June 4, 2020 at 3:22 p.m.
YMCA of the Northwoods reopens to members
Protocol in place to address COVID-19 concerns
YMCA of the Northwoods reopens to members
By Stephanie Kuski-
Following current guidance from local and state officials, the Y unveiled its incremental plan, which includes a detailed protocol to curb the spread of COVID-19, some weeks ago.
"The members that are coming have been very excited about the reopening," YMCA of the Northwoods Chief Executive Officer Ryan Zietlow said. "We've gotten all positive comments. We feel confident with what we have put in place as far as our practices and some of the limitations at our facilities."
For the time being, the YMCA of the Northwoods is open to members only, and guest and day pass sales have been temporarily suspended. For that reason, YMCA has suspended nationwide membership reciprocity to encourage members only.
Members will be required to wear a mask when in the building, but can remove them when working out or using the pool. Members are encouraged to bring their own masks, but masks will be available at the front desk as well.
In addition, every other exercise machine in the Wellness Center has been blocked off to encourage social distancing.
All entrances and exits will also be controlled via extensive signage that has been added throughout the facility to direct traffic one-way. Public congregation will also be discouraged, public seating has been removed, and the coffee cart and snacks have been put away for the time being.
Group exercise classes that originally took place in the Wellness Center will be moved to the gymnasium to allow for more spacing, and areas on the floor have been delineated to encourage social distancing, Y officials said.
Additional sanitation and cleaning supplies will be provided for members to disinfect equipment after each use. Pool capacity is limited to 10 people, and reservations are required.
Parents should be aware that drop-in child care typically available at Adventure Alley is currently closed, and several youth programs (such as swim lessons) are still on hold.
"We will continue to reevaluate where things are as far as what phase we're in, based on the Oneida County Health Department," Zietlow said. "There could be some youth programs that will begin again in Phase II. A date of when that happens, really we don't know."
Zietlow said the Y has leaned on the expertise of the Oneida County Health Department in drafting its reopening plan and crafting a positive COVID-19 action plan. With that guidance in hand, the Y will also continue services at its Children's Learning Center in addition to their summer day camp.
"We had ran child care in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we closed it down after Gov. Evers' mandate came out," Zietlow explained. "We saw such a dramatic drop in the number of children that were coming into our care that it didn't make sense for us to continue running it when families had alternate care options."
"Over the course of leading into May 6, we started to hear that the short-term child care plans that parents had began to fall through, and they were really looking for a long-term solution to child care again," he continued. "So we opened our Children's Learning Center for essential workers on May 6, and when we did that, we made a number of changes."
Zietlow said the Y was selective in only accepting children of essential workers, dramatically lowering its capacity in the process. Each teacher stays with a prescribed group of children to avoid commingling, and both staff and children have their temperature checked upon arrival.
Screening questions are asked as well.
In addition, the Y's summer day camp opened June 1, a week earlier than usual, since no other summer school programs are offered in the area. Zietlow said the camp will run in a similar fashion as the Children's Learning Center in that social distancing will be encouraged as much as possible in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
"Our intent is to keep things as normal as we possibly can, but it is going to be different," Zietlow said. "When we look at some of the activities in camp as you bring together groups of kids to work through those types of activities, there's a lot of close contact sometimes... those are going to have to be altered to try to keep distance."
Because it's next to impossible for campers to keep a social distance at all times, Zietlow said normalizing good hygiene practices like washing hands and avoiding touching others becomes crucial.
"It's going to be different for them," Zietlow said. "Kids are used to coming in and giving their counselors a hug. So it will take us a little bit of time. Just as in the beginning of the school year where you sit down with your children and talk about the expectations and responsibilities we all have, it will be that same type of atmosphere."
Although there are new rules to get used to, there's also an abundance of excitement for Y staff and members alike to get back into the swing of things, especially with summer swiftly underway.
More information on the reopening plans, as well as information related specially to its COVID-19 protocol, is available on the Y website.
All further questions can be directed to their main line at (715) 362-9622.
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