LiveWELL at Wellington Bay, Where Residents Focus on Seven Dimensions of WELL-Being
September 11, 2023
Look for Fred Perry or his wife, Mary Louise, and you will often find them on the go—participating in chair yoga, Tai Chi, or other exercise classes six mornings weekly, attending lectures in the evening to enrich their minds, or listening to the strains of music at a concert to lift their souls.
The Perrys participate in these activities and many more, all within easy access to them at Wellington Bay, a luxury rental senior living community in Wellington Bay, Florida, where they have lived for nearly a year.
Before moving into a spacious independent living apartment home at Wellington Bay, the Perrys considered other retirement living options. However, they wanted one that would provide them with a vibrant lifestyle and help them focus on the various facets of their overall health and well-being.
Wellington Bay has established the LiveWELL program to provide residents with opportunities, support and encouragement to focus on seven dimensions of wellness: physical, nutritional, social, spiritual, intellectual, emotional and environmental. The activities that nurture these aspects of health and well-being are available right onsite for the Perrys and other residents.
“We prioritize wellness at Wellington Bay,” says Melissa Clark, the community’s wellness director. “We want to make sure that wellness and living well are made easy for our residents. The healthy choice should be the easy choice for our residents because they live here.”
LiveWELL reflects the objectives and opportunities which comprise Liberty Senior Living’s INSPIRE Program. Just as the letters of its name suggest, INSPIRE emphasizes six key elements for leading a healthy, happy life. They are I for inclusivity, N for nutrition, S for spiritual, P for physical, I for intellectual, R for recreational and E for engaging.
A quick glance at the community’s activities calendar shows many programs and classes available to residents any day of the week. For example, on just one day in September, the residents can participate in a cardio workout, chair fit dance, groove and lift, mindful meditation, transportation to Trader Joe’s, open card play, a showing of the movie Blackberry, and a history presentation of The Manhattan Project: Oppenheimer, Truman, and the A-Bomb.
“The classes and events are fun and interesting,” says Clark. “We make this a place where residents want to be engaged, and where everyone looks forward to the next day’s events.”
The community’s upscale amenities are geared to helping residents lead full and active lives. They include an art studio, indoor pool with hot tub, zero entry outdoor pool, yoga and exercise room, and a fitness center with professional-quality state-of-the-art pneumatic equipment.
Residents’ fitness levels are assessed annually to understand how they have improved, and to set goals for the future. Fred Perry says his physical condition has progressed significantly since participating in a regular exercise routine. “My balance has improved dramatically,” he says. “I’ve seen other people who came here using walkers, and they aren’t using them anymore.”
Of course, nutrition is vital to good health, and Wellington Bay takes that into account. Food fuels both mind and body, and the community’s LiveWELL dining program focuses on providing clean eating options with healthy, farm-to-table meals; all with the option of cook-to-order.
Many of the programs and activities offered at Wellington Bay involve a social aspect. There’s a wine club that meets for a monthly tasting, a poker club, and games of Rummikub, to name just a few social activities that, in some cases, challenge the mind.
Many of the activities and clubs are suggested and run by residents. “There’s nothing that we’ve suggested that we haven’t been able to implement,” Fred Perry says. For example, in the dimensions of socialization, emotional, and spiritual well-being, Mary Louise Perry is spearheading a new activity called Caring and Encouragement. This will involve residents of independent living at Wellington Bay regularly visiting with residents of the Lisbet Health Center, which is on campus and provides memory care and assisted living. “We want to show them and encourage them that someone is close by and thinking of them,” says Mary Louise Perry. To provide for the environmental aspect of well-being, Wellington Bay offers expansive grounds with trails, fountains and scenic lakes.
“It’s a peaceful, serene setting where residents can enjoy the outdoors,” Clark says.
A key to the LiveWELL program is helping residents decide what they want to do and set goals if they desire.
“As part of or LiveWELL coaching program, residents are encouraged to take account of all the dimensions of their own wellness. They then set goals for themselves, and create action plans, with the accountability to follow through, in order to live their very best lives,” Clark says.
The Perrys, who worked on cruise ships for a dozen years teaching technology classes, say that living at Wellington Bay is comparable to being on a cruise ship because dining, activities, and events are available at their fingertips. “We aren’t here just to live out our lives,” says Fred Perry. “We are here to enjoy our lives.” The LiveWELL program “hones in on being well, having a sense of purpose, of belonging and finding joy in daily living,” Clark says.
And that’s just what the Perrys, who’ve been married 57 years, have found through Wellington Bay’s LiveWELL program. “We looked hard for a community that would have everything we wanted, and we found it here,” Fred Perry says. “This is not a facility. It is a community.”
Wellington Bay
Wellington Bay is a rental retirement community featuring luxury apartments on a palm tree-shaded campus in Wellington, Florida– named by Money Magazine as one of the “Best Places to Retire,” and known for its golf courses, thriving equestrian community, and lovely homes. Wellington Bay offers independent living that supports a vibrant lifestyle for active seniors. Lisbet Health Center, located onsite, offers assisted living and memory care. Wellington Bay is owned and operated by Liberty Senior Living, LLC, a division of Liberty Healthcare Management that specializes in senior living and retirement communities. To learn more about Wellington Bay, visit www.WellingtonBayFl.com. To learn more about Liberty Senior Living and the communities they offer, please visit www.LibertySeniorLiving.com.