Reopening Announcement

How much is enough?

When have we done enough?

 

This is a question we’ve been trying to answer for a long time. When the pandemic started we were told if we all worked together, we could weather this storm. Closing the doors of our business, while it hurt, seemed like the best thing to do. After all, we were in this together. 

 

It’s been over five months since the doors of our business have been closed. Now, the latest news is that we are to remain closed for another five weeks. Thankfully, most of the business in our country and our state were able to reopen back in June so long as they follow the guidelines of the CDC. Unfortunately, our business is in one of the genres that has not been given that opportunity. We have instead been given five more weeks, at least, to keep our doors closed. To say it’s been hard not to see the inequities of this situation would be an understatement.

 

We’ve been doing our part. We were in this together. But now we’re not. We are still here, unable to pursue our life, our liberty and our happiness. 

 

I think we’ve done enough.

 

I have a hard time imagining that the demise of our state’s health and well being hinges on us being closed and going out of business. I actually imagine it’s quite the opposite. I know the health and wellbeing of our community could actually improve if we were allowed to operate, if all our fitness facilities were allowed to operate. 

 

Anyway, OSi is a health facility. We are about life improvement. We help people move well so that they feel well. It’s not about exercise. It’s about physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing, it is about the whole person. We are about helping others live their best lives. We help people bolster and strengthen their immune systems. We equip people to be able to combat fears of age, of weakness, of injury, and of sickness and disease. We understand that people are made to move and to have social interaction – these are the things that strengthen people and help them fight off the viruses of this world.

 

We also understand how to responsibly follow safety guidelines.

 

In fact, we are fully willing and able to practice and execute the same sound judgment and decision making abilities that have been afforded to other businesses. Not only that, but on July 24th the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released the Interim Guidance for Fitness Center and Gym Settings with Limited Operations Document. It would seem that our own State’s Health and Human Services Department also thinks we are capable of operating our business so long as we follow the guidelines they’ve laid forth in this document. 

 

So, we’ve done enough.  OSi is going to open its doors again, under limited operations.

 

To be clear, we are not doing this to defy the Governors third extension of Phase 2. We are doing this in the hopes that one day we will be able to fully and freely open our doors without any restrictions or limitations. But realistically, that very well may not be possible if we are forced to stay closed for six months, or seven, or eight. 

 

As I said, we will open our doors under very limited operations. For one thing, we will be following both the CDC’s, and NC Health and Human Services guidelines for safe, limited operations, And also, we will legally be complying with the NC Attorney General, Josh Stein’s decree that indoor gym facilities are legally allowed to operate for medical reasons, if prescribed by a medical professional. What that means is, if anyone is in our facility, they will have been told to be here by their healthcare professional. Then, and only then, can they address their health needs indoors with us. 

 

We really are in this together.

 

If health facilities are not allowed to open there will be more consequences to mitigate besides COVID-19.

• Depression
• anxiety
• high blood pressure
• cardiac arrest
• diabetes
• pulmonary issues
• injuries
• and even death

….these are all results of not honoring our design – of not moving, of not getting out of the house, of not seeing a friendly face, or receiving an encouraging smile.

 

Likewise, the purpose of OSi, our mission, is to help people live their lives better. Try as we might, we can’t fully, effectively do this if we are not open. We certainly can’t do it if we don’t exist. It’s now time for us to do our part and not be a limiting factor for our community to move forward.

 

We will continue to offer our outdoor and online programs as well as medically prescribed INDOOR sessions for those that would like to take advantage of these.  You can view our schedule here at https://originalstrengthinstitute.com/schedule/ .

 

Thank you for your on going support.