Lace up those sneakers

Silversneakers is a health and fitness program designed for people ages 65 and up. It’s included with some Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) plans offered by private insurance companies and includes membership to, the company says, more than 16,000 fitness centers around the country.

In Las Vegas, partipating fitness centers include the YMCA of Southern Nevada. lasvegasymca.org, silversneakers.com exercises that might help them, say, recover from a stroke, cardiac event or joint replacement surgery.

“We have people in wheelchairs who do (exercises) just from their wheelchair,” Stephens says. “We work with it all.”

Small goals still important

Sometimes, students simply want to accomplish individual health goals to improve their daily lives. One student recently told Stephens that, for the first time, she was able to navigate an airport without using a wheelchair.

“So whatever their goal is, whether it’s walking across the airport or being able to play with their grandchildren, or they want to be able to play pickleball, whatever it is, we can help them achieve those things.”

Too often, society’s attitude toward seniors is “pushing them to the side: OK, you’re old, you’re retired and we don’t need to worry about you anymore,” Stephens says. “But we do, and we want to be able to help people in those golden years. They’re not very golden if we can’t even get off of the couch. So we focus on what we call activities of daily living.”

Stephens’ classes also offer an important sense of community. A recent class ended with birthday wishes for one member, along with hugs and goodbyes.

“It’s about creating this kind of family,” Stephens says. “When these people come together, they really do become family.”

Contact John Przybys at jprzybys@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280. Follow @Jjprzybys on Twitter.