Sam's Story
November 27, 2019It was Sam Miranda’s wife Mary Sue who got him started with Senior Fit, a free 45-minute exercise program at the Margaret Schweinhaut Senior Center, just over a mile from their home. Mary Sue prodded Sam to become more active and spend less time at the computer. Since then, their free, three-times-a-week Senior Fit class has anchored their calendar, an activity that they schedule around and enjoy together.
Sam was already familiar with Holy Cross Health. He had previously been treated at Holy Cross Hospital twice and was pleased with his care. Once he got started with Senior Fit, Sam, a 68-year-old retired nuclear engineer, never felt out of place. “It took me only one week to get used to it. There are people older, younger, some in better shape than others. Each person has his or her own reason for going.”
In fact, creating easy access to fitness for seniors with all varieties of fitness needs and challenges is what Senior Fit is all about. Sam’s Senior Fit class is taught by a professional fitness instructor, who keeps the three 15-minute segments of warm-ups, aerobics/strength and stretches fresh by regularly introducing new exercises.
With each week, Sam and Mary Sue are confident they’re growing … healthier.
"I like that Holy Cross cares for people in the community outside of its hospitals." - Sam Miranda, Holy Cross Senior Fit participant.
Right in the Neighborhood
Cost-effectively improving the strength, balance, agility and cardiovascular fitness of adults age 55 and older across an aging population is a challenge. Holy Cross Health meets this challenge by partnering with area health, recreation, retirement and faith organizations to deliver Senior Fit classes at geographically accessible locations in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. In 2016, 24 community-based sites hosted 69 ongoing classes, serving an average of 1,213 participants weekly, totaling 122,495 encounters for the year helping to empower people that may not otherwise take action in their fitness.
Good for Our Region
A fiscal 2015 fitness test showed that 87 percent of Senior Fit participants scored above standard on upper and lower body strength, speed and agility, and upper body flexibility. In qualitative self-reporting, 85 percent reported a decrease in pain, 97 percent reported improved balance, and 99 percent reported improved flexibility.
Also for Seniors
Holy Cross Senior Source offers a range of programs for mind as well as body fitness, including falls prevention classes. These classes target factors contributing to falls, which account for 65.3 percent of deaths from accidents in Montgomery County, over half of these in residents ages 85 and over.
Holy Cross Health’s Community Health department provides health screenings, vaccinations, seminars, lectures, chronic disease prevention and management, wellness and education, and support groups for seniors.
Partners in Fitness
Holy Cross Health’s Senior Fit partners are the National Lutheran Communities and Services, Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, the Montgomery County Department of Recreation, the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, Asbury Methodist Village, and local churches. The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County, the Maryland Department of Aging, and the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services are our partners in Holy Cross Senior Source.