Williamsburg Landing retirement community recognized for holistic approach to wellness
By Dominic Catacora
Virginia Gazette
Williamsburg Landing's efforts to use a holistic approach with its health and wellness facility earned it a 2022 NuStep Beacon Award from the International Council on Active Aging. Dominic Catacora/staff (Dominic Catacora)
JAMES CITY — The Williamsburg Landing retirement community was recently recognized for its unique approach to wellness.
The International Council on Active Aging awarded the James City County community with its 2022 NuStep Beacon Award. The award is given to the 25 senior living communities that represent the "Best in Wellness" in North America, said Britnee Cason, director of wellness at Williamsburg Landing.
A showcase for wellness at Williamsburg Landing is its Doig Health Club & Spa facility, named after the community's former CEO, William A. Doig. The facility offers a variety of health and wellness options for adults 62 and older.
The 25,000-square-foot wellness/fitness facility houses an indoor pool, a hot tub, a workshop for woodworking, an art studio and a full-sized gym complete with fitness machines and weights. The building also accommodates exercise classes in its fitness studio.
Williamsburg Landing's efforts to use a holistic approach with its health and wellness facility earned it a 2022 NuStep Beacon Award from the International Council on Active Aging. Courtesy of Williamsburg Landing
Anything from tai chi, cardio, dance and water aerobics classes are provided for club members. There's also a wellness class offered specifically for residents with Parkinson's disease.
The Doig Health Club & Spa bases its health and wellness programming on what is called the Seven Dimensions of Wellness: emotional, physical, intellectual, social, spiritual, vocational and environmental, Cason said.
"I think typically in the past, people think of wellness just in the physical aspects," Cason said. "So that's exercise and nutrition, but the idea really is that it is about well-being, and not just 'Are you physically fit?' It's, 'Are you seeing your friends? Do you have good relations with your neighbors? Are you getting fulfillment in other areas of your life?'"
Williamsburg Landing, which first opened to the public in 1985 in James City County, offers a full continuum of care including independent living, assisted living, memory support, short- and long-term nursing and adult day services.
"It's like a big college campus," said Lisa Bates, the community's chief marketing officer. "We have 318 independent living homes and apartments. So picture just a big college campus with several different little neighborhoods within the campus."
Cason said that the health club, which was added in 2007, encapsulates a big part of everyday life for community residents. There is a membership option available for nonresidents who are 62 or older.
At Williamsburg Landing, the approach to wellness represents a big culture shift that's happening in senior living communities as a whole, Bates said.
"We are attempting to follow it to the best of our ability," she said. "Trying to provide that holistic whole-person care and providing opportunities for (residents) to live a really vibrant life."
Dominic Catacora, dominic.catacora@virginiamedia.com, 757-798-9833