CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — The YMCA in this St. Louis suburb is a buzzing place: Members bustle in and out of the lobby, carry gym bags and yoga mats, pause to chat with one another and to sit at a station to check their blood pressure.
Now, before or after their workouts and classes or a swim at the Chesterfield Family YMCA, they can go for a checkup at an attached clinic run by SSM Health. The clinic offers comprehensive services including primary and family medicine, geriatric care, behavioral health, lab services, nutrition support, and on-site social work. The clinic opened at the end of January, part of the Y's recent $9.2 million renovation and expansion.
A family physician and a physician assistant practice at the clinic, and while they see a mix of ages, they focus on senior care. About 4,000 older adults are members of the Chesterfield Y.
"I had a patient the other day who asked me about, 'How do I get signed up for Silver Sneakers?'" said Dr. Mitchell Elting, the family practitioner at the clinic, referring to the Y program for senior adults. "And so it's, 'Let's go across the way and we can chat with them.'"
Elting and others with SSM Health and the YMCA say the partnership promotes healthier living.
"We're working on those relationships with YMCA, getting the resources in place to where we can really get the patients set up with them, get them on a healthier path, and prevent them from getting sick," Elting said.
Health system and clinic partnerships with the YMCA and other organizations focused on well-being aren't new. Tim Helm, president and CEO of the Gateway Region YMCA, which covers the St. Louis area, headed the YMCA in the Dayton, Ohio, area in the early 2000s, when that system established a partnership with Ohio-based Kettering Health. The partnership, new at the time, has grown and continues to this day, Helm said.
The SSM Health collaboration with the Chesterfield YMCA is the nonprofit's second medical partnership in the St. Louis area. In 2023, the Emerson YMCA in the suburb of Ferguson opened an adjacent clinic with Affinia Healthcare.
"There's a couple things in it for us," Helm explained. "We're nonprofit, just like Catholic hospitals, and our mission, same as (Catholic health care), is around serving the community. If we can create that kind of one-stop shop for people to come to a Y facility and get all the things that the Y offers, plus medical services, we think that's a really good way to serve the community."
SSM Health leases the space, formerly a space with workout equipment, in the Chesterfield Y building. That benefits the Y financially as well, Helm said.
Jeremy Fotheringham, regional president for SSM Health in St. Louis and Southern Illinois, agreed that the partnership is a good fit, and he is hopeful it will help people live longer, healthier lives. He and Helm are looking to use the partnership as a model to expand to other YMCAs in the St. Louis area.
Partnerships nationwide
Other Catholic hospital systems partner with the Y, or plan to. Mercy Health — Lima, part of Bon Secours Mercy Health, plans to lease space in the future YWCA of Van Wert County in Ohio. Ascension St. Vincent contributed funding to a namesake YMCA, which opened early last year in suburban Indianapolis, as well as one in Evansville, Indiana, that opened in 2019 and includes clinical space. Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, also part of Bon Secours Mercy Health, and the Portsmouth YMCA in Virginia offer physical therapy and rehabilitation as part of their partnership, and so does CommonSpirit — Memorial Hospital — Chattanooga in Tennessee, part of CommonSpirit Health, and the Hamilton Family YMCA.
In Chattanooga, current CommonSpirit patients are offered a waiver to use the facility until their discharge date, explained Rachel Williams, an office coordinator with the hospital's physical therapy and rehabilitation program. "Discharged patients often drop in to say hello and check in," she said. "They appreciate the sense of community, and it makes them feel like family.
"This relationship also encourages return visits; if another health issue arises, they specifically request that their referrals be sent to our location."
Housing, day care, and health care
Essentia Health operates a clinic in a YMCA in the Duluth, Minnesota, suburb of Hermantown. There, the system offers physical therapy using Y equipment as well as occupational and speech therapy for children who attend the Y's child care center. The Essentia Health Wellness Clinic also provides grief support, mental health counseling, and other wellness services.
Next year, in partnership with One Roof Community Housing, Essentia will break ground on a 72-unit affordable senior housing building on a former parking lot on the edge of its downtown Duluth campus. The project, called Brae View, will include a child care center on the ground floor that will serve 120 children and be run by the Duluth YMCA.
The relationship with the Y grew from Essentia's partnership in Hermantown, explained Tonya Loken, Essentia's community relations director.
Essentia employees will get first access to some slots at the child care center, and the Y will pay a reduced cost for use of the space.
Seniors living in the building and children attending the center will benefit from intergenerational programming.
"We're kind of taking an all-boats rise approach to our neighborhood," Loken said. "Without those reputable and solid partners like the YMCA and One Roof, you wouldn't be able to pull off projects like this. We wouldn't do this by ourselves."
The Y in Hermantown is across from a school, and kids walk there for after-school programs. It has a coffee shop, swimming pool, fitness space, community rooms, and a clinical space.
"When I go there, what you'll see is a community of retired folks, sitting at the coffee shop, who have probably worked out, and maybe are waiting for their PT appointment," she said. "These may be some of the people that go in and read to the kids in the child care facility. It is just that sense of community that we're so thankful to have the opportunity to be a part of. It's amazing."
A look toward the future
SSM Health and Chesterfield YMCA officials hosted a ribbon cutting at the clinic in early March. As she waited for the ceremony to start, Chesterfield City Councilwoman Patricia Tocco said that residents are already talking about the partnership.
"It seems like it's getting harder and harder to find a family practice," she said. "This is perfect. There isn't anything like it in the area. I hope it's a big success."
Rachel Tarr, a physician assistant at the clinic, told the people gathered that she and YMCA staff are discussing ways to collaborate, and they hope to connect patients with fitness programs, nutrition classes, and other wellness resources "literally right down the hall."
"This kind of partnership of health and wellness is innovative, and I expect it to be remarkable," Tarr said. "We are thrilled to be here, and excited about the healthier future we'll help build for Chesterfield and ultimately the St. Louis area."