Senior Wellness Centers

[Kerry]

Plans have firmed up for the first MAPS 3 Senior Wellness Center, to be located in far north OKC.

$52 million has been allocated for 3 centers and this location will be operated by Healthy Living, Inc., an affiliate of Putnam City Baptist Church.

[USG'60]

Kerry, one becomes a "senior" the moment someone refers to them as SPRY instead of simply agile. I wear earplugs now just to make sure I never hear it when it happens. I don't want to do coordinated excercises now anymore than I did in gym classes and I am much less coorperative than I used to be. I don't want to be a member of the Center.

[Kerry]

Kerry, one becomes a "senior" the moment someone refers to them as SPRY instead of simply agile. I wear earplugs now just to make sure I never hear it when it happens. I don't want to do coordinated excercises now anymore than I did in gym classes and I am much less coorperative than I used to be. I don't want to be a member of the Center.

What if they had Oompa-Loompas to assit you?

[USG'60]

Hmmmmm...... I don't THINK so. But thanks.

[Larry OKC]

Kerry, as I mentioned over in the other thread (thanks for starting a new one), during the campaign they said they were using the one in North Little Rock as the model. Had the NLR Mayor speak at one of their pay-to-attend luncheons. Perhaps Doug has the video for it and can post or provide a link. Think their starting point to qualify as "Senior" was 50. When I realized that by the time these get built, I will qualify age wise! That made me feel just a tad older! LOL

That is why I thought it odd that during Council meetings it was mentioned that the Oversight Committee had NO information for the S.A.C.s (Senior Aquatic Centers). The section for it was completely empty. No mention of North Little Rock or apparently not even the info/description mentioned on the City's site. No campaign info, absolutely nothing. That lead to concern among some Council members that they were going to be neglected and fall off the project list or something. Was also when they expressed the perception that the "push" was being made at the time about the Convention Center (think this was one where Spartan spoke).

As far as activities, that seem up in the air/undefined as well based on Council member comments. From what I have seen at commercial gyms, there are Senior Aquatic Aerobic Fitness classes where exercises are performed in the pool (some swimming) but mostly stretching/moving with resistance "paddles". Stuff like that.

ON EDIT found this on Google (was a MAPS 3 campaign item targeting that demographic (http://www.okcmapsforseniors.com/)

These can be full-fledged community centers, built around a health and wellness theme, but also containing social spaces, library, computer room, activity rooms, ballroom and the like. At this same luncheon, Mayor Cornett said these would be built in all parts of the city and would be designed according to the particular needs in each part of the city.

In addition to North Little Rock, Arkansas, the city of Rogers, Arkansas has created an amazing place for their seniors aged 50 and older. Their Adult Wellness Center offers senior-geared fitness equipment, a wonderful indoor walking track, two swimming pools, a library, several conversation seating areas, and fitness and well-being classes. Daily participation averages over 1,000 people! They also have weekly jam sessions and Gospel sing-along’s and an occasional Karaoke event. They also offer piano lessons. Additional amenities include a game room, library and crafts studio. They feel it vitally important to keep the mind as well as the body conditioned. Arkansas residents 50 and older can obtain a membership for $25 per year.

[Kerry]

As far as activities, that seem up in the air/undefined as well based on Council member comments. From what I have seen at commercial gyms, there are Senior Aquatic Aerobic Fitness classes where exercises are performed in the pool (some swimming) but mostly stretching/moving with resistance "paddles". Stuff like that.

That is what concerns me. Lots of fitness centers have hours dedictaed to senior activties, but OKC is on the hook to build 4 or 5 dedicated facilites. I see these going the way of the Oklahoma Spirit Trolley and in 5 or 6 years they will all be turned into YMCAs. However, I am okay with that. If the City builds them and they don't work out we chalk it up to 'lessons learned' and find something else that will work.

[Larry OKC]

But the City thought they had to be "on the hook" for it to "lure" the Senior vote. LOL

[Larry OKC]

Tentative time line from Wed's Oklahoman (3/30/11):

Wellness centers

Budget: $50 million

Construction:
Center 1 from early 2013 to mid-2014;
Center 2 from mid-2015 to late 2016;
Center 3 from late 2016 to end 2017;
Center 4 from early 2018 to mid-2019

[Kerry]

So these things are going to cost about $10 million each. I still don't know what we are buying that cost $10 million.

[Larry OKC]

Including land acquisition, design, and the amenities and equipment in the examples...may not be a stretch. Don't know how much these types of things run (like for a Y or other commercial gym with the same things). But I don't see where a Practice Facility would cost its estimated $20 to $25M either, etc.

[Pete]

There are a bunch of these senior centers here in Southern Cal and in addition to a smaller indoor pool they also have lots of meeting and exercise rooms and even serve meals.

They have dozens and dozens of classes and activities; everything from crafts to Jazzercize to movies and music. The also organize trips and excursions.


I'm sure the idea is to have these places serve as hubs for all these things plus information/counseling centers for the myriad of senior services.

It looks like all OKC currently has in this vein are two older senior centers in Will Rogers and Woodson parks.

[Kerry]

There are a bunch of these senior centers here in Southern Cal and in addition to a smaller indoor pool they also have lots of meeting and exercise rooms and even serve meals.

They have dozens and dozens of classes and activities; everything from crafts to Jazzercize to movies and music. The also organize trips and excursions.


I'm sure the idea is to have these places serve as hubs for all these things plus information/counseling centers for the myriad of senior services.

It looks like all OKC currently has in this vein are two older senior centers in Will Rogers and Woodson parks.

Pete - do you have any web links to them?

[Stan Silliman]

Kerry,

You're officially a senior when you get "Seniors" tickets to the movies and they stop asking for your I.D.

Seniors' Centers and Seniors Aquatic Centers are different animals. I'd imagine a SAC to be like a YMCA with a huge indoor pool. My brother teaches water aerobics using the Hydrotone equipment he invented at a place called the Lighthouse in OKC and there are between 30 and 50 seniors in each of his morning classes. Large Olympic sized pools can easily push a heated/ air conditioned building into the $ 5 - 10 million range.

[Kerry]

Stan, I have no problem with cost, size, or targeted clientele - I just want to see what one looks like.

[Spartan]

I believe these are supposed to be modeled after North Little Rock's. Maybe this will be helpful to the discussion:
http://www.northlittlerock.ar.gov/de...r-citizens.asp

So effectively what we "were sold" was 4-5 or however many we can do, of these. What we may end up getting could be completely different however. I'm not sure if that's an appropriate discussion yet however...

[Kerry]

If found these membership names to be a little, well, disturbing:

Prime-Timer Membership - $25 per year

• Weekday use of the center from 8AM-4:30PM, Monday - Friday
• Weekend use of the center from 9AM-1PM Saturday, 2-5PM Sunday

Short-Timer Membership - $130 per year

• Weekday use of the center from 7AM-8PM, Monday - Friday
• Weekend use of the center from 7AM-1PM Saturday, Noon-5PM Sunday

It seems to me that if you self-identify as a short-timer you should pay by the month.

[Spartan]

Yeah I was confused by that as well. Perhaps the "short-timers" are just the older senior citizens? Lol.. that's a bad term.

[Larry OKC]

Too funny guys. So which one of you is Abbot and which is Costello?

If you are really a short timer, just skip the membership and get the "Non-Member Day Pass" (I speak as someone that is approaching the demographic and have some recent health issues (currently resolved) so no offense is intended to someone that may be in that situation).

[Spartan]

I'm not trying to crack jokes, I'm just at a loss for what else that could mean. They must be putting one's membership in the most morbid and euphemistic terms possible at the North Little Rock Senior Center..

I wonder if they have a graveyard in the back of the building as well.

Sorry to hear about your health problems Larry, I hope being the official OKC Talk source librarian isn't causing you stress.

[Larry OKC]

Understand. Probably just a case where someone didn't stop to think of the connection. Reminded of a recent Mazzio's Pizza commercial that went along the lines of..."Mazzio's got it's start As Ken's Pizza and it is back for a limited time". Almost immediately followed by the closing tagline line is "Mazzio's is better". Now if Mazzio's is better, why are they bringing back an inferior product? LOL

[Pete]

From the Senior Wellness Center Subcommittee, here are their objectives:

Provide 4 to 5 state-of-the-art health and wellness centers (1 or 2 to include aquatic programs)
 Encourage healthy lifestyles and serve as a gathering place for active seniors
 Reflect the needs of the surrounding community
 Reinforce the quality of life as it relates to physical, mental and spiritual well-being
 Create, expand and enhance life by providing meaning and purpose
 Foster the well-being of seniors by connecting them with each other
 Transform the aging experience into something positive and life-fulfilling

So, only one or two of these will have a pool and those will be built with ramps that make it easy for people to get in and out of the water.

All the centers will have fitness equipment; rooms for activities, meetings and classes; dining area; social lounges and game rooms.


I don't know why these originally were tagged as "senior aquatic centers" because they are really senior wellness centers similar to what you see in lots of communities.

It's clearly something Oklahoma City doesn't currently have and really needs.

[kevinpate]

Not my town, so I guess I never read it all that closely when the centers were pitched. But I was under the impression there would be 4-5 near identical centers spread around the metro, rather than a couple of centers and a few more centers-lite. Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like a wee bit of switcheroo, sort of like recently hearing about the park almost being a bother since MBG is now so nice.

[BoulderSooner]

Not my town, so I guess I never read it all that closely when the centers were pitched. But I was under the impression there would be 4-5 near identical centers spread around the metro, rather than a couple of centers and a few more centers-lite. Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like a wee bit of switcheroo, sort of like recently hearing about the park almost being a bother since MBG is now so nice.

the reality is that there is no funding for these centers when they come online ... so the programing will largely depend on the partners that they can find ...

ie is the OU health science center is willing to run one and provide the staff/budget they will get a huge say in what goes into "their" center

[capt_john_97]

My understanding is that Woodson Senior center is to be renovated and the current pool there is to be connected to the center and enclosed. Now this is all rumor and speculation (also read smoke and mirrors). Also, to my understanding is that this is/was part of the MAPS3. I have no idea if/when this might happen. Just throwing out the rumor I have been told.

[ljbab728]

My understanding is that Woodson Senior center is to be renovated and the current pool there is to be connected to the center and enclosed. Now this is all rumor and speculation (also read smoke and mirrors). Also, to my understanding is that this is/was part of the MAPS3. I have no idea if/when this might happen. Just throwing out the rumor I have been told.

That would certainly make to sense to take an existing center when possible and expand and improve it instead of just starting from scratch for all of the senior centers.