Carle Health debuted a new fitness area in their Addiction Recovery Center at the Carle Health Proctor Hospital.
The space was made possible by local donor Sheryl Sattler in honor of her dog Fletcher.
Nicole Hayse is the director of the Carle Health Center for Philanthropy, which promotes all philanthropic efforts of Carle Health. She says the fitness center will significantly benefit those in recovery from addiction both physically and mentally.
“Exercise is such a huge part of the recovery journey,” she said, “Especially being in central Illinois we're limited in our ability to get outside and enjoy that space, and so there was really a need here to bring that to life.”
Hayse also says patients will be able to use the fitness center as they come in and out of the Addiction Recovery Center.
“The services provided here are a full recovery journey. So you come in for inpatient treatment during your recovery process, and then you can also see outpatient counseling here the center will be a part of that journey” she said, “So as you're doing your inpatient services, you can come in and use the space for that recreation time that you otherwise wouldn't have.”
Dr. Robert Lizer is the medical director of the Carle Health Addiction Recovery Center. He said physical activity can help patients balance out the positives and the negatives of recovery.
“When people come into recovery, they’re at a low physically and a low mentally, they have a lot of anxiety. The physical exercise and well-being helps promote more of that euphoria, that peacefulness that helps in dealing with that anxiety,” Lizer said.
Lizer said physical activity can be applied to a variety of recovery plans.
“We have a wide scope of treatment,” he said,”And as this facility shows, we incorporate a lot of extra areas into our treatment process.”
The space will be used as part of individual and customized treatment programming at the Addiction Recovery Center, which plays a key role in the mental health and addiction recovery services offered within Trillium Place, an affiliate of Carle Health.
For information on the Addiction Recovery Center, visit the Trillium Place website here.
