Trinity Terrace Sets a New Bar for Inspired Living that Seamlessly Weaves Health and Wellness into a Safe and Smart Experience
After sixteen months of responding to the pandemic and protecting residents with safe and secure measures for social distancing, Trinity Terrace has created an exciting new sense of normalcy that takes health and wellness to the next level. Today, as the rest of the city transitions after COVID-19 restrictions, establishing a sense of normalcy is critically important. At Trinity Terrace, in the heart of Fort Worth, resident needs are constantly supported with efforts focused on providing engagement and connection through active opportunities year-round. Peace of mind is assured as the team of professionals work tirelessly to ensure individualized care in a beautiful, safe and enriching environment.
Change can be challenging when routines are disrupted, whether it’s adjusting to major lifestyle shifts such as the isolation some experienced during the pandemic, moving to a new community or adapting to the return-tolife after the pandemic. Trinity Terrace was one of the first communities to respond with modified programs, schedules and activities during the pandemic to help alleviate the potential for anxiety and continue to support and sustain residents’ overall wellness. According to Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), seniors experienced a sense of isolation and despair during the pandemic that may have long lasting effect on their mental health and wellbeing. Access to community and friends helps to alleviate these stress factors and can actually help improve their state of mind, sense of belonging, and purpose-filled lifestyle. Trinity Terrace is an exemplary model of how inspired living can provide a sense of normalcy when unpredictable changes occur.
Today, Trinity Terrace residents happily transition back to the culturally enriching activities in Fort Worth and surrounding areas they’ve always enjoyed. These opportunities combine with the stimulating health and wellness programs available onsite to keep them active and fit, including yoga, swimming, art tours, and cooking classes. “We are excited for the transition. You can feel it in the air, you can see it on the faces, you can hear it in their voices,” explains Line Wilson, Associate Executive Director at Trinity Terrace. “This is a resilient generation with a can-do attitude. Everyone is feeling a sigh a relief now that the rest of the area is opening back up. Our residents have always felt safe and secure, less isolated, and more active. Now we see them with even brighter smiles. They are ready to get back to living life like they had so many months ago.” The difference is that communities like Trinity Terrace are much more prepared to deal with sudden adversity and changes so that the impact was far less severe than for those who were living in complete isolation with no ability to socialize and ability to maintain well-balanced nutrition and exercise.
Using Nutrition to Connect Residents
Having joined Trinity Terrace in 2018, Executive Chef Leon Rivera Ill serves delicious dishes for residents to savor, offering a wide variety of dishes featuring locally sourced, fresh ingredients. Simply put, food is a passion Executive Chef Leon Rivera Ill brings to everything he does, including new recipes that he shares with residents and uses for his onsite cooking classes. Resident favorites range from sushi to his famous chicken enchiladas. Much love and care come from food as a connection, he says, explaining how food is both a source of culture, and of comfort.
“Food is emotion, and it is passion. It can bring back memories, it can start new ones. It touches on all the senses and when I see the smiles on our resident faces, that’s when I know I’ve done my job.”
Executive Chef Leon Rivera Ill emphasizes the importance of another key ingredient – connection, which supplies the source and means to bring individuals together as they share their experiences with each other. Not only is food a source of comfort and connection, it’s also a source of empowerment for resident self-care. It’s no secret the important role food plays in overall health, in addition to fueling the body both physically and mentally. Many times meals can become routine and boring for seniors which results in a loss of appetite, even a desire to go to the trouble of fixing a fresh meal. Many seniors living at home resort to fast food, prepared frozen dinners, or even skip meals out of apathy or forgetfulness. One key benefit to Trinity Terrace is the choice and options in chef-prepared, made to order, made fresh meals in a balance of options that all deliver healthy nutrition specifically designed for seniors. The residents at Trinity Terrace benefit from having well-balanced nutritious and delicious meal planning that takes the burden out of having to plan, shop, and prepare a healthy meal.
Rounding out the balanced approach to comprehensive health at Trinity Terrace, meals prepared by Executive Chef Leon Rivera Ill and his culinary team are combined with the wellness and fitness team’s education and support focused on activities for residents’ individual needs, using national guidelines for nutrition and wellness. “To best meet the needs of our residents, we offer both individualized and group exercise opportunities,” says Cris Conn, Wellness and Fitness Coordinator. “We also tailor our programs to specifically target any problem areas that individuals may need to place additional focus. Many seniors may be intimidated to work out on their own in a gym – at Trinity Terrace we provide an environment where our residents can work at their own pace and have fun while they exercise to stimulate heart and brain health. Without access to personal guidance, fitness classes, and state-of-the art equipment like we have Trinity Terrace, seniors who are living at home miss out on proper exercise and nutrition.”
Engaging Residents through Exercise and Wellness Programs
The wellness staff works to educate residents and dispel any misconceptions they might have about physical fitness. Cris and the staff also support individuals who keep active lifestyles. “We work to help our residents understand the downside that comes from a lack of movement. Essentially, if you want to have better balance, you must practice balance. And if you have arthritis, you must move and build strength to support the body,” Conn said. He added that one of the great advantages Trinity Terrace residents realized during the pandemic is that the staff was able to adapt and maintain wellness programming opportunities. “As the greater community returns to a new normal, our residents have been able to keep their momentum going and not have to start over,” he said, adding that the staff works to support and educate residents with empowerment and programming.
Prevention is the Best Medicine
Exercise provides residents with preventive measures, in addition to benefits for daily health and longevity. The National Institute on Aging reports that one in three people age 65 and older fall each year. Scientists have linked the cause for falling to muscle weakness, circulation issues, diabetes, heart conditions, brain fog, and improper medicine interactions. “One of the many things we do at Trinity Terrace is individualized health screenings to ensure that we tailor our physical fitness programs to our residents’ needs and conditions. We find ways they can improve their physical wellbeing while we also look to improve their mental wellbeing with programs they enjoy and want to do again,” adds Conn.
A series on wellness classes is provided at Trinity Terrace, working to reach every resident to develop and support the six dimensions of wellness: spiritual, physical, vocational, social, intellectual, and emotional needs. Weight bearing exercises help support balance and bones and offer preventive measures to avoid the risk of falls. The Trinity Terrace fitness center is equipped with stability balls and other balance enhancers and offers strength training equipment. Activities for engaging strength training on state-of-the-art equipment are led by personal trainers. Additional amenities at Trinity Terrace include a HydroWorx therapy pool, a spa and a lap swim pool. “We have something for everyone here and we understand that not everyone is the same. That’s why a tailored program is so important,” Conn adds.
To learn more about how the nutrition and wellness programs at Trinity Terrace can make a difference in your life, schedule your personal tour and experience some of Executive Chef Leon Rivera Ill’s specialties for yourself.