A ribbon cutting for Aging with Grace, a health club for seniors, took place recently in Lexington. Located at 2100 Liberty Road, the club is a “new concept in senior services,” its website says.
The focus of the facility is on prevention and improvement.
The founder, DG Gridley, who is a senior herself, discovered that the day time options for meeting the needs of seniors were limited in Lexington when she became the primary caregiver for her mother and father-in-law in 2007.
This prompted her to set about creating the kind of environment where she would like to spend her days as an elder.
Statistics show that most seniors prefer to remain in their homes as long as their needs can be met there. “Aging in place” is also the most cost effective setting for aging. As people age, we may need a little assistance with medical needs, getting proper nutrition, and social interaction and mental stimulation. The club provides that, its website states.
Potential club members will be assessed on an individual basis by the club health consultant, who will collaborate with the potential member’s personal physician to determine if the health club for seniors is a good fit for the potential member.
Owner and founder, DG Gridley tells her story, “I realized that I needed to get ready for the aging process when the responsibility of caring for my sick in-laws was thrust upon me, and then the sickness and death of my mother happened in the same year.
“That year felt as if I had been parachuted into the middle of a jungle, and I had to find my way out, alone, fighting my way through the thick jungle growth (the confusing world of health care) to find civilization. I never did find civilization. That is why I quit my job as a middle school teacher and summer programs director in order to focus all my time and energy on my quest for a civilized way to care for the aging and sick in our society.
“After two and a half years of studying at the University of Kentucky where I earned a masters degree in health administration; three years of networking locally with people who work in the aging and health related services and volunteering in various organizations and government agencies that serve the aging in our area, it is time to open Aging With Grace, Aging in Place, The Health Club for Seniors.”
For more information on this new facility, visit Agingwithgraceinfo.org.