Eva Sadler remembers using The Medical Center Health and Wellness Center when it first opened more than 13 years ago in the Sears wing of Greenwood Mall.
The Bowling Green woman continued going there from time to time to get her blood pressure and weight checked, as well as various screenings when the center moved to the front of the mall, where it was located for about four years.
Sadler is happiest with the center’s new location at 1857 Tucker Way off Cave Mill Road, next to Chandler Park Dental. She dropped by Monday to get her blood pressure checked.
“It’s always been handy because I live near the mall,” she said afterward. “Now it’s closer. I think it’s great.”
The distance from her home wasn’t the only thing that Sadler liked about the center. “The parking is better,” she said. “I think it will make me come more often.”
The Health and Wellness Center opened the doors of its new facility to the public Monday. The first group to use it was the Girls Scouts of Kentuckiana, whose members were taking a baby-sitting class.
“I like it,” said Jennifer Johnson, Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana program delivery coordinator, about the center. “It’s really well put together.”
Staffed by registered nurses, dietitians and health educators, the Health and Wellness Center has become more than a place seen by mall shoppers, said Linda Rush, director of community wellness for The Medical Center, which draws from 800 to 1,000 patron visits a month.
“It has become more of a destination point for patrons,” she said. “Before, we were in the mall and people would drop in to get blood pressure screenings.”
The decision to move came after Greenwood Mall chose not to renew the center’s lease, Rush said. They had until Dec. 31 to move.
“We started the process of looking for another place in October,” she said. “We’re starting the new year off in a new space.”
The center needed to be in a place with room to offer educational and exercise classes, blood pressure and other health screenings, body fat analysis, support group meetings and a lending health library. Rush said the new building is comparable in size to the previous location, and the center will be able to offer the same services it offered there.
“The Health and Wellness Center is a health education resource center and a department of The Medical Center,” she said.
The center also offers medical nutritional counseling, diabetes education program and the Healthy Weight Program for Kids available with doctor referral, Rush said.
“Physicians are also referring patients for regular blood pressure screenings, particularly if they’re starting a new medication,” she said. “They come in, and we track it for a few weeks.”
Rush said she is pleased with the new location.
“We’re arranging it to meet the needs of our programs,” she said. “Chandler Park is a growing area. There’s more activity happening on Cave Mill Road, and we’re still near the mall.”
Center Community Wellness Manager Andrea Norris, a registered dietitian, was teaching the baby-sitting class Monday. She said she is enjoying the new venue and believes the class will help people find out about the center.
“It’s great to gather people out here so they’ll know where we’re located,” she said. “We’re having families being able to tell other families. Hopefully that will help.”
The Health and Wellness Center’s new hours will be from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.
