December 5, 2014 - It is a uniquely exciting time for UK Health & Wellness, as we work together - staff and members - to write the next chapter for employee fitness at UK. Nearly 500 members of our fitness program have collaborated with us so far in the early stages of our fitness facility relocation project.
This fall, Health & Wellness announced an upcoming relocation of the north campus employee dedicated fitness center. In the near future, facilities at Alumni Gym will close due to the upcoming Student Center renovations. In light of this closure, Health & Wellness has secured space for a fitness facilitiy at 1020 Export Street for a fitness center exclusively for our members. This marks UK Health & Wellness' first opportunity to offer our community (employees, retirees, and their spouses) a fitness facility designed exclusively with their needs in mind.
Having somewhat of a blank slate to start with, Health & Wellness is pleased to be working with our current fitness members to transform a portion of an old warehouse building into our new home. Over the last several months, Program Manager Jody Ensman, M.S., and Wellness Coordinator Carrie Davidson, HFS, RYT 200 have reached out to the 1,400 current members of our fitness program inviting their feedback and collaboration on this project. The feedback collected through our recent in-person Q&A, focus group and online survey will help shape everything from new branding for employee-dedicated fitness to the equipment and services at our new Export Street location to our group fitness classes.
Our experiences connecting with our members have been incredibly valuable to informing our work on this project. As we move forward, plans will begin to take shape based on what we have learned:
August 18-22: Q&A at Alumni Gym with 15 members attending
-
Communications and updates from Health & Wellness to our members are valued -
Renovation timelines (for Alumni Gym and the new facility) will be important -
Accessible parking at the new facility is a priority and a concern
August 27: Focus group with 12 randomly selected members
-
Overall very high satisfaction with current fitness program due to convenience, low cost and employee dedicated -
High satisfaction with the sense of community and accountability in group fitness classes and at Alumni Gym -
Dissatisfaction with lack of dedicated group fitness space -
Moderate interest in personal training -
High satisfaction with current amenities and equipment -
Additional equipment and classes would be nice
October: Survey with 33% response rate (465 responses)
-
Current weekday hours meet needs; with relocation peak usage will transition to evening hours -
Current weekend hours need expansion -
Personal training is of moderate interest; most unwilling to pay for it. -
Moderate interest in locker rental; High interest in “day use” lockers. -
Moderate interest in towel service -
Large majority interested in wifi and TV media. -
Current equipment is satisfactory -
Highest utilization is cardiovascular equipment -
Top three equipment requests: cardio; functional training; Olympic lifting options -
Additional group exercise classes were the top request -
Other top requests: parking, yoga/quiet space and functional space