Rote, and last year alone, the lab performed well over 100 iDXA scans.

“This is an opportunity for students to do hands-on testing with the community,” says Nina Jaggers, a former UNC Asheville Biology major who is pursuing her master’s degree in Exercise Science. She works part-time on the program and may replace McCammon full-time in his role in the lab.

McCammon emphasizes how much this training, including learning to touch actual people, benefits students. It makes them more competitive when applying for medical or dental schools, physical therapy, and other programs, or doctorate programs. It can also help generate new health professionals in the area. “Our mission is to provide leadership opportunities and career opportunities to students post-graduation,” he says.

Rote also believes that this work increases the university’s “footprint and awareness” in the community by “building a rapport with community members and being able to provide something missing. It’s not easy to find this outside of an academic setting.”

Health and Safety Are at the Center of a UNC Asheville and Asheville Police Department Partnership

“Our mission is to provide leadership opportunities and career opportunities to students post-graduation” - Prof. McCammon

A Harmonious Partnership

The APD partnership enables students to interact with officers in a constructive way and enhances officers’ sense of service to the community. “Anytime we have relationship building between students, faculty, officers, my opinion is that it increases public trust in the police department,” Chief Lamb says.

“We’ve had nothing but a friendly relationship with the university, and we aspire to keep it going,” Eichman says. He notes that students at the lab are very good at explaining the procedures and lauds them for being “incredibly accommodating” to officers’ sometimes erratic schedules, calling their communication apparatus “absolutely great.”

Lee Salinis, a UNC Asheville Music major, took on a work-study position in the lab where she coordinated scheduling and helped test the first APD group. She notes the financial value the lab brings to the university—community members pay for services, while students receive discounts—and envisions expanding its reach to include UNC Asheville’s sports teams and clubs, giving them greater insight into their health and fitness potential.

Reflecting on her experience, Salinis says the work also changed how she viewed local law enforcement. “It was a blast getting to talk to all of the police officers. They tend to get a bad rap. A lot of the people who work for APD are everyday people trying to make sure people have safety and the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. They work hard to uphold the law and keep us safe. It was a really awesome opportunity for them to either concern themselves with their health and improve or show off their level of fitness,” she recalls. “It’s really comforting to know that Asheville cares about the health and fitness of its officers because the more capable the officers are, the safer we are.”

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