Enrichment Center to feature cafe, auditorium
City of Oconomowoc – The 26,000-square-foot Lutheran Homes of Oconomowoc Lake Country Life Enrichment Center will feature a 60-seat cafe, an 85-seat auditorium, as well as classroom, medical and office space and a second-floor library overlooking Lac La Belle.
The finished building will offer access to LHO through the re-established skywalk over Highway 16.
The center is slated to open this summer. LHO plans to showcase the facility, the first of its kind in the area, at an open house from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. June 24.
The newest addition to the LHO campus is viewed as a headquarters for successful aging.
"Our intent is not to duplicate services, but to work in partnership with existing entities to enhance them," said LHO Executive Director Tim Thiele.
To that end, a roundtable composed of providers of senior services in the area meets each month in a spirit of collaboration.
The new building will also house a model apartment for Lake Shore Place, a project launching the construction of 33 active adult living apartments on La Belle shores.
The adjoining site will showcase the advantages of active adult living and the benefits it provides.
"This is the public's opportunity to explore new horizons, challenge ideologies and add a vital dimension to lives while connecting with community resources," said Thiele.
Research has determined key areas that are crucial to healthy aging, including spiritual, physical, emotional/psychological, intellectual, social and occupational/economic issues.
"There are six domains of successful life that all of us enjoy. We'll have educational opportunities to help people learn about those things and help people practice them," he added.
As director of the new facility, Geri Heppe hopes to provide evolutionary options to Lake Country seniors.
"I see it (Life Enrichment Center) as a three-legged stool," she said.
"The cafe piece is for people to socialize or feel comfortable coming alone," she said.
"The second leg is the actual education piece. It's more of a mini college campus," Heppe added.
The center will serve as a satellite campus for Waukesha County Technical College's Learning In Retirement classes, as well as host other workshops, presentations and course offering. Programming at the Life Enrichment Center will begin in July.
"The third leg is the care coordination. It's one-stop shopping for people to get answers to their questions on aging," Heppe said.
She will be available to provide suggestions and solutions that might help seniors stay in their home and to access needed community resources.
"We need a different model of care for aging adults to help them stay in their homes when appropriate and give them the tools to do that well," Heppe explained.
"This is a unique concept; it's fantastic. It hasn't been attempted before in communities to give people tools to age as well and long," she said.
According to Theile, the Life Enrichment Center is a proactive step toward meeting the needs of the community.
"We know what people want is to stay in their homes, so let's help them do that; and that's what we're doing with the Life Enrichment Center," he added.
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