Pinnacle Award: 2010 Winners


NuStep, Inc., the maker of the NuStep Recumbent Cross Trainer, announced that Sunnyside of Harrisonburg, Va. and Seniors in Motion of Denton, Tex. are the 2010 Pinnacle Award winners.

Now in its 12th year, NuStep's Pinnacle Award recognizes outstanding whole-person wellness programs in senior living communities and senior centers. A holistic model that encompasses all aspects of one's life, whole-person wellness comprises six dimensions: physical, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and vocational. Using the six dimensions as judging criteria, NuStep awards the Pinnacle to the senior living community and senior center that best exemplify a culture of whole person wellness throughout their organizations. By embracing and integrating a culture of wellness, these organizations enrich, empower and enhance the lives of their residents, members, staff and employees.

"Passion, commitment and creativity are at the heart of the award-winning wellness programs at Sunnyside and Seniors in Motion," said Steve Sarns, vice president of sales and marketing for NuStep. "And because of these excellent programs, and the dedicated people who run them, the individuals who participate are achieving positive outcomes and transforming their lives."

The winners receive a NuStep T5XR Recumbent Cross Trainer for their facility; the Pinnacle Award trophy - presented onsite by Sarns; national recognition for the organization and their team; and exposure in national industry publications. In addition, a representative from the winning organizations will receive airfare and a two-night hotel stay for the 2009 American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) conference held Nov. 9 - 11 in Chicago, IL.


2010 Pinnacle Award Winners (from left to right):
Shaggy Meguro and Jean Seward of Seniors in Motion and Annie Shaffer of Sunnyside


About the Winners

Sunnyside - Harrisonburg, Virginia

Located on 100 acres in Virginia's picturesque Shenandoah Valley, Sunnyside is a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community that serves over 550 residents. Sunnyside, the Pinnacle winner in the Senior Living category, is one of three communities belonging to parent company Sunnyside Retirement Communities, a retirement living organization established in 1912.

In their support of the community's mission to "add life to years," the Wellness Center staff focuses their efforts on offering fresh and innovative programming for each level of care at Sunnyside. Helping residents stay physically able to do the things they enjoy, and stay independent for as long as possible, is the major objective of wellness programming. In addition to the body, wellness programming also focuses on the mind and spirit and embraces the concept that all dimensions of wellness be "exercised" in order for people to be healthy.

That same commitment to whole-person wellness is extended to Sunnyside staff and employees to ensure a campus-wide culture of wellness. In June of this year, the Sunnyside Wellness Center was recognized by the Virginia Commonwealth Council on Aging with the 2009 Best Practices Award in the health living category for their motivational health challenge which encouraged residents to exercise more frequently.

Sunnyside Wellness Center Director, Annie Shaffer, said, "Sunnyside is honored to receive this prestigious national award. We recognize the significant advantage in today's senior adult market of having a campus-wide wellness culture rather than simply a wellness department. We are very grateful for NuStep's validation of our success in doing so." Shaffer added, "Receiving NuStep's Pinnacle Award clearly demonstrates Sunnyside's commitment to improving quality of life through the offering of balanced wellness opportunities to both staff and residents. Our goal is to continue to offer superior service while effectively and innovatively addressing the six dimensions of wellness." For more information about Sunnyside visit their website at www.sunnysidecommunities.com.


Seniors in Motion - Denton, Texas

Seniors in Motion (SIM), located in Denton, a community in the Dallas-Forth Worth metropolitan area, is the Pinnacle Award winner in the Senior Center category. Prevention and intervention are the core concept behind this non-profit, community-based fitness center that opened in 2003.

Jean Seward, a physical therapist with 30 years experience in providing home health therapy for older adults, recognized a need for a program that combined education and fitness as a way to promote healthy lifestyles for this population. Increasing health care costs, growing demand for home health care services and mounting awareness/evidence that many of the conditions the older adults were being treated for could be prevented or alleviated by exercise further underscored the need for a program like SIM.

Designed to be low-cost ($25 for an initial fitness assessment and $35 a month thereafter), SIM is an assisted fitness program individualized to each participant's needs. Physical therapy and occupational therapy students from two nearby universities assist participants in their workout program. Instruction on health and wellness form the basis of the educational component of SIM, as participants learn how, and why, a healthy lifestyle can improve the aging process and one's quality of life.

SIM founder and owner, Seward commented, "Seniors in Motion participants and staff are thrilled and honored to be selected as the 2010 recipient of the Pinnacle Award. The T5XR Recumbent Cross Trainer will be a great asset to our program and the research projects we are pursuing with the universities in this area. Thank you so very much from Seniors in Motion and the community of Denton, Texas." To learn more about Seniors in Motion contact 940-566-5291.