The Carroll Rec Center will now be offering free fitness access for seniors through Tivity Health’s Healthways SilverSneakers Fitness Program. Director of Parks and Recreation, Jack Wardell says they were approached by a member about six or eight years ago and looked at implementation of the program then, but a lack of clients in the area kept it from going into effect.
There are currently about 15 to 20 Carroll residents using the program. Wardell says participants will have unrestricted access to more than 14,000 locations in the network and are free to use the weights, treadmills, pools and other amenities at each. The tracking of members and reporting of utilization will be done by Wardell, at least until a recreation superintendent is hired to fill a vacancy at the Rec Center. Getting the program up and running should happen relatively quickly.
In addition to the complimentary access, the Rec Center will also be able to offer SilverSneaker approved fitness classes in the near future.
Wardell says that in the past, there was an exclusivity clause that created an issue, but that has been removed. Other providers, like Wellmark, have similar programs and this would open the door for them to accept those as well. The identified benefits are reimbursement of $3 per member visit, up to $24 per month for those in the SilverSneakers program, or $3.50 per member, up to $30 per month for prime memberships. This covers one location visit per day. The Carroll City Council approved adoption of the SilverSneakers program.
