Letter from Diane Gallo

Will FoxCare Fitness Be a COVID Fatality?

Several months ago, I began taking weekly strength-building sessions with a FoxCare Fitness trainer. He’s so professional and so good and I saw results quickly. I immediately understood how the fitness center benefits the Oneonta community.

Seniors meet there to exercise, keep fit, and also create the connections that combat loneliness and depression—serious medical and mental health issues. The one place you can have an exercise program and a cup of coffee with your workout buddies—really?

The cardio/pulmonary and physical rehab centers are already in place and will continue to run. No problem—there are insurance codes and money for it. Building community at its deepest level? Investing in wellness, not illness? No insurance code for that.

Keeping the FoxCare center open is not in line with Bassett’s mission statement? How can that be? “Bassett’s mission is improving the health of our patients and the well-being of our communities.”

Closing the fitness center feels like a slap down to those who work hard to stay well and prevent illness. Will the FoxCare Fitness center be chalked up as yet another COVID fatality? Looks like it.

The threads of marketing, mission and money are clear. FoxCare Fitness is not broken. Bassett’s decision-making process could use some medical attention. Perhaps there’s a holistic doctor in the house?

Diane Gallo
Gilbertsville