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The Claremont Club in Claremont, California, is one of six facilities featured in a downloadable wellness report put out in December 2017 by Club Industry and sponsored by Genavix, MedPro Wellness and H2 Wellness. The report, which shares examples from six health clubs that offer wellness programming, is meant to inspire other health club operators with ideas for implementing similar types of programs in their facilities.
This article is a shortened version of what appears in the report for the Claremont Club. To view the full story and the stories detailing the wellness programs at the other five facilities, click here.
Q: What is your company doing related to wellness?
A: Ten years ago, The Claremont Club embarked upon a journey to rehabilitate a young man living with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Our goal was to help him with his functionality, to see a reduction in secondary complications caused by his injury and to improve his quality of life using activity-based therapy. We launched this undertaking by converting a racquetball court and bringing in specific equipment to work with spinal cord-injured clients. Over the next several years, we found ourselves working with 17 full-time SCI clients, and we could not physically take anymore. In February 2013, we opened the first Project Walk franchise in the world in a 3,000 square-foot area of the club that was previously leased out to a local hospital that was using it for a physical therapy clinic. Within the first year and a half, we expanded the studio by 2,100 square feet, giving us a total of 5,100 square feet. In June of this year, we expanded it by another 1,700 square feet for a total of 6,800 square feet. We are currently working with 90 full-time clients, of which 61 are spinal cord injuries and 29 have other forms of paralysis including those caused by strokes, Parkinson’s, ALS, PLS, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and traumatic brain injury. Soon we will begin a trial program on early stage Alzheimer’s disease. All clients are afforded complimentary club membership for their family and are offered free childcare if needed. Children are given all 13 weeks of summer camp for free along with field trips and lunches.
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