Hello Goodlife Bunninadden Fitness & Wellbeing Hub

Description

• The Hello Goodlife Health & Wellbeing Hub provides access to unique power-assisted exercise machines. Power-assisted exercise is for everyBODY, regardless of age or physical condition, including people over 55 and those with long-term health conditions.

12 machines comprise the Hub circuit, with up to 3 minutes on each machine. In less than 40 minutes you have done a complete body work out and every muscle in your body is excerised.
• With everyBODY in mind, there is a range of 6 programmes on each machine, this means there is a programme for the very healthy, the mobility impacted and everyBODY in between. All achieving their fitness goals, at their own pace well into their 90s!
• When used regularly, power-assisted exercise delivers greatly improved health outcomes & has a preventative healthcare function

Promoting Holistic Health =

1.Diagnostic & Population Groups:-

Surgery & Injury Rehabilitation
Health: Physical & Mental
Orthopaedic Conditions
Respiratory Conditions
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Parkinson’s Disease
Heart Disease
Diabetes
Obesity
Stroke
MSK & MS

2. Clinical Impact:-

Increased Mobility
Improved Balance
Weight Loss
Enhanced Muscular Performance
Increased Aerobic Fitness
Improved Quality of Life
Recovery of Independence
Enhanced Confidence
Better Mental Health & Wellbeing
www.innerva.com (power-assisted exercise machines providers/inventors)

• There is Welcoming & Wellbeing space at the Hub:
-the hub’s inclusive environment encourages a sense of community & belonging which is crucial for our wellbeing
-mental health improvement due to social connections, interactions and networks made which reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness
-on 8/12 machines people are upright and enjoy engaging in socially inclusive and uplifting exercise experiences that prioritise their social, mental, physical health and their overall wellbeing
-Friendship & Laughter extend the human lifespan
-colours chosen in Hub have an organic feel, enhanced by soft green, and a bright blast of yellow reminds us of sunshine, friendship, revival, warmth, positivity and life’s energy.

Aim of Initiative

To offer an economically and a socially deprived population area the opportunity to extend their life expectancy through fitness and connectedness with their community members. The current 300 community members using the facility, cut across all age groups and offer a point of contact where uniquely all age groups socialise while increasing their physical fitness at their own pace. A thirty-something on one fitness machine could easily be straddled by a fifty-something and an eighty-something! The hub also has a coffee/tea dock area, where members share ‘a cuppa’ and the social interaction that this affords them.

The Hub is open 4 mornings and 6 evenings for 4 hours during each shift, totalling 40hrs per week. There are always two staff members present, gender balanced, requiring 80 ‘people’ hours. 40 hrs. of which are provided by two staff on the ’20 hr. Scheme’ and the remaining 40 hrs rely on volunteers (All staff are trained).The average use/attendance by the community members per day is between 80-100. Plans are currently underway to extend the opening hours to satisfy the demand from the communty.

As this initiative grows, and the membership increases there are other endeavours that can be developed to further reknit the face-to-face activities for this South Sligo community.

The next step to our plan/vision is to make the Hub accessible to all by installing a lift. We will then register on the AccessAble directory and invite services users from Gallagher House, Tubbercurry and other facilities in the surrounding areas.

Who is it aimed at

The use of the Hub is intended to be for everybody and currently some of our members are accompanied by a helper or assisted by one of the Hub’s trained staff. Notwithstanding this open door policy, manily the over 50 age group, for whom a ‘regular’ gym is not suitable for their fitness regime and does not provide the social outlet achived in the Hub. At present, our oldest member is 93 years.

3 Steps critical to success

1. to harness the goodwill of the community to endorse and support the setting up of a local and social enterprise to tackle social deprevation and isolation in the Bunninaden hinterland over the last decade which was accelerated by the Covid 19 pandemic.
2. to identify a premises to house the Hello Goodlife Health & Wellbeing hub with adequate facilities to accomdate the hub and be adequate to its sustained growth
3. to carefully plan for the human resource management of the hub on a day-to-day basis. This required the careful engagement of staff who would set the highest standards of premises and service

   to inculcate shared ownership of this community enhancement endeavour

   to market and manage the positioning of the hub in the minds of the local community using the hub so as to build a strong local customer base on which to develop more ambitious numbers

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Inclusion. To open the Hub to all members of the community, the Hub requires wheelchair access. A plan is already in place to provide for a dedicated induction time for users with restricted abilities and impairments and for whom the gym is accessible.
   When a lift is installed, the Hub will be accessible for wheelchair users. At present, there are 2 wheelchair machines that have not yet used.
2. Staff. As previously stated, the resource management of the Hub relies on two ’20 hour Scheme’ workers and the remaining staff are volunteers. To meet the current demand, and the anticipated increased demand, an increase to the current opening hours will be necessary. From an inclusion point of view, it will be essential to provide staff for designated hours for users with restricted abilities and impairments.
3. Resources. Funding and skills to provide back-up software and services to maintain and grow members records in a manner that is GDPR compliant. These records will be required to allow for communication flows about additional holistic health initiatives, membership renewal ect.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Improved physical health of members is reported on an ongoing basis, for example reduced stifness/increased mobility, improved sleep quality, Improved Balance,
   Weight Loss, Enhanced Muscular Performance, Increased Aerobic Fitness, Improved Quality of Life, Recovery of Independence,
   See above the list of diagnostic & other population groups. We have a number of members across these population groups who report improved outcomes, in particular MS, stroke and Parkinson’s patients
2. Better Mental Health & Wellbeing through the workout and social interactions that the Hub affords members. Enhanced confidence generally, and in particuar in other social contexts. The social dimension of the Hub is a great way for intergenerational relationships to develop improving quality of life and cohesion in the community. The friendships and interactions that already exisit among Hub members are indeed an atmosphere worth witnessing!
3. Special needs users are facilitated where it is feasible for them to access the premises. Reported outcomes are equally as positive among these users but we have not gained critical mass with special needs users due a current access obstacle. As soon as this situation is resolved, a plan will run to have dedicated weekly slots for such users to begin with so as to increase their familiarity with the machines and then integrate with the full body of members. In this way, the hub will be fully inclusive!