Major Health Partners Wellness Center and YMCA

Major Health Partners provides Shelbyville, Indiana and nearby rural communities with a multitude of health and wellness initiatives. In collaboration with Decatur County Family YMCA, MHP added an 80,500 SF Wellness Center and YMCA to their award-winning Intelliplex Campus to further meet the needs of the surrounding community, facilitating change toward healthy lifestyles and activities. Serving the Central Indiana community since 1924, MHP aims to create and deliver superior healthcare solutions by providing optimal clinical and economic outcomes to their patients. The Wellness Center and YMCA strengthen MHP’s existing mission while also allowing them to function as a community leader in elevating the region’s health and wellness, catering to over 2,500 members. The new Community Health and Wellness Center includes a YMCA with a pool and gymnasium, doctor’s offices, and a senior services area, which includes meeting spaces, a teaching kitchen, and dining spaces.

The building design boasts two floors comprised of a variety of fitness amenities, including the MHP Wellness Center and Shelby Senior Services. The first floor is home to the Wellness Center and Shelby Senior Services, alongside the YMCA indoor aquatic center, and basketball gym. The Wellness Center has consultation rooms, group therapy, and exam rooms, while the Shelby Senior Services includes office space for the Shelby County Lifestyle Medicine and Bone Health. The aquatic center features a pool with separate areas for lap swimming and water aerobics.  On the second floor, a running track overlooks the gym and snakes its way around free-weight areas, cardio machines, and workout studios. In the future, MHP has the flexibility to expand into 16,100 SF of shell space. Nutritional health is addressed with a healthy food retail space, a teaching kitchen and a doctor on staff that specializes in nutrition. This multi-faceted building instills a holistic and preventative health care approach.

Over the last decade, MHP has made a commitment to construct high performance facilities, replacing outdated and previous ill-performing buildings. Therefore, sustainability was a primary focus during the planning and design of the new facility. Energy-efficient building systems enabled this project to become the nation’s best performing YMCA. A special feature of this project was utilizing ground source heat pumps for ultimate efficiency. A DOAS unit provides ventilation for the occupants, with energy recovery for ultimate efficiency. Occupancy and Demand Control ventilation controls are used to adjust ventilation throughout the building for optimum wellness. 100% LED lighting was utilized for premium efficiency and reduced maintenance.

The space conditioning and dehumidification of the YMCA’s indoor pool presented a unique design challenge, as the owner requested warmer pool temperatures for senior citizens. To maintain the pool heating, the waste heat from the dehumidification process is captured. A UV light is utilized in the natatorium water treatment to reduce chloramine gases in the pool, improving wellness and indoor air quality in the natatorium. A regenerative filter was also utilized to improve water quality and reduce water consumption, as the traditional back wash is no longer required.