Since 1998, the Paul H. Broyhill Wellness Center has provided wellness services to the High Country of North Carolina. The Wellness Center created a community–a family–of people who found that the center had a positive impact on their physical and emotional well-being. 

After 25 years, administrators at Appalachian Regional Healthcare System have decided (without consulting the members of the community it serves) that these true preventive services are no longer compatible with the "clinical mission" of the organization. The administrators found prevention to be innovative in 1998, but "orthopedic and sports medicine care, physical therapy and rehabilitation and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation" are deemed more innovative in 2023. 

The administrators have suggested to our community that the Watauga County Community Recreation Center is where Wellness Center members should go after May 31, 2023. The Rec Center is a great facility, as is the Wellness Center. They both serve a purpose and both have unique constituencies. The assumption that the two facilities are homogeneous and that the Rec Center can easily absorb the functions of the Wellness Center is completely unfounded. 

The Community of Wellness Center users respectfully request that the ARHS administrators reassess this ill-considered decision. At the very least, involve the people that are affected by the proposed closure and try to come up with a plan that might meet the needs of all concerned.