Health Living Center opens at YMCA

Ormond Beach Observer
Neighbors

“We want to be reachable and accessible.”

Teresa Rand, executive director, YMCA

It’s easier to keep people healthy than to fix them, said Dr. Don Stoner at the ribbon cutting for the Healthy Living Center at the Ormond Beach YMCA, 500 Sterthaus Drive, on Nov. 16.

That’s why he supports the new initiative that will provide health education seminars, speakers and health screenings at the center.

“We are excited to leave our medical center campus to go out into the communities,” he said.

Over the next 90 days, centers will also open in DeLand, Deltona and Port Orange.

Stoner, chief medical officer at Halifax Health, said 18% of the gross national product is for health care, and this is “not sustainable.”

He said it’s important to reach all socio-economic levels, pointing out that those on the higher scale have lower health-care cost because of healthier life styles.

The Healthy Living Centers will occupy a permanent space and have regular operating hours at the YMCAs, according to Randolyn Haley, director at the Ormond Beach center.

The centers were created through a partnership between Halifax Health and Volusia Flagler Family YMCA. Ann Martorano, vice president and chief operating officer for Halifax Health, said it was natural fit.

“We both serve the health needs of the community,” she said. “Both promote a healthy life style.”

Teresa Rand, chief executive officer of YMCA Volusia/Flagler, emphasized that the centers will be open to the public and not just YMCA members.

“We want to be reachable and accessible,” Rand said.

Rand said Volusia County is ranked number 47 in the state in public health.

“We are committed to changing that,” she said.

Topics for programs at the Ormond Beach center include 30 minutes with a Doc, Eating Right, Nutrition Classes, Feeling Young at Any Age, Heart Health, Avoiding Diabetes, Medication Checks, Happiest Babies on the Block and Daddy Boot Camp.

For more information on the Healthy Living Center at the Ormond Beach Family YMCA, call 673-9622 or visit vfymca.org.

Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center, 301 Memorial Medical Parkway, Daytona Beach, also offers a variety of seminars and speakers for the public.