The Spokane-area chapter of an organization named Senior Circle, which promotes healthy lifestyles for those 50 and older, has grown to 500 members since being founded in July 2009, and the woman who founded the chapter says she believes it has the potential to blossom to six times that size.

"I'm surprised with how quickly we got the members. It's kind of word-of-mouth" that has fueled the growth, says the founder, Joey Frost, who is director of volunteer services at Deaconess Medical Center and also heads Senior Circle there. "The possibilities are endless, really, with what we can do with this program, and we're really looking to expand it."

Senior Circle is a national, nonprofit organization established by Community Health Systems Inc., the big Franklin, Tenn.-based health-services company that owns Deaconess and Valley Hospital & Medical Center, in Spokane Valley. The organization's Web site says it now includes about 90 chapters nationwide, sponsored by CHS-affiliated hospitals.

The core of the program, the Web site says, "is our commitment to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle for seniors by providing programs that encourage continued learning, wellness, health, and volunteering, coupled with a host of social activities."

Members pay $15 a year, or $27 for a couple, and in return receive free admission to monthly lunch-and-learn education seminars, "doc talk" presentations by physicians, health fairs and screenings, wellness classes and activities, volunteering opportunities, and social gatherings, including day and overnight trips and holiday parties, Frost says. They also receive in-hospital and national product and service discounts, a free subscription to a national biannual magazine called Inside Circle, and a quarterly chapter newsletter, she says.

One of the last lunch-and-learn seminars, Frost says, included a presentation on diabetes and high blood pressure by Dr. Todd Gottschalk, a Spokane physician who specializes in preventive medicine and management of chronic illnesses. Also at that seminar, Sandy Zobell, a registered dietitian and longtime Deaconess employee, offered nutrition tips for managing those conditions, and a medical assistant of Gottschalk's provided blood-sugar screenings to attendees who wanted them, she says.

Frost says she sends her quarterly newsletters to Senior Circle members in hard-copy form, as well as by e-mail for those who want to receive them electronically, and also uploads them to a portion of Deaconess' Web site devoted to Senior Circle.

"I'm constantly sending out additional information depending on upcoming events," she says.

Social events they've had included a rafting trip and winery and downtown tours, and Frost says, "We usually have a big event once a year." This year, that event will be a holiday dinner party and dance on Dec. 2 at the Lincoln Center, at 1316 N. Lincoln, which also will be free to members, she says.

The chapter's event schedule "is really determined by what they want," she says, adding that, "It's still kind of emerging because it isn't that old."

In-hospital "HealthPERKS" that members receive include 30 percent discounts on caf purchases, a free meal for a spouse or caregiver each day that a member is hospitalized, a complimentary private room upgrade for member patients when staffing and availability permits, free garage parking in designated areas, and a 15 percent discount on all hospital gift shop items. National benefits, along with the magazine subscription, include discounts on prescription drugs, vision care, hearing aids, rental cars, and personal emergency response systems.

Frost says other benefits offered locally have included discounted movie and Silverwood Theme Park tickets. She adds that she's been hearing from some businesses here that are interested in providing Senior Circle members various types of discounts, and expects to expand those offerings through the program.

At Deaconess, the bulk of the Senior Circle members to this point are younger seniors, between about 55 and 68 years of age, Frost says.

"I'm pretty surprised. I expected it to be older," she says. She says she's unsure why the members are mostly younger, other than older seniors might tend to have less interest in the organization's active-lifestyle focus.

Darlene Lobdell, a volunteer at Deaconess who joined Senior Circle out of curiosity, says, "I think it's great. I've heard nothing but good response, and really it's still in its infancy."

Along with the social benefits, the organization provides a good way for seniors to get free, helpful information on health topics that are important to them. "It's a good learning experience for anybody, especially seniors," because of the greater number of health problems they tend to experience, she says.

Frost says that, interestingly, one of the largest Senior Circle chapters, with close to 3,000 members, is in the lightly populated Roswell, N.M., area. Based on the growth of the chapter here to this point, she says, "I think we could get to that level, as long as the program is geared toward what members want."

She says she periodically surveys members to find out what types of educational seminars and social events they'd be interested in attending, and uses those comments—combined with her knowledge of what's going on at Deaconess—to decide on what gatherings to organize.

The Greater Spokane Chapter, as it's called, includes all of those who have joined Senior Circle through either Deaconess or Valley Hospital. Probably beginning early next year, the two hospitals will have mostly different Senior Circle event schedules, but members will be able attend events at either or both hospitals, Frost says.

Frost previously was volunteer-services director for both hospitals, and oversaw all Senior Circle activities, but transitioned about four months ago to administering just the Deaconess volunteer department and Senior Circle events. Stephanie Wells was named manager of volunteer services, Senior Circle, and another program, called Healthy Woman, at Valley Hospital, and Frost says she and Wells now collaborate, as needed, on Senior Circle activities.

Frost has been working in volunteer services at Deaconess and Valley Hospital for 13 years, and says she started out as junior volunteer coordinator for the two hospitals before becoming the first director of the hospitals' volunteer departments when they were established formally. Prior to that, volunteer activities at the hospitals were handled largely through auxiliary organizations, she says.

"I've always had a real passion for seniors, even when I started with the younger volunteers," she says. "I just enjoy working with older adults and hearing about their stories. They teach me new things all of the time. It's that old clich about being young at heart. It's really true."