ORLANDO, Fla. (PRWEB)
October 11, 2019

As the population of older adults continues to grow and more individuals seek a better, longer life, where people choose to live becomes increasingly important. Wellness has emerged as a culture shift in many senior living communities in the last decade. These communities prioritize wellness—and its pursuit—as an essential way of life. Yet how they structure their support for wellness can significantly affect health and longevity. Wellness is not simply something to practice; it is a culture that permeates all aspects of life—and now a new awards program will highlight communities whose efforts make them shining examples. Twenty-five communities have been recognized with the 2019 ICAA NuStep Beacon Award for their “Best in Wellness” achievements.

The Beacon Award was created as a joint venture between two organizations: the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) and NuStep, LLC, both of whom have long supported, and advocated for, older adult wellness. ICAA is responsible for leading, connecting and defining the active-aging industry. CEO and founder Colin Milner says, “Senior living communities have been aware for a long time how important wellness is for the health of their residents, which is reflected in a survey ICAA recently conducted. The survey shows that 59% of senior living communities state that their business model will be wellness-centered with care services by 2023.”*

The Beacon is awarded to communities that successfully foster a wellness culture and an environment that supports wellness for all who live and work there. Wellness is typically defined by seven key dimensions: emotional, physical, intellectual, social, spiritual, vocational and environmental. These dimensions improve a resident’s quality of life when they are nurtured and prioritized as a whole.

The Beacon recipients have demonstrated remarkable strength in creating resident-staff partnerships to create meaningful opportunities that empower participants to improve their quality of life. The award-winners achieved this by weaving wellness into the fabric of their communities. By doing so, they could then provide exceptional innovation, inspiration and motivation for engaging residents and staff in a wellness culture and journey.

“It is a pleasure to honor the top 25 wellness communities,” says Jane Benskey, marketing communications specialist at NuStep, LLC (a manufacturer of recumbent cross trainer exercise equipment used in healthcare, senior living and fitness settings). “Their recognition of the value and importance of creating cultures where wellness is not a program in a room, but rather a way of life, is having a lasting and positive impact on many lives.”

Milner agrees. He adds, “Although there are only 25 winners of the 2019 Beacon Award, every community that enters the awards contest, and every older adult or staff member whose life improves due to that community’s wellness culture, is already a winner.”

The award recipients are beacons for the industry, going above and beyond to bring wellness to many nuances of daily living at their communities. ICAA and NuStep, LLC are proud to announce this year’s top 25:

“Best in Wellness” ICAA NuStep Beacon Award winners for 2019

1.    Moorings Park (Naples, Florida)

2.    Senior Resource Group: Maravilla (Santa Barbara, California)

3.    Presbyterian Village North (Dallas, Texas)

4.    John Knox Village of Florida (Pompano Beach, Florida)

5.    Sunnyside Retirement Community (Harrisonburg, Virginia)

6.    Vi Communities (Chicago, Illinois)

7.    Touchmark on South Hill (Spokane, Washington)

8.    Touchmark at the Ranch (Prescott, Arizona)

9.    Galloway Ridge at Fearrington (Pittsboro, North Carolina)

10.    Sun Health Life Care (Sun City West, Arizona)

11.    Touchmark at Harwood Groves (Fargo, North Dakota)

12.    Vesta Properties: King Point (Sun City, Florida)

13.    Senior Resource Group: Maravilla (Scottsdale, Arizona)

14.    Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community (West Columbia, South Carolina)

15.    Kavod Senior Life (Denver, Colorado)

16.    The Hacienda at the River (Tucson, Arizona)

17.    Juniper Village at Brookline (State College, Pennsylvania)

18.    Touchmark Vancouver (Vancouver, Washington)

19.    Friendship Village of Bloomington (Bloomington, Minnesota)

20.    Touchmark in the West Hills (Portland, Oregon)

21.    Westminster Woods on Julington Creek (St. Johns, Florida)

22.    The Meth-Wick Community (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

23.    Willow Valley Communities (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)

24.    Berwick Comox Valley (Comox Valley, British Columbia, Canada)

25.    Tapestry at Wesbrook Village (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

Among the winners, the top 5 communities also receive the ICAA NuStep Pinnacle Award for their particularly exceptional contributions. They are as follows:

1.    Moorings Park (Naples, Florida)

2.    Senior Resource Group: Maravilla (Santa Barbara, California)

3.    Presbyterian Village North (Dallas, Texas)

4.    John Knox Village of Florida (Pompano Beach, Florida)

5.    Sunnyside Retirement Community (Harrisonburg, Virginia)

Each Beacon Award recipient has received a crystal award trophy to display—a symbol of excellence to inspire residents and staff daily.

*Source: Vision of the Future. ICAA Active Aging Industry Trends Survey, 2018

About NuStep, LLC

http://www.nustep.com/

NuStep, LLC designs, manufactures and distributes recumbent cross trainer exercise equipment. NuStep products, accessories and adaptive equipment empower users of virtually all functional abilities and fitness levels to engage in exercise that helps build strength, enhance independence and improve health outcomes. From 1998 to 2018, NuStep sponsored the Pinnacle Award to recognize senior communities and senior centers transforming lives through whole-person wellness programming. The award also served as a vehicle to educate and encourage senior organizations to integrate whole-person wellness into their programming.

About the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA)

http://www.icaa.cc

ICAA is a professional association that leads, connects and defines the active-aging industry and supports professionals who aspire to develop wellness cultures for adults over 50. This support includes creating wellness environments, programs and services. The association is focused on active aging—an approach to aging that helps older adults live life as fully as possible within all dimensions of wellness—and provides its members with education, information, resources and tools. As an active-aging educator and advocate, ICAA has advised numerous organizations and governmental bodies, including the US Administration on Aging, the National Institute on Aging (one of the US National Institutes of Health), the US Department of Health and Human Services, Canada’s Special Senate Committee on Aging, and the British Columbia (Canada) Ministries of Health and Healthy Living and Sport.

For more information or questions, contact:

Colin Milner, CEO, ICAA

Toll-free: 1-866-335-9777 (North America); Telephone: 604-734-4466; Cell: 604-763-4595

Email: info@icaa.cc

or

Jane Benskey, Marketing Communications Specialist, NuStep, LLC

Toll-free: 1-800-322-2209 (North America); Telephone: 1-734-418-1867

E-mail: jbenskey@nustep.com