Moorings Park Communities have once again earned recognition for their outstanding active lifestyles. All three Southwest Florida communities — Moorings Park, Moorings Park at Grey Oaks, and Moorings Park Grande Lake — have won Beacon Awards, recognizing them as among the top 25 retirement communities in the country for their excellence in fostering wellness and promoting active aging.
In addition to the Beacon Award, Moorings Park Grande Lake also earned a coveted Pinnacle Award for being among the top five communities for promoting a vibrant lifestyle among its residents.
Each year, the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) and NuStep collaborate on evaluating retirement communities across the country on how strongly they promote wellness. Central to that goal is promoting the “capacity to lead a purpose-filled and engaged life,” the ICAA says. The ICAA’s wellness model identifies seven dimensions to this pursuit: intellectual, physical, social, spiritual, vocational, educational, and environmental.
Colin Milner, ICAA founder and CEO, noted that wellness-based approaches are becoming more widely adopted among senior living communities . He commented on the year’s Beacon and Pinnacle Award honorees, “With the ongoing shift to wellness-based models, all of these distinguished award winners serve as shining examples that are leading the way.”
“These awards testify to the outstanding work of all of our staff, and in particular our Wellness Directors Robert Sorenson and Brett Swanson,” says Tom Mann, Vice President and Senior Living Specialist for Moorings Park Communities. “It’s certainly professionally gratifying to get this kind of official recognition. More importantly, it highlights to people who aren’t yet a part of our community how promoting wellness is central to the Moorings Park Communities mission. Our communities are designed from the ground up to help our residents thrive.
“But it isn’t our team who make a spirited community. We just work hard to lay the groundwork and set up the best support systems we can,” he adds. “A lot of the credit goes to our residents themselves. Many were movers and shakers in their professional lives, and their warmth and vitality are a big reason why Moorings Park Communities are so welcoming and socially active.”
Moorings Park Grey Oaks Executive Director Celeste Lynch served as Director of Wellness for Moorings Park for over a decade. She was instrumental in helping design the wellness programs that residents now enjoy.
“Moorings Park takes pride in providing state-of-the-art equipment and effective evidence-based wellness programs to our residents,” she says. “We’re always at the forefront of what’s out there. We’re not sitting on our laurels waiting to find out what other communities are doing … we’re staying ahead of the curve!”
Tom points out that Moorings Park communities offer the ideal environment for whatever dimension of wellness you’re focused on.
“Our beautiful spacious residences with their large lanais are perfect for social gatherings,” he points out. “Our communities’ gorgeous views and attractively-designed campuses are equally conducive to active socializing or more quietly contemplative spiritual activities.
“Our fully-equipped exercise rooms are great when you’re focused on your physical well-being, but they’re just a small part of what we offer,” continues Tom. “Our residents enjoy a wide variety of exercise classes that are targeted to a wide range of fitness levels. You can also take aquacize classes or just enjoy a relaxing dip on your own in one of our outdoor resort-style pools.
“And of course you can combine the physical and social dimensions by joining with a few neighbors for a few friendly rounds of golf at a nearby course … each of our communities have one right next door!
“You can feed your intellectual curiosity by taking in a presentation on history or tech from one of our lecture series,” he adds. “Or you can enjoy the spiritual enrichment of listening to an exquisite concert in our extraordinary Bower Chapel with its amazing acoustics and hand-built Fenner Douglass Organ.”
Moorings Park Communities fosters an integrated approach to wellness that includes mind, body and spirit.
“We are strongly focused on helping our residents live their best lives,” Tom adds. “That’s a core part of our culture; it’s not something that happens overnight. It’s one of the reasons why the 2022 Beacon Awards are not the first Beacon Awards we’ve won.
“Our communities are among the best in the nation in providing our residents with an extraordinary lifestyle,” he continues. “I hope anyone who is interested in experiencing this for themselves will take advantage of one of our upcoming luncheons or webinars to learn more.”
If you are interested in learning more about an upcoming Moorings Park Communities event call 239-317-8649 or visit https://www.mooringspark.org/upcoming-events.