Ohio University WellWorks reopened its fitness facility doors to its members on June 1, 2021. This reopening was made possible after significant discussion and planning with Ohio University COVID Operations, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Space Planning and Facilities Management.
“An active membership and appointment will be required to be able to enter the facility,” explained Jenn Bennett, Executive Director of Wellbeing. Bennett stressed that a variety of additional safety measures are being taken to comply with statewide recommendations and University requirements.
“The health and safety of our community has always been our top priority and has become even more important during a pandemic,” said Bennett. “That being said, we’ve always been a fun place to be able to focus on wellbeing and we’re excited to be that again for our members.”
The staff at WellWorks has researched local and national reopening trends in and recommendations for the fitness industry and consulted with University and statewide officials when preparing their reopening plans.
Full details about what to expect of the facility and how to purchase memberships are available below:
What to Expect: Members entering/exiting the WellWorks facility in June can expect a slightly different experience to accommodate safety requirements.
- The South Entrance to Grover Center will be open to WellWorks members during WellWorks’ operating hours.
- Halfway down the hallway toward the WellWorks main entry, members will be asked to perform a Symptom Self-Check. Continuing past the self-check signage signifies verification that the member is experiencing none of the symptoms listed.
- Prior to entering the WellWorks main door, a WellWorks employee will check the member in to their appointment and direct them to the proper location.
- At the conclusion of the member’s appointment time, the member can utilize the alternate exit doors by following Exit signage. In both cases, the exit location simply requires the member to walk around Bird Arena to return to the main parking lot.
Watch a quick video to catch a glimpse at the new operations and set-up.
Facility Rooms: WellWorks equipment has been divided into three spaces. An appointment must be made in a single room (transitioning between the spaces within a single appointment time will not be allowed):
- Fitness Center: The main fitness space has a reduced amount of cardio and strength equipment, including the accessible machines. This room also contains light to heavy weights, squat racks and benches.
- Mini Fitness Room #1: The Mind/Body Room contains a mix of cardio equipment, light handheld weights and two floor stations for bodyweight exercises/stretching.
- Mini Fitness Room #2: The Group Fitness Room contains cardio equipment and light handheld weights and body bars.
Equipment Placement: Cardio and strength equipment will be divided between the Fitness Center and two Group Fitness spaces to be able to accommodate social distancing. Equipment that cannot be removed may be roped off to limit use and enhance members’ safety.
Cleaning: Additional cleaning efforts will include:
- All members will be provided a towel and spray bottle upon entry to the facility. Members are asked to use their personal towel/spray bottle to clean their equipment before and after use. Towels are not to be utilized as a sweat towel.
- Appointment times are stacked in a way that will allow WellWorks staff to sanitize each piece of equipment. For this reason, members must leave the fitness space at the conclusion of their appointment. Failure to comply may result in the freezing or cancelation of a membership.
- WellWorks will offer reduced operational hours to allow for the staff to perform a deep clean of each fitness space multiple times per day.
Appointments: Members will be able to utilize any of the three fitness center spaces by conveniently scheduling appointments online for their desired space. Appointments should be made in advance of their desired fitness times to be guaranteed time in the facility. In an effort to protect WellWorks members and staff, walk-ins will only be accepted if there is an opening at the time the member arrives.
There will be a limited number of appointments available in each room and during each time slot. This is to accommodate COVID-related space capacities as outlined by the CDC and Ohio University Space Planning.
The member is able to check in at any time during the 75 minute appointment, but must depart the facility at the conclusion of their appointment time to allow for the WellWorks staff to properly clean between appointments. No exceptions will be offered in the departure time.
75-minute appointments began on June 1 and can be scheduled on the WellWorks Member Portal:
- Those members who had an active membership by May 17 were able to begin scheduling June appointments on May 26.
- Those whose memberships were expired as of May 17 can purchase a new Facility Membership on the Member Portal. Appointments can be scheduled as soon as the online membership purchase is complete.
- Those whose memberships are currently frozen can request to have their membership thawed by emailing wellworks@ohio.edu . Those with a frozen membership should not make an online membership purchase at this time due to system restrictions which would cause both memberships to be active concurrently. Once a membership is thawed, the member will be notified that they are able to begin scheduling appointments.
Masks: Any individual in any of the WellWorks facilities (and Grover Center) will be required to wear a facial covering that fully covers the individual's nose and mouth. Failure to comply will result in immediate removal from the facility and/or cancellation or freezing of a membership. While WellWorks is aware of the upcoming changes to statewide mask mandates, WellWorks remains an entity of Ohio University and, therefore, must follow all University and City policies.
Parking: At this time, parking passes will not be required for any member parking in the Walter Hall parking lot. Employees can park in the main lot and non-employee members can park in the WellWorks' designated spaces. Anyone who parks in a metered space is responsible for payment of the usage of that space.
Operational Changes: Additional facility changes you may notice include:
- Fans in all WellWorks spaces will not be operational.
- Facilities Management will carefully monitor air flow to allow for a safe environment for WellWorks members. Therefore, please note that windows and doors will not be opened. This is contradictory to previous communications that have been shared.
- Bathrooms/Showers/Locker Rooms inside the WellWorks space will be closed. Members are invited to utilize the restrooms on either side of the Grover Center main corridor.
Communications:
- An e-newsletter was sent to the WellWorks listserv on May 17 offering an overview of reopening plans.
- Any individual who had an active membership at the time of the University’s closure and whose membership was not unfrozen during the closure (to be able to access virtual content) received an email from Ohio University WellWorks on May 17 explaining the next steps available to them.
- An e-newsletter was sent to the WellWorks listserv on May 24 outlining specific details of the reopening.
- Those whose memberships were unfrozen during the closure will receive an email no later than July 1 explaining the options available to them for membership.
Other Programs and Services: WellWorks manages a variety of other programs and services to its members and the community. While not all services will resume at this time, some may be available on the program’s online Member Portal through Virtual appointments or Live/On Demand resources.
- Group Fitness: WellWorkks is proud to announce they will continue to offer group fitness instruction throughout their Virtual Platform. Anyone can purchase a Virtual Membership at this time. Or, those with an active Facility Membership will receive FREE access to WellWorks’ Virtual content from June 1-December 31, 2021.
- Massage Therapy: WellWorks anticipates a soft reopening of massage services in late summer. Stay tuned!
- Nutrition Counseling, Personal Training and Wellness Coaching: Each of these services will continue to be offered on the WellWorks virtual platform at this time. While a membership is required for Virtual Personal Training, non-members are invited to purchase virtual sessions for Nutrition Counseling and Wellness Coaching.
- 100 Day Challenge: Changes will be made to this program for FY22. Program details will be released in June.