Naperville resident Don Orchard and his wife joined Edward Hospital’s Health & Fitness Center before it was built in 1988.
The couple visited a construction trailer at 775 Brom Drive and liked the Naperville hospital’s commitment to wellness, Orchard said. When they began using the facility, they liked seeing their doctors and other hospital staff exercising along with them at the first medically based fitness center in DuPage County, he said.
It created a camaraderie, and the sense that the hospital truly promoted healthy lifestyles, he said.
“People look at it as an institution,” Orchard said. “This is part of the fabric of the town.”
But now he and others feel “betrayed and abandoned,” he said, after Edward-Elmhurst Health’s executive leadership team announced last week that the center was closing April 1 so the site could be used for additional patient care services. No information was provided as to what will be filling the space.
“People are pretty upset,” Orchard said.
Naperville resident Steve Shamrock was so unhappy he started an online Change.org petition, “Keep Edward-Elmhurst Fitness Center Open,” which had collected more than 2,300 signatures as of Tuesday. He and a handful of people picketed outside the Naperville fitness center over the weekend.
Shamrock, a center member for 15 years, said because so many people have been working out there together for years, it’s almost like a family.
“What’s really rankling people is that there was no community input whatsoever. … It just strikes as just completely out of touch,” he said.
If the hospital system had given people more than a few weeks’ notice, members might have had time to adjust, Shamrock said. Now they want answers as to why members’ opinions weren’t sought.
Edward-Elmhurst Health officials, speaking in an emailed statement, said since announcing the closure, they’ve heard from a number of community members and appreciate the feedback they’ve shared and the connection many of them have to the center.
The decision to close the facility stemmed in part from COVID-19 pandemic, which created challenges for fitness facilities nationwide as members looked for and have continued with fitness options at home or elsewhere, the statement said.
“Our membership at the two Edward-Elmhurst Health & Fitness locations is down nearly 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels and weekly member visits have decreased more than 15% over the same time frame,” officials said.
More Top Picks Tool Sets
“We want our members to know this was not a decision we made lightly, and we remain extremely committed to working with them to meet their health and wellness needs at our Seven Bridges location,” officials said.
Members can switch to their Seven Bridges health club, which is about 15 minutes to the east at 6600 S. Route 53 in Woodridge. It opened in 1997.
“I won’t be going over to Seven Bridges,” Orchard said.
Besides the added distance, he said, the Naperville fitness center has a much different vibe than Seven Bridges.
Families tend to prefer the Woodridge facility because it offers children’s programming whereas the Naperville membership is older and programs are catered to them, Orchard said.
Not everyone who exercised at the Naperville was physically fit, but they wanted to get healthy, he said.
The proximity of the fitness center to Edward Hospital was reassuring should an emergency arise during exercise, which did happen when Orchard worked as the center’s assistant director from 2000 to 2008, he said.
“There’s a lot of elderly that come in with walkers, crutches, you name it,” Shamrock said.
The Martin Avenue Apartments, which offers subsidized senior housing, is adjacent to the center so many residents there use it, he said.
Shamrock swims because of arthritis, and the Naperville pool is very easy for anyone, even disabled adults, to exit, he said. It’s also a short trip to the locker room.
The lap pool at Seven Bridges is smaller and harder to get out of, he said, and it’s a hike to the locker rooms.
“It’s really far and so, if you’re elderly, there’s no way to get to it. It’s going to be very painful,” Shamrock said.
Many elderly members use aquatics for cardio and therapy because it is their only choice, he said.
Another concern is getting practice time for the Naperville Waves Masters Swim Club, which currently has hours at both the Naperville and Woodridge pools.
“It’s already challenging to get pool time,” said Shamrock, whose wife swims with the club.
Edward-Elmhurst officials said schedules for land-based and aquatic classes and Waves master swim program classes at Seven Bridges are being expanded and will be available in mid-March.
In addition, officials said all four of the Seven Bridges pools are designed for accessibility, including ADA-compliant pool lifts that lower and raise members into and out of the water from the pool deck as well as therapy and lap pools with graduated steps to enter the water so a ladder is not needed.
The move to close the fitness center, Shamrock said, sends a message that Edward-Elmhurst Health prioritizes profits over health by reallocating space used for preventative services for those in which people are already sick and need treatment.
Orchard said he believes the health system sold out Naperville fitness center members because sick people generate more revenue than healthy ones.
“Obviously if it’s about the money, it’s about the money,” he said.