Mercy Senior Centers

he Hot Springs Center, 210 Woodbine, and McAuley Center, 5010 Arkansas Highway 7 north, are both operated by St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center in cooperation with the Area Agency on Aging of West Central Arkansas. The centers are open from 8a to 4p, Monday through Friday, and serve area seniors. Membership is free of charge for those aged 60 and older. Visitors are always welcome.

A nutritious well balanced lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at both facilities. No reservation is required. A modest donation of $3.00 is requested to help cover the member’s share of the meal cost. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated.

 Each center offers a library, pool tables, ping pong, games area, weekly exercise and wellness programs, socialization, recreation, health screenings, educational presentations and a SeniorNet computer training site. Intergenerational activities with children from local Head Start programs, schools and the North Garland County Boys and Girls Club are popular with members.

Center community partners include OLLI-University of Arkansas Osher Livelong Learning Institute and Oaklawn Senior Health Care Center Education Program, administered by the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. OLLI offers intellectually interesting noncredit courses designed for the love of learning, 479-575-4545, www.olli.uark.edu. Oaklawn Senior Health Care Center provides center members and the community health information resources and education programs and is located within the Hot Springs Senior Center, 501-623-0021.

Unique to the communities they serve and reflecting the interests of their membership, each center schedules special activities. Hot Springs Center boasts an Art Gallery Wall, creative arts classes, Tai Chi, Strong Men & Women strength training classes, Dulcimer lessons, Bargains 4 U store, bean bag baseball, line dancing, blood sugar and blood pressure checks, and monthly educational series (Health Chat, Food Facts and the Garland County Historical Society).

McAuley Center activities also include line dancing, tutoring area youth, intergenerational O.W.L. program, Strong Men & Strong Women strength training classes, Everyday Exercise, rubber stamping, rug hooking & crochet, thrift shop, continuing education classes through National Park Community College and Senior Olympic award winning ping pong and billiards. In addition, a Mercy Express Care Health Clinic is located within McAuley Center, 501-984-6780, for minor medical illness or emergency.

For information on times, activities and events each quarter, call the Hot Springs Center, 501-624-0838, Judy Rowe or McAuley Center, 501-984-5594, Amanda Maness.