The 7th Annual Pinnacle Award

2005 NuStep Pinnacle Award Winners Offer
Seniors Wellness Programming That’s a
Step Above

The winners of the 2005 NuStep Pinnacle Awards are Lowcountry Senior Center in Charleston, South Carolina (in the category of Wellness/Fitness Centers), and The Wellness Connection at Twin Towers in Cincinnati, Ohio (in the category of Senior Living Communities).

The winners received a NuStep® TRS 4000 Recumbent Cross Trainer, a trip to Orlando to attend the Athletic Business/Medical Fitness Association/International Council on Active Aging trade show where the NuStep Pinnacle Award was presented, and an inscribed NuStep Pinnacle Award. In addition, NuStep held an awards presentation at each winner's site to recognize staff and residents.

"Through innovation and commitment, the winners of the 2005 NuStep Pinnacle Award actively promote the health and well being of older Americans and help transform lives," said Steve Sarns, vice president of sales and marketing for Nustep, Inc.

About the Winners

Lowcountry Senior Center — Charleston, South Carolina

One of the most remarkable aspects of the Lowcountry Senior Center is the low cost of membership – only $50 per year for general membership and $85 per year for a premium membership that includes use of the fitness center. In a successful, grassroots effort, a group of 75 Charleston residents over the age of 50 worked with the city and the county to raise more than $1 million for the project, and they visited many senior centers before working with architects to design a center that truly met the needs of seniors in Charleston. The beautiful, 10,500-square-foot senior center was built in 2002 on four-and-a-half acres, adjacent to a county park. They formed a 501c3 to raise the funds, and continue to raise funds to cover operations and to complete outdoor projects. It is managed by Roper St. Francis Healthcare system, and whose professional staff has extensive training and experience in physical fitness for older adults. The goal of the center is to promote wellness, control stress and reduce depression and anxiety for members, and to reduce the cost of healthcare for the senior population by increasing wellness.

To learn more, visit http://ropersaintfrancis.lowcountry.org

The Wellness Connection at Twin Towers — Cincinnati, Ohio

Twin Towers Senior Living Community is more than 100 years old and is located on a 120-acre campus. Throughout its history, it has been a pioneer in offering services for older adults, and prides itself on leading the way in offering innovative, high quality services and facilities to its residents. Twin Towers built The Wellness Connection in 2001. Residents and staff were the driving force behind the development of a state-of-the-art facility that was built on the tree-lined campus, and their efforts were fueled by $1.5 million in private gifts.

A committee of residents, management and volunteers guided the project to ensure a broad range of ideas were contributed to the final design of the facilities and programming. The result is an 11,000-square-foot facility managed by professional staff offering a wide variety of services and programs that address development of the whole person. The Wellness Connection, through its newsletter, staff and program design, encourages participants to develop and balance six dimensions of wellness: emotional, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual, and vocational. To learn more, visit www.twintowers.org.

Find out more about the Annual Pinnacle Award