SENIOR Lifestyles
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THURSDAY AND FRIDAY JULY 23 & 24, 2020
Ready, set, wellness
Park Centre residents find ways to remain active during the pandemic By Dustin Teays Newton News
W
hile the coronavirus pandemic has prompted people to want to spend more time indoors, the residents at Park Centre in Newton have had plenty of ways to stay active as everyone navigates through this unusual time. Residents of the independent and assisted living facility have been able to participate in a variety of activities during the pandemic. Staff of the facility be sure to plan fun and safe activities and initiatives to keep residents active. One program is the 600 minute club which is a tracker for minutes residents have been active in a month. “Residents individually track their own exercise each month,” Park Centre Wellness Director Alyssa McCarl said. The club also offers different monthly challenges. Currently, the challenge is a friendly competition versus the various departments at Park Centre. The competitions encourage residents to get the recommended
600 minutes of exercise per month. “At the end of the month, they come down and they get a little badge if they hit their 600 minutes and then we do a drawing for a prize,” McCarl said. Additionally, there are other ways that Park Centre staff has tried to give residents the ability to stay active. Fitness classes are streamed to inhouse channels for residents to watch and participate. They also help residents get outside by doing yard games like cornhole and horseshoes. “Hardly any of them have really skipped a beat. We just provide so many options,” McCarl said. “The 600 minute club does really help.” The residents have enjoyed the things Park Centre has implemented as the pandemic has continued to impact everyone. Plenty of activities have been implemented that give plenty of options for residents to choose. “They have generally developed so many things going on I can’t keep up with it,” resident at Park Centre Dwight Stanfield said through laughter. Some residents choose to do more things on there own. Stanfield likes to do things like weight lifting a n d walking every day. He also l i k e s participating in the balcony fitness exercises organized by the wellness staff. The efforts have all served an
Troy Hyde/Daily News Ardis Morgan, an Independent Living resident of Park Centre, takes part in balcony fitness in April. Group fitness classes were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Wellness Director Alyssa McCarl and Wellness Coordinator Brittany Hopwood created a few workouts outside as residents exercised from their balconies or inside their rooms.
Submitted Photo Residents at Park Centre in Newton have had plenty of ways to stay active as the coronavirus pandemic has continued.
important role in physical and mental health. “I think they have done everything they could do,” Stanfield said. “They have looked at the whole picture.” While these new implementations to keep residents active have been popular it has also kept residents fit during these times of quarantine. McCarl said recent fitness assessments of residents has shown they have been doing a good job staying active. “We have seen actually because of the individuals that are out walking more, outside of the building or even just walking the halls that their endurance has actually gone up. Those numbers spiked. So that was kind of interesting to see,” McCarl said. The pandemic has created challenges for various organi-
zations throughout the world but they all seem to be finding creative ways to work together and persevere through these challenges. “Being active is not only good for your physi-
cal well-being but also your mental well-being and it does build your immune system,” McCarl said. Contact Dustin Teays at dteays@newtondailynews.com
Submitted Photo Whether it is activities outside or the 600 minute club residents have had plenty to do to keep themselves active at Park Centre during the coronavirus pandemic.