Center at HMC offers several different options

By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

Hays Daily News

Whatever type of exercise you might enjoy, whether it be running or playing basketball or weightlifting or swimming, the Center for Health Improvement at Hays Medical Center probably can accommodate you.

The center, which celebrated its third anniversary last month, now has about 2,400 members after opening in 2002 with 800 members.

The beauty of the center, Director Jean Dean said, is that there is something for everyone, from birth to 100.

“Our oldest member was over a hundred,” Dean said of long-time Hays resident Stan Dalton, who died last October at the age of 103. “People who didn't grow up (thinking) that exercise was as important as young people today are realizing that it's important.”

“The baby boomers, as we age, are beginning to see the longevity benefits of staying healthier and happier for a long period of time,” Dean said, adding that about 20 percent of the center's members are 55 and older.

Adults can purchase a monthly membership, and their children 13 and older can buy a membership for a third the cost of their parents. Children younger than 13 can play in a supervised area that includes a two-story softplay equipment structure.

For those 13 and older, there are weights and cardiovascular equipment, an aerobics room, a walking track, a basketball court and a six-lane lap pool, a therapy pool and spa. There also are conference rooms for educational purposes, a pro shop, a health education library and even a snack area with tables.

“The socialization is important, too,” Dean said. “There isn't a time that there isn't a table or two that isn't full of people out there.”

The center recently enlarged the free weights area and has plans to enlarge the aerobics room in the near future.

Dean said it's important to listen to members' requests and concerns, because they are the heart of the center.

“The more people who come here and experience it, and like,” she said, “then they will keep coming back.”

The center also has a therapy pool used for physical therapy, as well as a spa for relaxation.

Members can work with wellness specialists, for personal training advice and assessments, and there are various programs such as healthy cooking classes and education seminars.

The center also houses a sleep disorder center, cardiac rehabilitation, physical therapy and occupational health programs and psychological counseling services, as well as leasing space to Hays Orthopedic Center and Hangar Orthodics.

“I hear from people from all over the country that they don't have anything like this. I feel blessed to have been here from the beginning,” said Dean, who has been the center's director since its opening in 2002.

“Even Jerry Moran is amazed at what we have here,” Dean said of U.S. Congressman Moran, R-Kan., whose home is Hays. “He has told us that they don't have anything this nice in Washington.”

For more information about the Center for Health Improvement, call (785) 623-5900 or visit its Web site at www.haysmed.com.

Reporter Diane Gasper-O'Brien can be reached at (785) 628-1081, ext. 126, or by e-mail at

dobrien@dailynews.net.