Montgomery County Y News

Letter from the Executive Director

by Kristi Potts on 10/07/19

October 2019

Dear YMCA members, guests & friends;

I hope the fall is off to a great start for everyone and that the recent rain hasn’t put a damper on the harvest for the farming community.

As executive director of the Montgomery County Family YMCA, I wanted to give everyone an update regarding a couple of maintenance issues facing the YMCA.

The first issue, as many of you that have visited within the past 5 months have observed, we had a water seepage problem underneath the northwest corner of our gymnasium floor. One problem we face is that we will not know what is causing the water seepage damage until the floor itself is removed. Todd Gilleland, YMCA property manager, has been in contact with various contractors in getting bids for the replacement of the floor. The contractors understand that once the current floor is removed, we must solve the water problem before new flooring can be installed. Estimates for the gym floor work itself is 3- 4 weeks. That, however, does not take into consideration any repair work that must be done before the new floor is installed. Once the bids are received, the YMCA’s Board of Directors will review them and decide the best course of action to implement.

The second maintenance issue is with our Dectron unit. The Dectron unit controls the airflow and humidity levels in the pool area. (The unit does not control water temperature.) The YMCA building is 19 years old and the Dectron unit itself has a life expectancy of 15 years. Due to the efforts of our maintenance staff and local contractors, we have been able to extend the life of the unit with reasonable expense. However, repair bills for the unit are now exceeding $30,000 annually plus we have been told by the service technicians that parts are in short supply for repairs that we are facing. Unfortunately, a replacement unit may cost between $250,000 - $350,000. Therefore, the YMCA Board has entered into an agreement with our service contractor to get bids for a replacement unit that is more cost-efficient and has a longer life expectancy.

The YMCA Board will have to make the most prudent decision as to how the YMCA can go about replacing our current unit. The estimated delivery time for a new unit is 12 – 16 weeks with an estimated installation time of 10 – 14 days. Ideally, work of this type would be performed during the winter or early spring months when the outside air temperature and humidity level is lower.

The YMCA is looking at various grants, which will be necessary, to help offset the cost of the gym floor repairs and Dectron unit replacement. However, we may not know the results of these grant applications until late spring. We will keep you posted on both projects as they go forward and as to the timeline the YMCA Board wishes to follow.

The YMCA staff and Board of Directors appreciate your support of the YMCA facility and programs and promise to continue to do our best to meet the high-quality standards that you’ve come to expect from us.

Please feel free to contact me at either (712) 623-2161 x or by email johnb@mcymca.com if you have any questions or comments.

John Blomstedt

Executive Director

MONTGOMERY COUNTY FAMILY YMCA

101 E. Cherry St., Red Oak, IA 51566

(P) 712-623-2161 ext. 141 (F) 712-623-4920

(E) johnb@mcymca.com (W) www.mcymca.com

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Wake Up with a Walk @ the YMCA

by Kristi Potts on 09/24/19

Physical activity is one of the most important things all Iowans can do to improve their health – and walking is a great way to get moving.

The Healthiest State Annual Walk, presented by Delta Dental of Iowa, in partnership with Montgomery County Memorial Hospital and the Montgomery County Family YMCA are asking Iowans in Montgomery County to walk for 30 minutes with their friends, co-workers, family and neighbors. We encourage you to take this first step in building a healthier lifestyle.

Join us on Wednesday, October 2, as we participate in the Healthiest State Annual Walk in support of the Healthiest State Initiative.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY FAMILY YMCA JOINS THE HEALTHIEST STATE ANNUAL WALK!

Red Oak: 6:00am-9:00am .......... "Wake Up With A Walk" ................ Montgomery County Family YMCA

Details: Join us at the Montgomery County Family YMCA from 6am-9am and walk for free on the indoor walking track.

Follow the Healthiest State Initiative on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to learn more about why walking is important.

We look forward to seeing you there! Be sure to share pictures of your walk on social media using #GetYourWalkOn2019. With your support, we can achieve the Healthiest State’s goal of Iowa becoming the healthiest state in the nation!

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Don’t Let a Fear of Falls Hold You Back

by Kristi Potts on 09/23/19

Don’t Let a Fear of Falls Hold You Back

Each year on the first day of fall, the Y joins national organizations from the Falls Free Coalition and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) for National Falls Prevention Awareness Day. On Monday, September 23, the Montgomery County Family YMCA is asking older adults, caregivers, family members and health care professionals in Montgomery County to join us in raising awareness to prevent falls among older adults.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an older adult in the U.S. is treated in the ER for a fall-related injury every 14 seconds and dies from a fall-related injury every 29 minutes. Additionally, falls put an immense strain on the health care system, with the financial toll expected to reach $67.7 billion by 2020. The good news is falls are preventable, and the first step to prevention is understanding risk.

“Falling and fear of falling may prevent older adults from staying active, which leads to reduced mobility, diminished quality of life and actually increases their risk of falling,” said John Blomstedt, Executive Director of the Montgomery County Family YMCA. “The good news is that falls are highly preventable and help is available for older adults and their families who want to get active.”

As a leading community-based organization dedicated to improving the nation’s health for all families, the Montgomery County Family YMCA encourages older adults to learn their risk for falls by taking an assessment at http://www.ymca.net/health-wb-fitness/ .

Once risk is assessed, the Montgomery County Family YMCA is helping older adults feel strong, steady and safe by reducing falls risk through programs like Chair Yoga, Beginner Strength, and Aquacise.

The CDC suggests these basic lifestyle and safety changes to help reduce risk or prevent falls:

• Begin an exercise program to improve your leg strength & balance.

• Ask your doctor or pharmacist to review your medicines.

• Get annual eye check-ups & update your eyeglasses.

• Make your home safer by:

o Removing clutter & tripping hazards.

o Putting railings on all stairs & adding grab bars in the bathroom.

o Installing proper lighting, especially on stairs.

To learn more about any of our programs please contact us at 712-623-2161.

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Updated Showers

by Kristi Potts on 08/27/19

Members & Guests of the YMCA,

Welcome back to the Y! We had a successful Clean Week and are anxious to see everyone.

A change that you may have or will notice is that we renovated the showers in each locker room. New fixtures were also added to the shower areas. However, due to the construction material of the showers, there will no longer be soap dispensers in the individual showers. We apologize for not informing you sooner about this taking place.

AlsO, due to an oversight on my part, we forgot to have hooks installed in the women’s locker room showers. We are working to get those installed as quickly as possible.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

John Blomstedt
Executive Director
MONTGOMERY COUNTY FAMILY YMCA

101 E. Cherry St., Red Oak, IA 51566
(P) 712-623-2161 ext 141 (F) 712-623-4920
(E) johnb@mcymca.com (W) www.mcymca.com

The Y: We're for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

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Tentative Schedule for the week of July 1st 2019

by Kristi Potts on 06/28/19

Here's what we have coming up this week! Just a reminder that we ARE closed on the 4th of July so our employees may spend time with their families. Have a great holiday!

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