In late 2007 the Erickson Foundation financed a tax-exempt bond to acquire, restore, and repurpose a high-end resort and conference center situated in Northport, Maine, overlooking the Penobscot Bay. A major aspect of John Erickson’s vision for Point Lookout is to offer guests leading programs and services focused on whole-person wellness and life planning.
Its long-term goal is to enhance each individual’s quality of life across many dimensions. The result would be to avoid, or at least minimize, disease and disease-related disability, while reducing health care expenditures.
Resources for whole-person wellness often address six or more dimensions of life, including: physical, social, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and vocational. Some experts also add environmental and financial considerations to this mix.
For example, along the physical dimension, experts typically recommend participating in activities that enhance cardiovascular endurance, muscle conditioning, flexibility, and balance. These experts also advocate for other healthy lifestyle habits, while promoting personal safety and the optimal use of the health care system.
Along the social dimension, experts frequently focus on the importance of creating and continuing healthy relationships through conversing, participating in shared interests, and engaging in social events. Along the intellectual dimension, individuals are encouraged to learn by participating in cultural and other enriching activities.
At Point Lookout, guests enjoy unrestricted access to a 36,000-square-foot wellness pavilion with dedicated facilities for whole-person wellness screenings and indoor sports such as basketball, billiards, racquetball, squash, virtual golf, and volleyball. The health club within this pavilion offers the latest resources for aerobic exercise, strength training, balance, and mobility.
The wellness team at Point Lookout has added the "Erickson touch" by integrating state-of-the-art exercise equipment appropriate for users of diverse ages and abilities. Features such as low-impact treadmill platforms, step-through recumbent bicycles, and personal television screens have resulted in this facility being one of the best-equipped fitness centers on the Mid-Maine coast.
Current plans include designing and integrating organized short courses centered on life planning. Such courses will cover diverse topics recommended by the Life Planning Network (www.lifeplanningnetwork.org), including career and work, community service, civic engagement, family relationships and friendships, learning and creativity, travel and leisure, lifestyle, and location and housing.
