Wellness

Description of the Program :

Health care in the U.S. has undergone significant changes that have often resulted in medical care that focuses on the management of acute medical problems, rather than on disease prevention.  The Academy Village, however, recognizes the importance of health education and disease prevention in the promotion of wellness.  Its wellness program focuses on individualized comprehensive health assessments that limit the impact of chronic diseases on one's quality of life and on one's ability to live independently.  Created by a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, this program shifts the focus back to health education and disease prevention, to complement the medical care that is offered in the surrounding Southern Arizona community.

The Wellness Program includes :

• Comprehensive Health Consultation that generates an individualized Community Health Plan of Care.
• Health care advocacy, including assistance communicating with your health care providers to help you get the care you need.
• Individualized community health case management and care coordination for all health, wellness, and caregiving needs.
• Monitoring of vital signs, height, and weight.
• Phlebotomy.
• Fitness testing.
• Integrative medicine consultations.
• Caregiver support information.
• Fitness classes led by a Fitness Director, who has more than 17 years of experience teaching therapeutic exercize classes to older adults. Fitness classes include :
  • Total Fitness Exercises
  • Yoga
  • Water Aerobics
  • Low Impact Aerobics
  • Pilates
  • Circuit Weight Training
  • Personal Fitness Consultations
• Fitness Center, equipped with treadmills, stationary bikes, an Elliptical Trainer, free weights, and Apollo 450 weight training equipment.
• Community health education and arrangement of speakers on a variety of health-related topics.
• Routine health screening and medical specialty clinics in our on-site Wellness Clinic (extra fee charged for some specialty clinics).
• Wellness Office Information and Referral Center, providing information on area agencies providing healthcare services, and a Wellness Office Loan Library, with donated reference books on health-related topics.
• Maintenance of the Academy Village Loan Closet, offering residents free access to limited durable medical equipment.
• Reflexology and Therapeutic Touch at no extra charge.

Benefits of the Fitness and Wellness Programs :

1 - Fitness Program

Top quality fitness instructors provide :
• Annual fitness evaluations.
• A variety of classes for different needs and interests with personal supervision:
  • yoga,
  • total fitness exercises,
  • water aerobics,
  • circuit training,
  • low impact aerobics,
  • Pilates.

And to use on an individual basis to suit your schedule :
• tennis courts,
• pool and spa,
• Fitness Center exercise and weight room.

Benefits
Overall: quality instruction, personal attention, convenience, accessibility, group support, stress reduction, and time, energy and money saved to spend elsewhere!

Examples:
• Emphasis on maintenance and improvement of strength coordination, flexibility, balance and cardiovascular fitness assures independence and longevity.
• A recent research project demonstrated that when comparing women 18 to 80 years old, the older women who did regular strength, flexibility and agility training were functioning as well as, if not better than, women who were 20 and 30 years their junior (J Signorale, University of Miami).
• Fun (especially that pool crowd!) and companionship.
• Ready access to classes means increased activity levels.

2 - Wellness Program

Top quality nurse practitioners provide :
• Direct services such as drawing blood, checking blood pressure, giving injections.
• Selection of educational programs.
• Selection of professionals to provide onsite and offsite clinics. For example:
  • onsite: DEXA scans, eye and podiatry clinics, flu shots,
  • offsite: mammograms (including transportation).
• Guidance through today’s health care maze (jungle?!?!) as patient advocates.
• Referrals to health care professionals as needed.
• Follow-up and monitoring of health problems.
• Maintenance of residents’ medical records onsite.
• Annual comprehensive health consultations (with reminder cards!).
• Private duty home visits.
• Expertise in alternative/integrative medicine approaches.
• Health resource library.

Benefits
Overall: quality, confidence in care, peace of mind, quality of life, and again more time, energy and money to spend elsewhere!  For example:

• Confidence in consistent, personal care by highly trained professionals who know you personally.
• Tremendous savings in time and energy as most services are onsite.
• Services such as referrals, patient advocacy and coordinated medical care improve the quality of the care received outside the Village, and this service isn’t available anywhere else in Tucson!
• Immediate support, information, and referrals for sudden medical problems.
• Avoiding medical problems (or nipping them in the bud) through education, early detection, and support from health maintenance programs such as weight loss and nutrition.