Archive for the ‘Health and Fitness’ Category
Clock ticking on troubled Premier Fitness health chain
Posted: February 23, 2012 at 2:09 pm
A court-appointed receiver has walked away from the effort to restructure the troubled Premier Fitness health club chain.
At its most dire, the move would mean members see some or all of the chain’s 30 clubs, including six in Hamilton-Burlington, padlocked as early as Saturday morning.
The clubs are protected by court order until 11:59 p.m. Friday. After that, creditors could force a bankruptcy if frantic negotiations haven’t resulted in a restructuring or sale.
Premier was forced into receivership earlier this month after a major creditor demanded repayment of $38 million in defaulted loans.
Mark Chow of BDO Canada said his company walked away after Premier’s bank refused to give it access to bank accounts to continue operating the business.
“Our goal was to maintain the operation but that requires money and right about when we took over the decision was made that there would be no further money to operate the clubs through the receiver,” he said. “The only choices we could see were to shut it down or turn it back to the former owners and see if the guys could work out a deal.”
Court documents show Premier is in deep financial trouble. BDO’s cash flow projections predicted Premier needs about $890,000 more than it will bring in to meet its obligations. Debts include $47 million owed to equipment leasing companies — the bulk of that to Toronto-based DSM Leasing Ltd.; almost $6 million to the Canada Revenue Agency; $78,000 in unpaid hydro bills; more than $1 million in rent arrears and $1 million in unpaid wages for December and January. Insurance policies were also cancelled.
The receiver reported: “Fees being generated from club memberships are not sufficient to pay obligations as they become due.”
Some of those bills were paid during the two weeks BDO and Physiomed Inc. ran the business but the efforts were hobbled by Premier’s refusal to turn over full financial details of its operations.
In court documents DSM said it had not been paid since September 2011 and asked for a receiver because it had serious fears about the future of Premier.
As the situation worsened, DSM president David Young said in an affidavit, he had “frank discussions” with Premier founder John Cardillo about the need to restructure the business. Eventually a plan was conceived to sell the company to Physiomed founder Scott Wilson, a Toronto chiropractor who operates a chain of health clinics in many of the Premier clubs.
The sale of the clubs was announced to members late in December, but was never completed after Physiomed balked at paying more of Premier’s arrears until ownership of the assets was transferred.
Physiomed is said to still be interested in concluding the purchase of the chain and is actively involved in restructuring negotiations.
In a court filing, Cardillo opposed the appointment of a receiver because the publicity around such a move “would cause great damage to the business through the loss of membership and sales to members.
“There has always been a premium upon doing the proposed transaction quietly and away from adverse publicity. Much of the Premier Group’s financial difficulties arose as a result of adverse press and the game plan from the beginning of the discussions between DSM, Wilson and myself focused on how to have a smooth, seamless transaction,” he added.
(Premier’s business practices were the subject of a Hamilton Spectator investigative series in 2004.)
Cardillo also alleged the sale to Physiomed foundered because Wilson and Young were trying to get around clauses in the deal that preserved a portion of the company for Cardillo’s young children in exchange for Cardillo’s “guidance” of the new company.
“Wilson agreed that a company owned by my family would receive a significant percentage of the ownership” in Wilson’s companies, Cardillo said. “Wilson and I have had a falling out and I believe he no longer wishes that my family has these participation rights.”
Cardillo added he first decided to sell Premier after being diagnosed with a life-threatening cancer, a scare that “prevented me from devoting the time and effort to management of the companies that I had traditionally done with the result that the performance of the business lagged.”
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Clock ticking on troubled Premier Fitness health chain
Coalition continues work toward health, recreation center
Posted: at 2:09 pm
By Kate Hessling
Assistant News Editor
BAD AXE — The organizer of a proposed multi-million dollar health and recreation center recently told the Tribune that project still is very much alive.
“Even in the face of enormous difficulty, this project is doable and viable,” said Harcharan (Harry) S. Suri, president of the Health and Recreation Center Coalition, which was formed in November 2007 to spearhead the planning, development, construction and operation of a multi-purpose facility in Bad Axe.
Preliminary architectural renderings Suri gave the Tribune last week show the facility could include an indoor pool, ice arena, fitness center, banquet and conference center, arcade, cafe, outdoor splash park, a teen area and area for senior citizens, and wellness center. Preliminary estimates indicated the facility could cost between $15 to $20 million.
From the start, the coalition has insisted it will seek funds to build the center from corporate, private and public foundations and state and federal government agencies. Today, that’s still the case, as Suri stressed the coalition is not looking for funds from the county or local units of government.
The coalition still is looking at building the facility on county-owned land it’s been leasing.
The agreement was outlined in a resolution the Huron County Board of Commissioners approved in May 2009. Per the agreement, the coalition leases the 37-acre parcel on Thomas Road off M-53 in Colfax Township for $10 an acre, or $370 annually during the five years it’s being reserved for the design and construction of a health and recreation facility.
The resolution also includes a schedule of funds that have to be raised each year in order for the agreement to continue. At this time, the coalition has raised $128,000, which is behind the schedule established in the resolution. Over the past two weeks, county commissioners have discussed amending the schedule outlined in that resolution, but no formal action has been taken.
Suri said fundraising has been difficult primarily because of the economic environment. In fact, the coalition delayed conducting a countywide community interest survey in 2008 because of the economy, he said. The survey was conducted in 2009, and of the responses it received, the majority were positive and helped show the coalition what the community wants and is willing to pay for, Suri said.
Since the survey was completed, the coalition has hired Sidock Group Inc. and Rink Management Services Corp. to produce detailed engineering and financial plans that include a five-year operating budget. Suri said the plans have to be detailed, and show donors that this is a credible project and can operate on its own. That’s why it’s being prepared by third parties who are experts in these kinds of facilities, he said.
“It’s going to be a plan that can withstand detailed scrutiny,” he said.
Suri said the coalition expects the plans will be finished later this spring and posted online at http://www.myhealthandreccenter.org.
Once that’s done, the coalition will be able to concentrate 100 percent on raising funds, Suri said.
Getting donors is not an easy task, but Suri said he will continue to work no matter how long it takes to make the project a reality.
Support and partnership will go a long way toward making this project succeed, Suri said. That’s why he favors working with the county and hockey association toward building the recreation center because it would include an ice rink.
He explained that historically, people have attempted to build and operate recreation facilities that offer limited services on a relatively small scale. They were not viable because they couldn’t attract a large enough membership. The center, he said, offers a sufficient variety of health and recreation services to attract a broad spectrum of county residents with different interests and needs.
“Shopping malls are attractive because they allow the customer to fulfill a variety of shopping needs in one place and also because they have spaces conducive to socializing. The coalition’s preliminary surveys suggest that a multi-purpose center designed to provide one-stop-shopping for health and recreation, as well as a gathering place for Huron County’s citizens, will be similarly attractive,” according to information from the coalition. “The multi-purpose center, by its broad appeal, and as essentially ‘the only game in Huron County,’ is expected to attract and maintain a high membership count.”
The coalition estimates the average household income in Huron County suggests an affordable daily fee for services would be above the cost of coffee for a day ($1.15) or about $35 per month.
During Tuesday’s Huron County Board of Commissioners meeting of the whole, Chairman Clark Elftman said he wants Suri to put his expertise and energy behind helping obtain funding for the Huron County Hockey Association and Huron County SafePlace.
Specifically, he wanted a consensus from the board as to whether it believes Suri should use his expertise to help with efforts to build a new ice arena. After it was clarified that Elftman wants Suri to help with those other efforts in addition to his plan for the recreation facility, the rest of the board concurred.
Kate Hessling • (989) 269-6461 • khessling@hearstnp.com
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Coalition continues work toward health, recreation center
Fitness program for mentally ill expands in NH
Posted: at 2:09 pm
KEENE, N.H. (AP) — Back when he was a self-described friendless recluse, Craig Carey spent hours sitting in a chair doing nothing or driving around in his car, alone. Then a fitness program for people with serious mental illness turned his life around.
"The In SHAPE program gave me something to grab onto. I came out of my shell, I went to other programs ... got a part time job," he said. "I started to say, 'OK, my life is getting back together.'"
Carey, 47, of Keene, was diagnosed with manic depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder 15 years ago. In 2003, he became one of the first clients at Monadnock Family Services to join In SHAPE, a program so successful that the state has won a $10 million federal grant to replicate it at the rest of the state's community mental health centers. The goal is to expand a program that now serves 150 people to 4,500 participants in the next five years.
The average life span for someone with a serious mental illness is 25 years shorter than someone in the general population, a gap that has been largely overlooked even though an estimated 10.4 million American adults — including about 43,000 in New Hampshire — fall into that category, said Dr. Stephen Bartels. He will supervise the program funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
"It can legitimately be said that this is largest and most important health disparity in the nation that has been unappreciated," said Bartels, director of Dartmouth College's Centers for Health and Aging.
People with serious mental illnesses such as depression or schizophrenia are more likely to smoke and be obese, putting them at greater risk for diabetes, heart disease and other chronic disease. And medications used to treat their mental illnesses often cause weight gain or leave them feeling too lethargic to exercise.
Spending money on wellness efforts now will be less costly than expensive treatments for chronic diseases later, Bartels argues. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a sustained 10 percent weight loss will reduce an overweight person's lifetime medical costs by $2,200-$5,300 by lowering costs associated with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and high cholesterol. A report released this month by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Trust for America's Health found that reducing the average body mass index by 5 percentage points in the United States could lead to more than $29 billion in health care savings in five years.
And there are societal benefits as well, said Ken Jue, who created the In SHAPE program in 2003. Some participants have gone back to work after decades of unemployment. Others have gone back to school.
"As people have become involved in the program and as they begin to improve their physical health, they develop a sense of self-confidence that really frees them up to do some incredible things," said Jue.
Jue, a consultant to Monadnock Family Services, was the agency's CEO in 2002 when he noticed a troubling trend.
"I was sitting in a funeral of a client of the agency ... and I realized in the middle of the funeral that I've been to a lot of these funerals, and people were pretty young. They were in their 50s or very early 60s," he said. "All of a sudden I said, 'This doesn't make sense why these folks would be dying.'"
The acronym in In SHAPE stands for "Self Help Action Plan for Empowerment." Participants are paired with trained health mentors to develop plans that include exercise, nutrition counseling and smoking cessation. Those who don't have a primary care doctor are assigned to physicians at Cheshire Medical Center, who know about the program and work to reinforce it. Students at nearby Keene State College help with the nutrition components, and the local YMCA provides the fitness facilities.
Those partnerships have been key to the program's success, Jue said, and have helped integrate participants into their communities in a way that would not have been possible had the mental health agency just set up its own fitness center.
"Someone with a serious mental illness can become isolated, and social isolation contributes to their poor health status," he said. "So I wanted this to be done in the community."
Participants generally spend about nine months in the program, and there is always a waiting list, Jue said. Research published by Bartels in 2010 found a dropout rate of 20 percent, compared to a 25-33 percent dropout rate for healthy adults enrolled in formal exercise programs.
The research also found that participation in the program was associated with a reduction in waist size, blood pressure and symptoms of depression and an increase in physical activity, readiness to eat healthier and overall confidence levels.
Diane Croteau, 49, of Keene said the confidence she's gained through the program has alleviated her depression and improved her health. She's lost 60 pounds in the last year and works out at the YMCA every week day.
"When I first started In SHAPE, I was a little wary about going and exercising in front of people. But once I started, it wasn't bad, and I got to meet a lot of people outside of In SHAPE," she said. "It's been basically life-changing for me."
She and other participants said the health mentors they've worked with know how to strike a balance between being supportive and challenging. If a participant isn't feeling up to going to the gym, mentors will go to their homes and take them out for walks. If someone is dealing with a medical issue, the mentors help contact doctors.
"It's a personal relationship," said Paula Wheeler, 68, of Keene, another longtime participant. "They offer you a lot of respect, and it doesn't matter where you are. You can be a very in-shape person or you can be a person who really has a lot of work to do, but they're accepting of who you are."
While several mental health agencies in other states have used In SHAPE as a model for similar programs, the New Hampshire expansion is the first time such a program will be implemented statewide, Bartels said.
Carey was glad to hear about those plans and said he hopes others will get just as much out of the program as he has.
"You've got to say to yourself, 'Do I want to be here in 10 years where I am now or do I want to do something with my life? Do I want to stay out of the hospital? Do I want to become productive?'" he said.
"That's what it comes down to. My life isn't perfect ... but it's a far cry from what it was 15 years ago, a far cry. And I'm very happy with it."
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Fitness program for mentally ill expands in NH
USANA Health Sciences Works With Dr. Oz and HealthCorps to Fight Childhood Obesity
Posted: at 2:09 pm
NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nutritional company USANA Health Sciences today announced they are teaming up with Dr. Mehmet Oz and Lisa Oz' nonprofit organization, HealthCorps, to help empower young people to live healthier lives. USANA has committed to further HealthCorps' goals of combating childhood obesity and educating children about nutrition and fitness.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110110/LA27593LOGO)
"One of the reasons we chose to donate to HealthCorps is because we share such similar values," said Dave Wentz, USANA's chief executive officer. "Our common mission is to create a healthier world for future generations, while helping people make better decisions today. It's impressive to see how HealthCorps is impacting people's lives."
USANA will be lending a helping hand to an organization committed to dealing with one of the most pressing health issues in the United States.
"Consider that approximately 12.5 million American children and adolescents, ages 2 to 19 years, are obese," Dr. Oz said. "In New York State alone, obesity among children and adolescents has tripled over the last three decades. This is among the many issues that HealthCorps is committed to address, and with USANA's generosity, we are able to do much more with our programs."
The two organizations will kick off their collaboration this afternoon at a "Teen Battle Chef" cooking competition at Columbia University. High school students from the tri-state area will each prepare a healthy dish to present to a panel of judges that includes celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, Dr. Oz, Lisa Oz, Dave Wentz, and USANA Founder Dr. Myron Wentz. Each teen will receive Circulon® cookware and tickets to the Health and Happiness Summit, a wellness event hosted by Dr. Oz on Feb. 25 at Radio City Music Hall.
"Teen Battle Chef is one of HealthCorps' many educational programs," Lisa Oz said. "The purpose is to teach kids about healthy eating in a fun way, and we are fortunate to have USANA's support."
Erica Irvin, vice president of Students for Food Policy and Obesity Prevention at Columbia University, said the campus was honored to host the event.
"Organizations like HealthCorps are doing work that have long-term ripple effect," she said. "Kids benefiting from HealthCorps programs today may teach other kids about health, be a strong example to their peers and even go on to affect public policy and change in the future. That's what this is about."
To learn more about USANA Health Sciences, please visit: http://www.usana.com
To learn more about HealthCorps, please visit: http://healthcorps.net/
About USANA: USANA Health Sciences develops and manufactures high‐quality nutritionals, personal care, energy and weight management products that are sold directly to Preferred Customers and Associates throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Thailand. Learn more at our website (www.usana.com), read our blog (www.whatsupusana.com), like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/usanahealthsciences), or follow us on Twitter (@usanainc).
About HealthCorps: HealthCorps® a 501(c)(3) co-founded by renowned heart surgeon and two-time Emmy® Award-winning talk show host Dr. Mehmet Oz and his wife Lisa, is building a movement to fight the childhood obesity crisis by helping Americans discover what they are really hungry for and why. HealthCorps Coordinators carry out unique in-school and community programming targeting high-need populations. Using peer mentoring to deliver a progressive curriculum in nutrition, fitness and mental strength, HealthCorps Coordinators give teens purpose, help develop human character and inspire an interest in health and culinary arts careers. HealthCorps also serves as a unique research laboratory - exploring the complex, underlying causes of the obesity crisis and discovering and communicating solutions. HealthCorps is bringing many initiatives together to address the "Whole Child" and activate the student's mind, body and spirit. As a result, HealthCorps is transforming the educational paradigm one school at a time. The program network spans 54 schools in 13 states. For more information, please visit http://www.healthcorps.org and follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/healthcorps and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HealthCorps.
Media Contact: Ashley Collins
Executive Director of Marketing, PR, and Social Media
USANA Health Sciences, Inc.
(801) 954-7280
media(at)us.usana.com
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