FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP — Get well. Stay that way.

        Simply put, that is the idea behind a new concept in YMCA development, one that the Great Miami Valley YMCA's new Fairfield Township facility and three other branches will use.

        A partnership of the Butler County Y with the Fort Hamilton Hospital means rehabilitation patients will be able to follow their programs at the Y, while more traditional Y users will come to stay in shape.

A $6.8 million YMCA and Fort Hamilton Hospital branch branch are under construction at Morris and Princeton roads. The partnership will allow patients to follow their programs at the Y. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        “It's kind of a natural fit for a wellness facility and a health-care provider to join forces,” Y President Jim Williams said.

        The $6.8 million Y and hospital branch are under construction at Morris and Princeton roads. The Y's three other facilities — Hamilton Central, Hamilton West and Fairfield — will undergo $4.2 million in upgrades as part of the project.

        “We did a market study a couple of years ago, and this is what the communities said they would support if we would build them,” Mr. Williams said. “So from that initial market study, we went out and raised the dollars and started the construction.”

        The Y raised $8 million for the $11 million project. The largest donation — $2.5 million — came from Fort Hamilton Hospital.

        “By working together, we're able to accomplish more than either of us could on our own,” hospital senior vice president Jim Kingsbury said.

        Hospital and YMCA partnerships have become popular in recent years, Mr. Kingsbury said.

        “It allows hospitals to be a part of a major health/wellness center without building separate facilities and also allows Ys to expand their programs,” he said.

        This type of partnership also encourages patients to move into a lifestyle of good physical health once they are rehabilitated, Mr. Kingsbury said.

        Other area YMCAs also are developing partnerships with hospitals. Among them: Warren County's Countryside YMCA in Lebanon and the Springboro YMCA with Middletown Regional Hospital.

        The new Fairfield Township Y, which is set to open in winter 2002, will have a warm-water therapeutic pool, cool-water competitive pool, wellness center with computer-monitored equipment, indoor track, gymnasium, multipurpose room, aerobics studio, teen center, locker rooms, outdoor ball fields and outdoor playground.

        The one-story facility will be 51,000 square feet in area and will offer youth sports, family fitness, child care and other traditional Y programs. Programs in the hospital wing will focus on health care.

        “Our organizations will work in tandem to offer the services we know best,” Mr. Kingsbury said.

        Similar upgrades (in the form of additions and renovations) will be made at Great Miami Valley's other three facilities in Hamilton and Fairfield.
       

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