Peterson Health has opened the doors to their new Health & Wellness Center after nearly a year of preparations.
Previously located in a small classroom, the center’s upgraded 1,192 sq. ft. facility now sits on the second floor of the Peterson Hospice and Home Care Building at 250 Cully Drive in Kerrville.
The groundbreaking of the site was celebrated last January, followed by its grand opening Dec. 12.
The center acts as a multi-use space for Peterson staff and patients, featuring various exercise machines, a large library of fitness videos, a boxing station, and a golfing simulator alongside the casual guidance of their trainers and coordinators. As 2024 began, the center expanded its services to include massage therapy and personal training.
Wellness Center Coordinator Jessica Kearns explained, “Peterson employees advocate for the health and wellness of the community, so we wanted to give them a space to decompress and pour back into themselves.”
Aside from staff, the space is also used by members of Peterson’s Transitional Wellness program. Once a patient has graduated from a formal rehabilitation program at Peterson, they can receive a referral to the Transitional Wellness program to maintain the progress they achieved after completion. For $50 a month, Transitional Wellness patients get access to the new Health & Wellness Center as well as personalized and supervised exercise plans in accordance with their previous therapy and desired health goals.
“It is a small investment a month, but it pays huge dividends in terms of preventing future injuries, maintaining the strength you’ve already built, and getting even stronger,” Kearns added.
Longtime Transitional Wellness patient James Chase is already seeing a return on his investment in wellness. Chase, a retired school administrator and coach at Tivy, said, “The doctors said they’d never seen anybody my age do what I did on the treadmill.”
After having a five-way bypass surgery on his heart in 2016, Chase suffered a stroke just two days later and was placed in Peterson’s cardiac rehabilitation program. Once he completed the program, Chase was referred to the Transitional Wellness program which he has been a member of ever since. Chase’s recent cardiac stress assessments show that his cardiovascular strength has been maintained and his surgeons continue urging him to keep up his exercise plan.
Chase comments on the Health & Wellness Center, “I use the new space five days a week and it has helped immensely. There’s much more room and the camaraderie among patients is so good.”
More information about Peterson Health’s new Health & Wellness Center and Transitional Wellness Program is available at PetersonHealth.com.