Sheridan County Health Plus is a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is the construction and operation of a wellness and fitness center in Plentywood, Montana.  Plentywood is the county seat of Sheridan County Montana.  It has a population of 1,800 souls and is classified by the Department of Health and Human Services as a health manpower short area and a ‘frontier’ county.  Sheridan County is bordered on the north by Canada, the east by North Dakota, the south by the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and the west by Daniels County, Montana.  Sheridan County has a population of about 4,000 people and has primarily an agriculturally based economy.  There is a small amount of crude oil production in the county as well.

 Plentywood has a nonprofit hospital and nursing home, a private medical clinic, a private assisted care facility, a nonprofit communal retirement community, a group home for the disabled and a number of private apartment complexes for the elderly.  The next closest larger medical facility is over 90 miles away.  There is a seasonal pool operated by the city but no other organized physical fitness facility for the general population, let alone a year round facility for this near sub arctic community.

 There are a number of individuals with chronic medical conditions that would benefit from improved physical fitness.  Some of the conditions include type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, degenerative joint disease, cerebral vascular disease, obesity, and cerebral palsy.  In addition to this, there is a need for after school programs for children and healthy lifestyle education for all ages.

 Sheridan County Health Plus is planning a two story facility with 11,000 square feet per floor.  The lower floor will house a 25 meter lap pool, a 12 meter hydrotherapy pool, an aerobic exercise room, locker rooms and racquetball courts.  The upper floor will have meeting rooms for educational activities and general public functions, office space, walking track, and open space.  The facility itself will be constructed to maximize the use of renewable energy sources for heat and air exchange with over 60% of its energy use coming from geothermal and solar sources.  It is located on land owned by the county and will be 100 yards away from a retirement home with 60+ senior citizens, 300 yards away from a hospital and nursing home and 500 yards from the primary city park.  The school (K-12) is 500 yards away and the major residential area of town borders this facility.

 The hospital presently offers physical therapy and is anxious to utilize this facility for hydrotherapy conducted by its physical therapist.  The facility will also provide an excellent long term solution for post cardiac rehabilitation services and maintenance of musculoskeletal function regained during physical therapy.  It is planned to have a health science graduate employed as the manager so that various health activities can be provided by the facility.  These will include but not be limited to: flexibility exercises for seniors, walking track health education in smoking cessation, healthy lifestyles for school children, diet and exercise classes for the overweight and meeting space for presently offered tobacco and drug prevention services.

 The long term success of such a facility is going to depend on its use by the public and its operational costs.  Public use is dependant upon a number of factors that include:

Perceived benefit to the public
          Ease of use of the facility
          Milieu of the facility
          Cost to be a member

We plan to offer a number of different health activities that will appeal to a number of different segments of the population in order to maintain interest.  The present medical community has the respect of the general public and they are supportive of this endeavor so this to will add to its success.  The facility is located within walking distance to a large number of potential clients so that it will be relatively easy for them to use it.  We plan to have a visually appealing facility with a young and upbeat director to generate a positive atmosphere that will maintain interest.  As noted below, we plan to keep our operational costs low so that we can keep our membership fees low in order to be financially attractive to most of the county population.  Two similar facilities that are operational in Wyoming and North Dakota have a five year record of success so far.

The present plan is to keep capital costs as low as possible and complete the facility with a combination of public donations, donations from other 501-c3 organizations in the community, grants, and no interest USDA REDL loans.  If we are able to construct the facility without taking out a interest bearing mortgage, the only ongoing costs will be operational costs.  The board of directors will be non-reimbursed volunteers.  The only operational expenses will be those of running the facility and are enumerated in the financial forecasts.

 There will be a number of sources of income for this facility;

            Monthly membership fees
            Physical therapy pool usage fees
            Public donations
            Individual fees for private use of the facility
            Single facility activity use fees

 We estimate the monthly membership to be 300 people.  This is based on the fact that the local golf club has 250 members.  We expect that this facility will attract at least that number of people.  The projected monthly charge of $35 is very reasonable for a facility of this type and is in line with the fees presently charged by the local golf club and city run swimming pool.  The use of the hydrotherapy pool is difficult to estimate; however, Stanley, ND, a town of less population has a hydrotherapy pool that has been operational for over five years.  They have about 9,000 people visits yearly for use of the pool.  With even a fraction of this number using the hydrotherapy pool, there would be a substantial income.  Public donations, individual use fees and facility rental fees will most likely be a relatively small but definite contribution to income.

Financials:

      Income:

            Memberships        #300       $35/mo    $10,500/mo      $126,000/year
            Hydrotherapy                                                                    $10,000/year
            Donations                                                                          $10,000/year
            Single use fees and rental                                                 $10,000/year

            Total annual                                                                     $156,000

       Expenses:

            Ads                                                                                         $1,200
            Computer                                                                                $2,000
            Insurance                                                                               $15,000
            Payroll                                                                                   $90,000
            Postage                                                                                    $1,200                      
            Repair                                                                                      $2,500
            Supplies                                                                                   $6,000
            Telephone                                                                                $1,320               
            Utilities                                                                                    $7,000
            Water                                                                                      $2,000
             Capital repay                                                                         $27,780

              Total annual expense                                                           $156,000

 The wages are based on 2 FTE’s at minimum wage of $7.00/hr and manager at $20/hr.  The utilities are an extrapolation from a building that is 1/3 the size but at least ½ as efficient.  The other expenses are purely estimates. 

We feel that the above reasoning and financials are reason enough to expect that this project has a definite community need and has a good chance of long term success.  The above discussion does not even address the obvious health benefits to the involved individuals in terms of the Healthy People 2010 national blueprint.  Intangible costs such as the benefit of less medication cost because of good fitness, improved quality of life and prolongation of life with quality because of fitness, or less medical costs related to improved health are not included in the above calculations.

This project has a good chance of success because of the positive financials, the geographic proximity of the stake holders, the support of the community, the need of the community, and the present public enthusiasm for natural health promotion.