?I feel like I?m at the Ritz Carlton,? announced University Retirement Community resident Polly Marion.
URC showed off its new two-story wellness center last week at an invitation-only event. A public open house is set for 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5.
The center is part of a $15 million, 65,000-square-foot expansion, which also includes 11 new apartments, six new assisted-living residences and a 60-space underground parking garage.
The 9,245-square-foot wellness center will include a fitness room, indoor lap pool and spa, therapy pool, massage and physical therapy rooms, steam rooms and locker rooms.
The expansion of URC?s four-story residential north wing adds 26,856 square feet and will be home to 23 new residents.
Marion, 78, is an avid tennis player, and plans to cool down with dips in the pool and a relaxing soak in the spa. She plans to take advantage of workout classes, too.
?My whole morning will probably be spent doing something healthy,? said Marion, who moved to URC with her husband John, now 89, 11 years ago. Both are retired teachers. ?I?m sure I?m as fit as I am because I live here.?
Executive Director Michael Morris said the number of residents who use the heated outdoor pool and spa declines during cool, rainy winter months. The new wellness center will provide more with a way to keep fit.
?Our residents here at URC have really been pretty active,? Morris said. ?The residents and prospective residents are very interested in health and fitness. We know our future generation wants state-of-the-art facilities, so that?s what we?re providing.?
Said Alika Castillo, URC?s administrator of health care, ?Under the theme of wellness, our goal is being proactive and not reactive. ? The whole idea is to keep residents independent so that they can enjoy their retirement.?
Ignacio Estrada, URC?s physical therapy manager, said that among his staff?s new tools will be air-powered strength equipment that will set itself to the right resistance and track a resident?s progress with the swipe of a card. The equipment, which is specially focused on maintaining and improving balance, includes a new traction table.
Estrada called the center ?awesome.?
?It?s great. We?ve developed the therapy, out-patient treatment and personal fitness, but one thing the residents have all wanted is more space,? Estrada said.
Don Sloan, an 81-year-old retired banker, also moved into URC 11 years ago. He said the former exercise facilities were ?pretty mundane? by comparison.
?This is like a health club uptown,? he said. ?It?s like living on a cruise ship all the time.?
Sloan organized the center?s first exercise group. In it, he met his wife, Alvis, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel.
In fact, Sloan says there have now been four weddings involving members of the class.
Why is that exactly?
?Everybody?s in shape,? Sloan teases.
The 515,000-square-foot URC facility is home to about 350 other residents in both independent living accommodations, including apartments and cottages, skilled-nursing residences and 14 special-care units for residents with memory challenges.
URC already had many amenities, among them a beauty shop, art center, library and seven dining areas.
URC?s health center and both in- and out-patient therapy, for short-term rehabilitation, are open to nonresidents.
The waiting list for those interested in living at URC stands at about 150 people, Morris said, though the length of the list varies by the unit style potential residents are interested in and how ready they are to make the move.
The entrance fee for new residents is $90,000, with monthly fees of $2,800. That price includes meals, utilities, housekeeping and discounted health care.?Residents can write off a portion of the fees from their taxes as pre-paid health care expenses.
URC employs about 200 people, including part-time workers. Five new positions were added with the expansion.
URC is run by the Medford, Ore.-based Pacific Retirement Services. The nonprofit also manages Shasta Point, a 68-unit facility for low-income seniors, on the same 15-acre property.
For more information, visit www. retirement.org/davis.
? Reach Cory Golden at cgolden@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8046. Comment on this story at www.davisenterprise.com
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Posted by Cory Golden on Sep 7 2011. Filed under Featured Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entrySource: http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/urc-opens-doors-on-expansion-wellness-facilty/
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