For Kenneth “Kenny” McAdow and the team at Northern Arizona Health Club, the goal was to create more than a traditional fitness center. They wanted to build a place where people in Kingman could access movement, recovery, and wellness support in a setting designed for long-term use.
A central part of that vision was adding hydrotherapy pools for physical therapy, training, and community wellness. With SwimEx® therapy and training pools, the facility can support low-impact movement, clinician-guided progression, swim training, and daily wellness in a small and dependable aquatic environment.
Why Kingman?
The decision to establish the facility in Kingman was intentional. The founders saw a need for more accessible therapy, training, and wellness resources in a rural area where residents may have fewer options for specialized care.
Located on the opposite side of town from existing gyms, Northern Arizona Health Club was planned as a different kind of facility: one that could support clinical recovery, general fitness, and whole-person wellness in the same space.
Aquatic therapy is heavily utilized for chronic pain mitigation, veteran care, and post-surgical rehabilitation.
The facility serves an important role for the local veteran community. Mohave County has a large veteran population, and Northern Arizona Health Club uses its pools to create space for pain management, movement, and social connection through group-based exercise.
Kenny highlights a focus on a biopsychosocial model for chronic pain, recognizing that a person’s biology, psychology, and social environment are deeply interconnected. In an underserved area like Kingman, chronic pain is often exacerbated by sedentary lifestyles and social isolation.
“Pain is not a body problem; it is a whole person problem,” says McAdow. To address this, the facility provides an environment where aquatic therapy for chronic pain acts as a bridge to independent movement. The natural buoyancy and hydrostatic pressure benefits of the water allow patients to explore movement with less fear and more agency than they can on dry land.
The Business Case for Clinical Hydrotherapy: Why Northern Arizona Health Club Chose SwimEx
When planning the center, the owners sought therapy and training pools that could support a wide range of users while meeting the unique needs of a rural, underserved community. The decision to partner with SwimEx was a strategic choice to ensure that high-end clinical technology remained accessible and effective within a compact, flagship environment.
Establishing Direct Control Over Care
Having done aquatic therapy previously by renting space in a YMCA, they knew they wanted to have their own pools for control over scheduling. Ownership of the pools ensures a seamless experience within the same space, where patients and members can easily move between specialized clinical care and independent wellness routines.
Innovative Use of Space
The facility’s specific land parcel was not large enough for a traditional lap pool. To serve the community effectively without a massive footprint, the team chose multiple smaller therapy pools. This choice allowed them to provide world-class aquatic services in a smaller area, maximizing the facility’s clinical capacity without the prohibitive costs and construction requirements of a full-scale aquatic center.
Clinical Versatility and Advanced Technology
The owners prioritized professional versatility to ensure the facility could serve everyone from post-operative patients to elite athletes. They were specifically impressed by the ability to integrate an underwater treadmill within the same basin as an adjustable paddlewheel current. This advanced technology allows a single pool to accommodate multiple programs, such as gait training on the treadmill while a swimmer uses the current, making it a highly efficient asset for their physical therapy service line.
Long-Term Reliability for a Community Flagship
To build a true community anchor, the founders selected equipment designed for lasting durability. The durable fiberglass construction of SwimEx pools delivers long-term reliability and a maintainable design. This ensures that the facility remains a stable resource for the Kingman community for years to come, providing a repeatable and comfortable experience for every member.
Purpose-Matched Programming
The center utilizes multiple therapy pool models at specific temperatures to support both rehab and independent fitness:
- Two 1000 T Therapy Pools for Collaborative Healing: The two pools are maintained at 90°F and support therapy, group exercise, and community-based movement as well as youth swim instruction. The size and configuration allow multiple users to exercise at the same time, helping to create a supportive environment for patients and members.
- The 600 T for Performance: Kept at a cooler 83°F–84°F, the 600 T uses the adjustable paddlewheel current for swim training, technique work, and higher-output conditioning. Triathletes and swimmers can use the current for focused, repeatable sessions in a controlled environment.
For clinics and wellness facilities, adding hydrotherapy as a physical therapy service line can create new ways to support patients when the program is planned around the people, space, and services it needs to serve.
Aquatic Therapy for Recovery, Movement, and Confidence
Northern Arizona Health Club’s aquatic therapy program has continued to evolve as the team has expanded its training and clinical approach.
Following specialized, hands-on training organized by SwimEx, the staff built a stronger foundation for using the pools in higher-level recovery programs. The training helped the team broaden how aquatic therapy could support patients through different stages of rehabilitation.
Today, the team uses the pools for chronic pain programs, ACL rehabilitation, ankle surgery recovery, and progressive return-to-movement work, as well as any other therapy needs. The aquatic environment allows physical therapists to introduce supported movement, resistance, and controlled progression before some patients may be ready for the same work on land.
For appropriate patients, this can include aquatic plyometrics and explosive movements guided by a therapist. In one example shared by the team, a 76-year-old man was able to practice jumping exercises in the water for the first time in 40 years.
The result is a therapy environment that supports movement, confidence, and progression while giving clinicians more ways to meet patients where they are.
Completing the Recovery Cycle with Plunge Pools
The aquatic experience at Northern Arizona Health Club extends beyond therapy and training pools. The facility also includes hot and cold plunge pools, giving members and patients additional options for recovery, contrast work, and post-session relaxation.
The cold plunge supports a focused recovery routine after training or therapy, helping members practice breath control, mental discipline, and consistency. The hot plunge provides a warm-water environment for relaxation, easing the transition from effort to recovery.
Together, the plunge pools help the team create a more complete aquatic wellness experience. Members can move from low-impact exercise, therapy, or swim training into a recovery routine that supports long-term participation and sustainable habits.
Supporting the Full Recovery Routine
The aquatic program is part of a broader wellness model at Northern Arizona Health Club. Beyond the pools, the facility includes wellness amenities designed to help members build routines around movement, rest, and stress management.
The Wellness Lounge gives members access to tools such as compression boots, massage devices, meditation cushions, and other recovery modalities. The goal is to make self-care more accessible and to support members as they stay active, manage stress, and maintain long-term wellness habits.
Rather than treating recovery as an afterthought, the facility brings movement, aquatic therapy, and recovery into one coordinated member experience.
Designed to Feel Personal, Not Crowded
Northern Arizona Health Club operates with an intentionally intimate membership model. With approximately 300 members, the facility is designed to feel supportive and uncrowded.
That model allows the team to build relationships, understand individual goals, and maintain the kind of environment where members feel seen. For a facility centered on long-term wellness, that personal connection matters.
The membership model also reflects the team’s commitment to bringing a higher level of care and programming to the local community while keeping the experience approachable for the people it serves. While the monthly membership fee might initially surprise some, it represents a high-value investment in whole-person wellness with services that far exceed the offerings of a traditional gym.
A Community-First Approach
Northern Arizona Health Club is also building programs that extend its impact beyond daily fitness and therapy.
Its Red Cross-certified Kids Swim program teaches water safety to children, including very young swimmers. In summer 2026, the facility plans to launch a Parents Night Out program with childcare, youth physical education classes, and food from local vendors at cost to support local families.
The facility also works with local businesses through a corporate wellness model. Participating employers can help cover part of the membership cost, making it easier for employees to access movement, recovery, and wellness resources.
These programs reflect the same philosophy that shaped the facility from the beginning: support the community with practical tools for better health, stronger routines, and more consistent care.
Built for Long-Term Wellness
For health clubs and wellness facilities, Northern Arizona Health Club shows how hydrotherapy can become more than a single amenity. With the right therapy and training pool configuration, facilities can support clinical recovery, low-impact exercise, swim training, and long-term member wellness in one coordinated aquatic environment.
For Kenny and his team, the mission is rooted in the long term: helping people move more, manage stress, build strength, and stay connected to their health.
“If we can start with reliable exercise and stress mitigation strategies,” Kenny says, “we’re going to be able to really help the community at large benefit in the long run.”