By Kevin Lamb

CENTERVILLE, Apr. 6, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
Older people like Zumba classes. They also like swimming, creating artwork and spending a few hours at a spa, but the people running St. Leonard Senior Living Community don't see many of them whittling in rockers.

St. Leonard residents will have a 20,000-square-foot wellness center for all of that by late 2010. For the 750 people who live in the upscale community now, it's the highlight of a $27 million expansion, replacing a 200-square-foot fitness room and a general meeting room for other activities. Also planned are homes for 150 residents and increased services for impaired memories.

"We're moving to focus on wellness and maintaining an active lifestyle," executive director Tim Dressman said. "We want to be thought of as a place where people come to live, not to die. Our activity programs are centered on wellness as opposed to just bingo."

Even now, St. Leonard's activities range far beyond bingo. It has writing classes for poetry and memoirs, continuing education through Sinclair Community College and exercise programs for maintaining bone strength as well as cardiovascular health. That dual purpose is a selling point for Zumba, which incorporates Latin dance into exercise.

"We try to tailor our activities to what different individuals need," said wellness director Debra Stewart, who's also a certified senior Zumba instructor. So where line dancing and other aerobics classes are fine for cardiovascular health, Stewart's staff encourages bone-building programs for those with osteoporosis.

An Alzheimer's or dementia patient with a musical background might read music again while going through an orchestra conductor's motions. Or the person might just play a trivia game, based on his or her past experiences, that incorporates light exercises.

"Research has shown that adding body movements helps the mind in learning things," Stewart said. "You use more of your brain capacity, create new neural pathways and restore existing ones."

Facilities in the new wellness center will make it easier:

--The new gym will look much like the YMCAs where residents often go now, Dressman said, but with some differences in equipment and ambience for older exercisers.

--"We've had a lot of requests for a swimming pool on site," Dressman said. The new center will house not only lap swimming, but also aquatic exercises and physical therapy, "and they won't have any interruptions for swim-team practices." The water temperature also will be a few degrees warmer than at the Y.

--Extensive research of residents also turned up a strong attachment to St. Leonard's nature setting, so the new construction will use up only 14 1/2 of St. Leonard's 143 acres of undeveloped land. Only two locations will be built on, both adjacent to the campus' hub with a bell tower and chapel.

"We don't want to throw up concrete everywhere," said marketing director Doris Jones. Ample trees and open fields will remain for quiet walks, along with gardens, stocked fishing ponds and occasional deer. "Nature's very important to us."

--Social connections are as vital as physical fitness for slowing the aging process, so the center will have a dining area, clubhouse and classrooms to accommodate them.

"Our emphasis is not so much on the equipment, but on the programming, so there will be a lot of space set aside for that," said marketing director Doris Jones. With quiet meditation rooms, a day spa and nearby walking trails, she said, "You'll be able to go and feel like you're on vacation."

Newstex ID: KRTB-0056-24357712