Making wellness a part of successful aging: Interview with Kelly Stranburg

Sue Schwartz

This is the final article in our series of three. Prior articles may be viewed at www.cwpvconnections.com; questions: [email protected].

Q: What makes Senior Living Communities’ approach to health and wellness unique?

Beyond offering the most innovative calendar of fitness and general health-oriented programming available, as a company, we have invested in the equipment, the resources and experienced personnel to make a total and concentrated commitment to the wellness of not only our residents, but also our community of support staff. This “big picture” approach is captured in a made-up word we call “WELLER.” The “WELLER Life” is all about living life weller – both in terms of health, and just generally better in every way.

Importantly, the very existence of my role and path in the company confirms Senior Living Communities’ thought leadership in making health and wellness a top priority in our communities. While I set strategy and see that essential guidelines are followed, experienced trainers hired with specific niche areas of expertise are challenged and empowered to tailor programs that are unique to the needs of their individual communities.

We actually encourage them to be creative with ideas and give them latitude in “trying anything” they think will work to not only maintain, but to improve the wellbeing of individuals they work with on a daily basis. This decentralized approach has resulted in numerous popular “best practices” offerings that are shared with other communities.