SilverSneakers a healthy move for Rittman [Daily Record, The (Wooster, OH)]

By BOBBY WARREN

Staff Writer

RITTMAN -- Years of trying has finally paid off for the Rittman Recreation Center as it will become a SilverSneakers-approved site.

Director Garrick DiSalvo and Tom Leatherman, who oversees senior programming, had been working to become an approved site for SilverSneakers, an insurance-based health and wellness program for seniors.

"We were working with various people throughout the organization and couldn't get anywhere," Leatherman said.

But, at the end of October, a SilverSneakers representative visited the Rittman Recreation Center to inform DiSalvo and Leatherman they had been approved.

SilverSneakers is a program offered by health plans to those who are eligible for Medicare or to group retirees. The program essentially amounts to a free fitness membership, DiSalvo said. There will be no direct costs to those who are eligible for the program, but the insurance companies will be paying the center for services.

"This is a great opportunity for us," DiSalvo said. "This is an added bonus for the city."

"I think some seniors might shy away from the rec center because of costs," Leatherman said. But, if their insurance companies offer the program, then they will not have to pay out-of-pocket.

City Manager Larry Boggs said he hopes more senior citizens take advantage of the program, including those who do not live in the city. The recreation center is owned by the city, and out-of-town residents do not receive a discounted rate like Rittman's residents do. But with the SilverSneakers program, the rate differential will not apply, he added.

"This is just like corporate wellness programs," DiSalvo said. If people are living healthy lifestyles, then they will access the health care system less.

"Insurance companies are finding out it is worth it to pay for these memberships," Leatherman said.

The SilverSneakers programming will start at the beginning of January. The classes Leatherman teaches, both in the swimming pool and in the fitness center, will become SilverSneakers classes, though anyone will still be able to register for them, he said.

The program has provided the rec center with some new equipment specifically for the classes, like new chairs, resistance bands and weights.

"The fact they are providing this equipment tells you how committed they are," Leatherman said.

Another benefit of the program is those who are SilverSneakers members can use their cards at any other SilverSneakers-approved site in the country, DiSalvo said.

Over the past few years, DiSalvo and Leatherman have been working to make the center, and the fitness room, more senior-friendly, by adding new equipment, like the NuStep, that allows them to get the workout of an elliptical trainer without putting pressure on their backs.

Seniors who are interested in the program can apply for SilverSneakers by providing their names and dates of birth at the front desk, which will then be checked for eligibility to see if the program is covered by their insurance plans. DiSalvo said it is a paperless process, with everything being done electronically.

For more information, call 330-925-4653.

Reporter Bobby Warren can be reached at 330-287-1639 or [email protected]. He's @BobbyWarrenTDR on Twitter.