Delnor Hospital reverses senior exercise fee plan

Delnor Hospital has changed its mind about charging senior citizens who partake in its Senior Vitality exercise programs.

It had planned to start charging $30 per quarter Nov. 1 for each class, which take place throughout the Tri-Cities and Elburn area, as well as at the hospital's Health and Wellness Center. The classes meet once a week, and many exercisers took several classes per week.

"We had a couple of seniors raise concern about not being able to afford it," especially during the current difficult economic time, said Deborah Danner, senior marketing and public relations specialist for the Geneva hospital. "We wanted to be able to respond to that."

So the community health and outreach program staff, which runs Senior Vitality, decided to hold off on charging the fee.

Patrons should note, Danner said, there is no guarantee the program will be forever free. But if it does decide to charge, that will be decided in part by a new advisory committee for the program. The committee includes several of the exercisers, Danner said.

Senior Vitality started 11 years ago as a membership-based program. It offers health screenings, education and Medicare counseling in addition to the free exercise programs. But of late, enrollment in the program had dropped, and the hospital decided to roll senior programs in with other community services.

Program directors decided to spend their $380,000-plus senior program budget on more communitywide health screenings, such as stroke risk assessments, and told exercisers in August they would have to start paying to cover the costs of instructors and equipment.