JACKSONVILLE, Oct. 14, 2019 – Westminster Woods on Julington Creek was recognized at the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) annual conference with the 2019 ICAA NuStep Beacon Award for excellence in wellness.
The ICAA NuStep Beacon Awards, given by ICAA and NuStep, LLC, a manufacturer of exercise equipment used in healthcare, senior living and fitness settings, recognized Westminster Woods on Julington Creek among a select group of 25 active senior living communities around the nation for promoting a holistic culture of wellbeing.
Andi Sawl, fitness coordinator at Westminster Woods on Julington Creek, said that her community stands out by putting an emphasis on offering a wide variety of options and emphasizing wellbeing for both residents and employees. “Our community offers something for everyone,” Sawl said. “Because wellness is within our culture, residents have multiple choices on how to spend their time. We not only have different selections for someone who wants to live in a wellbeing-based community, but we also have motivated and dedicated staff members whose mission is to promote the culture of wellness with passion.”
The ICAA NuStep Beacon Award recognizes communities that successfully foster a wellness culture and an environment that supports wellness for all who live and work there. At Westminster Woods on Julington Creek, part of the family of Westminster Communities of Florida, wellness is part of the organization’s My W Life program emphasizing wellbeing of body, mind and soul. The program’s eight dimensions of wellbeing – physical, lifelong learning, nutritional, social, emotional, spiritual, vocational and community – create a harmony for participants, and improve residents’ and employees’ quality of life when they are nurtured and prioritized as a whole.
According to the ICAA, Beacon recipients demonstrate strength in creating resident-staff partnerships to create meaningful opportunities that empower participants to improve their quality of life and weaving wellness into the fabric of their communities.
“I am absolutely delighted that Westminster Woods on Julington Creek has been recognized by the ICAA. We’ve always known that our residents and employees enjoy a robust and fulfilling wellbeing program in My W Life, but this award affirms that we can be among the best,” said Executive Director Amanda Birch. “I am so thrilled that we are receiving this award.”
To learn more about wellbeing and active lifestyles at Westminster Woods on Julington Creek, and how to become a resident or join the team, visit www.WestminsterWoodsFL.org or call (904) 287-7300.
About Westminster Woods on Julington Creek: Westminster Woods on Julington Creek is The Natural Choice for active senior living, ideally located on the shores of Julington Creek, a half-mile-wide tributary of the St. Johns River. Our beautiful, wooded campus of nearly 90 acres combines neighborhoods of detached villas and garden and waterfront apartment homes. We have served senior adults in Jacksonville and St. Johns County for more than 50 years, with an emphasis on exceptional living options, whole-person wellbeing and Lifelong Learning, backed by a financially strong and Mission-inspired, faith-based community.
About NuStep, LLC: NuStep, LLC designs, manufactures and distributes recumbent cross trainer exercise equipment. NuStep products, accessories and adaptive equipment empower users of virtually all functional abilities and fitness levels to engage in exercise that helps build strength, enhance independence and improve health outcomes. From 1998 to 2018, NuStep sponsored the Pinnacle Award to recognize senior communities and senior centers transforming lives through whole-person wellness programming. The award also served as a vehicle to educate and encourage senior organizations to integrate whole-person wellness into their programming.
About the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA): ICAA is a professional association that leads, connects and defines the active-aging industry and supports professionals who aspire to develop wellness cultures for adults over 50. This support includes creating wellness environments, programs and services. The association is focused on active aging-an approach to aging that helps older adults live life as fully as possible within all dimensions of wellness-and provides its members with education, information, resources and tools. As an active-aging educator and advocate, ICAA has advised numerous organizations and governmental bodies, including the US Administration on Aging, the National Institute on Aging (one of the US National Institutes of Health), the US Department of Health and Human Services, Canada’s Special Senate Committee on Aging, and the British Columbia (Canada) Ministries of Health and Healthy Living and Sport.
