Health Update: Fitness center, medical spa, PT team up for wellness – What Experts Say

“I was waiting for the right time and the right business to align” with the fitness club, she said. The focus at Longevity has always been on long-term health so this enhances that, Brooks said.

She wants her members “to think about what your 89-year-old self, how they’re going to feel, what you’re setting them up to be able to still be doing, and their quality of life.”

Naum’s not there yet, but that has also been a concern for him. Health was on the 80-year-old’s mind when he chose to retire to Charleston in 2008. Friends had retired to different places and then ended up having to travel hours for good health care.

“Having great medical care was a big plus for me,” Naum said. Widowed, depressed and out of shape, the Holy City also sparked a renewed interest in regaining wellness. Naum lost 50 pounds as he hits the gym now four or five times a week and works with a personal trainer.

“I just think you get to a point in life where you realize that you could live longer, but it’s about the quality of life too,” he said.

That is also on the mind of Erin Spencer, who is a patron of both Longevity and Solcara as she seeks to maximize her health now. One of the reasons she sought out Solcara was the ability of the medical spa to take her bloodwork and analyze it and advise her based on that. With previous providers, when Spencer would mention wanting more labs, she would get a quizzical look and pushback.

With that information, “it sheds a lot of light” on not only her nutritional needs but addressing problems she had with sleep, feeling groggy or needing more energy. Spencer, 42, gets a type of hormone therapy now. It not only is tracked through the lab reports but is also physically evident to her.

“You can kind of see your body changing,” Spencer said. “You not only feel the difference, but you can see it in the reports.”

She is not alone, and the partnership between the Charleston providers fits in well with that, Brooks said.