The Advocate BroMenn Health and Fitness Center offers a cardio fitness center. (Photo courtesy of Advocate BroMenn Health)

Although they promote the same cause, the notion of having a fitness center, sports performance clinic and physicians’ offices under one roof is a largely untapped and unorthodox concept.

This month, Bloomington joined a small, but growing, number of U.S. cities offering multi-tenant centers devoted to a range of health and wellness services. The Center for Integrated Wellness, a 106,000-square-foot facility at 1111 Trinity Lane, officially opened its doors Sept. 6.

A number of established organizations, including Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, are taking part in the new endeavor, which is valued at $35 million. Other participants include Method Sports Performance, McLean County Orthopedics and Signet Enterprises.

The seed for the Center for Integrated Wellness was planted about five years ago when Integrated Wellness Partners, an Akron, Ohio-based company, scouted for a location in Central Illinois.

McLean County Orthopedics is one of several organizations with a presence at the wellness center. (Photo courtesy of McLean Co. Orthopedics)

Jim Ellis, executive vice president and managing director of IWP, said the Trinity Lane facility next to the Central Illinois Regional Airport was an ideal location for the new operation.

“There had been some interest in McLean County, and, over time, we helped pull everything together and brought this wellness center concept to the community as a way of promoting a multi-faceted concept of promoting health and wellness,” Ellis said.

One of the first participants to sign on to the new project was Advocate BroMenn, which oversees such services as the so-called medically-based fitness center. It features a variety of cardiovascular equipment, group exercise studios, aquatics area, free weights and locker rooms.

But leaders within Advocate BroMenn assert the fitness center also offers a number of distinct variances from a traditional gym. Preventative health and wellness programs, for instance, are infused into the fitness center’s offerings, as are services tailored specially toward persons managing health conditions or recuperating from injuries or illnesses.

Advocate BroMenn’s fitness center features a walking/running track.
(Photo courtesy of Advocate BroMenn Health)

Because of Advocate BroMenn’s stamp on the fitness center, doctors and nurses employed by the medical center will have a role in planning some of the patients’ activities.

Colleen Kannaday, president of Advocate BroMenn, said she views the Center for Integrated Wellness as a natural progression of consumers’ needs and expectations within the healthcare marketplace.

“The future of healthcare is moving from being reactive to proactive,” Kannaday said. “Population health is focused on keeping patients out of the hospital by treating and monitoring conditions before a hospital stay is needed, in addition to helping them recover more completely.”

Other participating companies joined the fray amid an organic evolution of their own business plans. Case in point: McLean County Orthopedics, which employs a dozen physicians, has consolidated all of its operations under one roof.

“This new, world-class facility allows us to offer our patients comprehensive and efficient orthopedic care, including physical and occupational therapy and MRI, all under one roof,” said Jerome Oakey, vice president of the 30-year-old orthopedic operation.

The Center for Integrated Wellness is IWP’s third facility. The others, which also include participation from large regional medical centers, are in Akron and Columbus, near IWP’s home base.

From Ellis’ vantage point, operations such as the Center for Integrated Wellness are the wave of the future. He said the reception within McLean County has been enthusiastic in the weeks since the doors first opened.

“We’re very excited about this project,” Ellis said. “It’s been going gangbusters. It’s very well received so far.”

— Healthcare groups integrating fitness and medical centers —