Seniors at Springhill retirement community find a secret to stay young and active

Seniors at Springhill retirement community have found a secret to staying young and active—HealthAbility. Springhill resident Joe Bertoncini, 88, has always been active, with 64 Senior Olympic medals over the past 14 years. He says the HealthAbility program has helped him to build on those healthy results.

“The program fits right into our ideal of taking the concept and practice of wellness in senior living to new levels.”

HealthAbility at Springhill is a program that focuses on physical activity, specifically building leg strength, balance and endurance. These are the things that lead to physical well-being for people at any age.

At Springhill, 74 percent of their residential living, and 38 percent of their assisted living residents participate in HealthAbility—a very high engagement level. The average improvement in leg strength at Springhill has been 24 percent, and the improvement in endurance has been 25 percent since the program was implemented last year - a very short time frame for these kind of early results. In addition, some of the participants initially scored as "at risk" for falling based on their leg strength and balance, but now have moved out of that category because of their success with the program.

"Springhill implemented HealthAbility in June of 2009, and the results should make anyone stand up and take notice. These results are evidence not only that it's never too late to improve as a whole person, but that Springhill's team has done an incredible job embracing HealthAbility and helping residents find success on their terms" says Diane Doster, director-quality of life services, Sodexo. Sodexo supports the HealthAbility program at Springhill. "The more fit and confident we are in our physical abilities, the more energy we have, and therefore the more likely we are to engage in all aspects of life to the highest degree possible, which is very enriching."

"Moving to Springhill helped me to start a new phase of my life that I never knew would be so much fun," explains Mr. Bertoncini. "I was surprised by the number of fitness -related activities and classes. Not only do I like to spend time in the gym each day, but I also enjoy getting involved in stretching classes, strengthening, yoga, and others that they offer here. I'm a contender, and I like the competitions in ping pong, Wii golf and bowling too—I'm hard to beat!"

Originally from Pittsburgh, Mr. Bertoncini is a retired baker, and holds three Purple Hearts for military service during World War II. "I had shrapnel tear through my nose, and my forehead—right through my helmet. I also had a bullet go through my neck and out of my mouth. I guess despite all that, I'm supposed to be here," said Mr. Bertoncini. "I'm sure glad because I have a wonderful daughter and lived with my wife until three years ago when she passed away. I thought coming to Springhill was going to be hard, but instead, it's given me a new beginning, with so many things to look forward to every day."

"Our HealthAbility program has made a measureable difference in the lives of our residents," says Jim Schneider, executive director of Springhill. "The program fits right into our ideal of taking the concept and practice of wellness in senior living to new levels."