DEL NORTE — Rio Grande Hospital announced recently that the new Wellness Center currently being built near the hospital will be finished by early summer and thanked everyone who has donated to the project.
According to Development and Communications Officer Eva Timberlake, the Wellness Center is on track to open by June and the hospital plans to celebrate the grand opening in style.
“We are on track for the finish of the Wellness Center and our hope is to have a community grand opening by early summer. Construction on the project is nearing completion and we can’t wait to share it with the community,” she said.
The Wellness Center project began before 2020 to not only offer patients at the hospital and their families a place to stay but also to offer patients a way to learn about how to be healthier living through several different programs.
At the beginning of the planning phase of the project, Rio Grande Hospital CEO Arlene Harms looked at what are termed Blue Zones throughout the US and through her research and with the help of several different organizations and people they began to form a plan for what the Wellness Center would look like.
Blue Zones are in about five or six different countries throughout the world and are known for their healthy living lifestyles and longevity of the residents.
One group here in the US is known for the healthy living habits formed by its members which is group of Seventh-day Adventists. The group is in the Loma Linda area in California. The group has made headlines in certain circles for their residents who live almost a decade longer than the average person and they attribute this fact to their lifestyle.
The Wellness Center will have a community center where members of the community can come host meetings, meet for coffee or utilize resources offered by the center. It will be an intersection for employees who can take their breaks there, there will be games, books and computers to use, and help families that have members in the hospital.
The center will also house a teaching kitchen so that families can come and learn how to cook healthy meals; a greenhouse and herb garden; an educational room; meditation room; access to the nearby trails and hiking as well as so much more. For more information, visit the hospital’s website at www.riograndehospital.org.
Now, with the project nearing completion, the hospital wanted to begin thanking those who have donated, beginning with local banks who have generously helped the project.
“A huge thanks goes out to RG Bank, Del Norte Bank and San Luis Valley Bank and to everyone who helped make this dream a reality,” hospital officials stated.
