Summit Hills Celebrates Opening of New Wellness Center

Residents get moving and offer personal success stories

05-19-2009
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Spartanburg, S.C., May 19, 2009 -Move over shuffleboard and dominoes. Residents at Summit Hills, an upscale Continuing Care Retirement Community in Spartanburg, South Carolina, know that the key to staying healthy is staying active and the recent opening of the new wellness center aims to help participants reach their own personal milestones.

Nearly 100 people were treated to tours of the wellness center, which houses an indoor pool, state-of-the art exercise equipment, including treadmills, elliptical and recumbent bikes as well as space for a variety of group classes and therapy provided by Genesis Rehabilitation Services. Afterwards, The Grumpy Old Jazz Men provided live musical entertainment during a buffet lunch in the dining room.

Visit http://www.summit-hills.com/images/SH_ribbonCutting.jpg to view a photo of the ribbon cutting. Pictured from left to right: Angela Gist, Summit Hills Director of Nursing; Amy Thomas, Summit Hills Executive Director; Tonya Ray, Summit Hills Wellness Coordinator; and Annette Goodwin, Summit Hills Healthcare Administrator.

Although the building is new, the philosophy and success of the program at Summit Hills is not. The Wellness Program, which is led by full-time, nationally certified wellness coordinator, Tonya Ray uses a holistic approach to get members on track to live longer, healthier, and more productive lifestyles. The classes, which range from creative thinking activities to water aerobics are adapted to the residents' different abilities and focus on strength, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, balance and energy.

Evelyn Bell, 93 year old Summit Hills member who recently moved from assisted living to an independent villa credits Summit Hills' Wellness Program for her improved health. "The program has made me stronger, allowed me to be more mobile and kept me thinking positively," said Mrs. Bell. "It is easy to sometimes get depressed about your situation and want to be isolated, but this program has allowed me to stay connected with friends and keep moving."

Once only able to do about 20 seconds on the elliptical machine, Jim White can now easily completely 12 minutes. "In my 83 years, this is the finest program that I have ever run into and I really believe that it will keep us living a better life for a long time," he said. "Not only have I seen tremendous changes in my own physical conditioning, but I have watched other members lose weight, gain energy and even reduce the need for oxygen tanks. The progress has been almost miraculous!"

Morene Hopper, whose heart rhythm is now perfect for what she describes as the first time in her life probably sums it up best. "If I am going to live, I want to be as healthy as I can be!"

While the fitness aspects of the wellness program are extremely important, Ray focuses on the whole person and incorporates the dimensions of mental, social, and spiritual well-being by collaborating with the social department to develop activities such as brain teasers and trivia, parties and gatherings, and scheduled times during the week for devotion.

In an effort to stay on the cutting-edge of senior health, Summit Hills, through parent company Senior Living Communities, has partnered with the J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging, at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. to conduct research with Senior Living Communities' residents. The program will include new tools for health assessments of current residents, dietary programs based on healthy weight management in older adults and successful exercise programs - all leading to more choices to support independence while aging. In keeping with the philosophy of "Live Long, Live Well, Live," this partnership will help to develop new research that will further enrich the lives of Senior Living Communities' residents and older adults throughout the world.