LUMBERTON — The people have spoken, Southeastern Health leaders have listened, and the Southeastern Lifestyle Fitness Center in Pembroke will not be closed.
“Happy people! Oh happy people!” said Geraldine Maynor, an 81-year-old Pembroke resident and fitness center member when she heard the news.
The fitness center, located in the medical complex at 923 W. Third St., was to be closed in order to expand specialty and rehabilitation services in the Pembroke facility. The decision to keep it open was announced in a letter by President and CEO Joann Anderson and given to The Robesonian.
“After the announcement was made, Southeastern Health officials received significant feedback from fitness center members, as well as members of the overall Pembroke community,” the letter reads in part. “Many of those comments expressed concerns that the loss of the fitness center would greatly impact the physical health of citizens of the Pembroke community and limit access to fitness services for its senior population. We have taken these concerns into consideration and have revisited our decision. As a result, Southeastern Health officials have decided to continue operations of the Southeastern Lifestyle Fitness Center Pembroke at the same level the community has enjoyed since the facility opened under the Southeastern name in 2014.”
The closure announcement sparked a public outcry. Maynor was among the center members who spoke loudly of how closing the fitness facility would deprive people, particularly the elderly, of a resource for staying active and healthy.
Maynor said loss of the center’s pool also worried elderly residents for whom exercising in the water was a large part of their low-impact exercise routines. Elderly members also were saddened by the prospect of losing a place for social interaction.
Protests were made during Monday’s county Board of Commissioners meeting. The commissioners were asked to do what they could to help keep the fitness center open. The commissioners agreed to send a letter to the hospital’s board of directors asking it to rethink the plan.
“It was sent off the next day,” board Chairman Jerry Stephens said Wednesday.
Pembroke will be a healthier place, and the fitness center’s members are happier people, Maynor said. The center staying open was the talk of the day in Pembroke.
“I feel real thankful,” she said. “I’d like to thank all the people responsible for making this happen.”
Fitness services for the center’s 1,243 members were to end on May 1 as part of a plan to address the growing need for specialty health care and rehabilitation services in the community, according to information from Southeastern Health. Rehabilitation services, to include a larger aquatic therapy program, were to expand into the fitness center area.
Expansion of the health-care offerings in Pembroke includes the recent addition of obstetrics and gynecology two days each week at Southeastern Multi-Specialty and Urgent Care Pembroke, according to Southeastern Health. Additional expansion plans include internal medicine, pediatrics, gastroenterology and general surgery, and the relocation of cardiology services from Foxglove Medical Facility, located on Foxglove Place in Pembroke.
In addition to walk-in, urgent care services with on-site X-ray, and family medicine, the multi-specialty clinic will continue to offer orthopedic services one day per week, according to Southeastern Health.
In her letter, Anderson said Southeastern Health values its relationship with the Pembroke community and looks forward to expanding services while maintaining a balance between physical fitness and disease management. Southeastern’s commitment to Pembroke and its people remain strong.
“We appreciate the feedback from those who are passionate about our continued partnership to improve the health of the community,” Anderson’s letter reads in part. “We look forward to working with anyone in the community who shares this same vision. The success of the Southeastern Lifestyle Fitness Center and other services in Pembroke and across our service area is dependent upon the support of the citizens in the area. There are great things to be accomplished if we all work together to achieve them.”
