Springmoor Celebrates Active Aging Week

Active Aging Week at Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community this week was filled with plenty of activities for residents—from exercise classes, learning opportunities, games and the annual Springmoor Health & Wellness Fair. 

Active Aging Week, which was created by the International Council on Active Aging[PV1] ® (ICAA), is an annual, weeklong health observance every September designed to celebrate people ages 50 and older who are active members of society, as well as to encourage the senior population to focus on wellness.

Springmoor residents embraced Active Aging Week with gusto, as they always do! The community hosted plenty of activities at The Pathways Wellness Center that kept everyone busy and focused on their wellbeing. The Health and Fitness staff hosted several “Brain, Body, Balance” sessions, which were my favorite events of the week because residents had so much fun! Every instructor and every class at Springmoor provides a fun, supportive environment for all fitness levels. 

Resident Profile: C.P. Minnick

Active Lifestyles at Springmoor 

Springmoor strives to provide a community that promotes and encourages healthy lifestyles. From the food we serve in the dining rooms to the brand new wellness center we opened this year, we provide numerous opportunities for our residents to take advantage of. One of these residents is Carlton “C.P.” Minnick who describes living at Springmoor as “like living in a 5-star resort.”

At 87 years old, C.P. has lived here for five years and has seen a great improvement in his overall health since his move. Before coming here, he was pre-diabetic and took numerous medications for his health. Soon after his move-in, he had our wellness center staff do an evaluation of him and they set him up on a program of daily exercise suited just for his needs. This is something he described as “simply unbelievable.” These daily workouts include working on the machines, going for a brisk 2-mile walk, and swimming in our salt-water lap pool.

Active Aging Week Brought Healthy Dishes, Massages, Wellness Examinations and More!

Kari Richie

By Kari Richie, Springmoor Health and Fitness Director

Active Aging Week began with our typical back-to-back Monday morning exercise classes. The day started in the pool with Aqua Fitness, followed by Total Body Fitness and then Seated Body Fitness. 

We offered delicious and nutritious strawberry, pineapple, blueberry and banana smoothies in between classes. Monday was the “Discover Your Community Scavenger Hunt” for both the residents and staff. About 50 people completed the indoor and outdoor scavenger hunts. Resident Aladine Rogers won a $50 Whole Foods gift card while three lucky employees won $20 gift cards.

Active Aging Week Profile: Esther Wenzel Keeps Running through Retirement

Esther Wenzel poses with her daughters after they completed a recent "Race for the Cure" run to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness.

Esther Wenzel has always been on the go. She’s been a cartographer, computer analyst, mother, homemaker and bank teller; She’s lived in Colorado, California, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and she’s had one habit that has helped carry her through all of it: Running.

At 83 years old, Wenzel still makes running a top priority. She runs at least three times a week—pushing an hour each trip, walks ½ mile each day from her home at Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community to visit her husband at the Health Center, and typically participates in two 5k charity runs a year. She has done the “Race for the Cure” for breast cancer awareness nearly every year to support friends and family who have suffered from the disease.

Springmoor to Celebrate Active Aging Week & Fall Prevention Awareness Day

By Kari Richie, Springmoor's Health and Fitness director 

Active Aging Week®, which is being held Sunday, September 22 through Saturday, September 28, 2013, is a national observance organized by the International Council on Active Aging® to highlight the diverse opportunities available to older adults. The 2013 theme is “Discover your community,” and encourages older adults and the organizations that serve them to focus on wellness.

At Springmoor Life CareRetirement Community, the Pathways Wellness Directors have planned an exciting week for the community. Some of the highlights include a  “Discover your community” scavenger hunt, free smoothies, an evening celebration dance, resident storytelling, Encore Program for Lifelong Enrichment at North Carolina State, tour of the Lego exhibit and an array of exercise classes!