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A Holistic, Team Approach to Senior Wellness Helps Blakehurst Residents Thrive

At the start of each new year, many people recommit themselves to healthy goals. They vow to eat better, exercise more, and get more sleep. While those are great habits to work on, true wellness is more than just physical fitness.

Blakehurst, the premiere senior living community in Towson, Md., understands that to live a healthy, happy, fulfilling life, you must nurture your overall well-being — mind, body, and spirit.

The Life Plan Community’s team works together to foster eight different aspects of wellness in its innovative HealthyLife® Services program — physical, social, emotional, intellectual, vocational, environmental, and spiritual wellness — plus comprehensive health services. Through a robust combination of wellness-focused programming, services, and amenities, Blakehurst residents truly thrive.

To help the community start off 2025 on a healthier and happier foot, Life Enrichment Director Debra Bartgis and Wellness Director Kayla Suchocki are collaborating to reintroduce each of these dimensions of wellness through a series of weekly events in January and February.

“We’re starting this year’s annual wellness journey using an incredible data-driven program from the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA),” explains Suchocki, who leads Blakehurst’s team of National Institute for Fitness and Sport (NIFS) certified instructors. “Debra, who is in charge of our community’s activities, and I are pulling together team members from several different departments to help residents learn about all our offerings and how to maintain your independence and happiness.”

The program offers a structured, evidence-based approach to introduce a different type of wellness each week. An expert from Blakehurst’s staff will offer insights and strategies for maintaining wellness, which will be followed by a hands-on, physical activity.

For instance, during the Environmental Wellness session, Physical Therapist Jeff Anderson will discuss situational awareness in the home, safety outdoors, and using assistive devices to get around outside and at home. Then residents will take a walk to a staged apartment and attempt to spot safety hazards and fall risks. At the Spiritual Wellness session, Reverend Caroline Stewart will explore gratitude and self-acceptance. Then the fitness center team will lead an activity demonstrating how the automatic nervous system responds to stress.

The 8 Dimensions of Wellness

Physical Wellness

The Blakehurst Fitness Center offers a full schedule of classes designed for seniors, including balance, water aerobics, yoga, and drumming.

At the beginning of each year, residents are encouraged to have an assessment that measures balance, flexibility, strength, and endurance. The results help the instructors create personalized plans for the residents to help them increase their mobility and health and decrease the risk of falls.

Social Wellness

Building meaningful relationships and staying connected with others is crucial to our well-being. At Blakehurst, residents have a wealth of opportunities to make new friends, including special interest clubs, classes, committees, outings, happy hours, and parties.

Emotional Wellness

Support for the challenges that come with aging gives residents comfort and strength in difficult times. Whether you seek comfort in grief and mental health counseling, informal circles of friends, or even just positive interactions with caring team members — you can be sure that someone is always looking out for you at Blakehurst. In addition, the community’s art studio and music groups provide residents with opportunities to express themselves creatively and boost their spirits.

Intellectual Wellness

Being intellectually engaged can lift your mood and help cognitive functioning. Brain games, book clubs, and educational seminars are just some of the ways Blakehurst residents stay sharp.

Vocational wellness

In order to feel fulfilled, we need a sense of purpose and know that we contribute to the world around us. Serving on resident committees, volunteering on- and off-campus, leading discussion groups, and mentoring offer opportunities for vocational wellness at Blakehurst.

Environmental Wellness

Humans do best when they have a warm, comfortable, and safe home indoors, while still maintaining a connection with nature.

Blakehurst offers many cozy and light-filled indoor meeting places throughout its campus, plus outdoor gardens, green spaces, and walking paths.

Spiritual Wellness

A strong spiritual sense can offer hope, strength, and peace. Blakehurst residents can nurture their spiritual selves through worship services, religious studies, yoga, tai chi, music performances, and more. A new meditation room provides the perfect setting for private reflection and practicing mindfulness.

Health Services

Residents benefit from a variety of onsite services that support their health needs, including wellness programs and preventive health screenings to therapy services and higher levels of care.

Collaboration Across Departments

The highly collaborative nature of Blakehurst’s HealthyLife® Services program ensures that all aspects of wellness are addressed.

Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech Therapists help residents recover from injuries, surgeries, and illnesses.

The Food and Beverage Team ensures that residents with dietary restrictions have delicious options that support their health.

Residential Health Services Director & Wellness Navigator Valerie Dorsey, BSN, RN,

provides residents with necessary resources and information, and helps residents who have been hospitalized transition back to the community seamlessly.

“As a fitness professional who has worked in several senior living settings, I can say that Blakehurst is unique in that all of our staff are super forward thinking. We’re always looking for new ways to improve the lives and health of our residents,” Suchocki explains. “To provide very well-rounded programming, we collaborate all the time. No matter where you work in the building, our focus is always the same — helping residents live happy and healthy lives.”

To learn more about the community’s vibrant, wellness-focused lifestyle, visit https://blakehurstlcs.com.