Fairview to close therapy pool

BY CHRISTINE SIKORSKI

Many users of Fairview-Riverside’s therapeutic pool were shocked by a letter they received mid-January informing them of Fairview’s plan to close the pool permanently on Feb. 26, 2010. Among patients currently using the pool, which has operated for 52 years, some are recovering from short-term injuries or illness, while others, diagnosed with such chronic conditions as arthritis, fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease and chronic pain, have relied upon the pool for five, ten, even 20 years to manage their conditions.

Patients from Fairview’s child/adolescent psychiatric unit and Fairview employees also use the pool. Fairview’s pool is unique for its combination of size; consistent water temperature; central location; and hours, which allow full-time workers access in the evenings and on weekends. Only two other Twin Cities’ area therapy pools are kept at 94 degrees, the ideal temperature for therapeutic water exercise. One of these is located in Minnetonka, and the other, in St. Paul, has a maximum depth of only 5 feet, does not accommodate lap swimming, and has extremely limited hours.

Upon receiving the January letter, pool users began telephoning Evie Sands, director of Fairview Rehabilitation Services and author of the letter, to voice their distress. When I spoke with Sands (I am a longtime user of the pool, with a diagnoses of psoriatic arthritis), she told me that the pool was closing for a number of reasons, among them: The cost of maintaining the pool is prohibitive because of its inefficient, antiquated filtration system; should the pool close for renovation, it would be required to reopen as ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, which would be very costly; and “space is at a premium” on the Fairview Riverside campus. Unhappy at the proposed closing, Sands had lobbied for

manage her rheumatoid arthritis, has organized a petition drive in support of the pool remaining open. She and other longtime users of the pool see the ongoing rehabilitation that pool therapy offers as the perfect follow-up to acute care interventions. Why, they wonder, can’t the hospital accommodate both? Warm water therapeutic exercise is ideal for patients who need to gain and maintain strength, flexibility and stamina and for whom land-based exercise is painful, less effective or even detrimental.

In efforts to halt the pool’s closure, pool users have contacted City Council members (none of whom have responded as of this writing), organized a petition drive, and asked medical providers to write letters on the pool’s behalf. They request that the pool remain open for six months while a plan is developed for its long-term viability. The petition has garnered 250 signatures from online and paper copy signers. The “comments” section of the petition is filled with testimonies of the pool’s importance by pool users, their families, friends and co-workers. Some signers question whether Fairview has done all in its power to keep the pool open.

Trien Dao, whose 13-year-old son negotiates cerebral palsy and a condition known as “dandy walker,” described in a letter to Fairview the enormous benefits the pool provides his son. Dao writes that his son’s muscles have grown stronger and more flexible because of targeted exercises done in the 94-degree water and credits the pool for his son’s ability to walk. Dao writes that other pools he and his son have tried, with temperatures of 92 or cooler, cause his son’s muscles to stiffen.

In a Feb. 5 letter to pool users, Marge Page acknowledges that Fairview has received “considerable input” from the community regarding the proposed pool closing. She notes that the building which houses the pool is slated for eventual demolition, suggests Fairview needs approximately $600,000 to keep the pool operational, reiterates Fairview’s decision to close the pool on Feb. 26, but writes that the pool area will be left empty for six months to “[afford] the community time to develop a fundraising plan…” The letter continues: “If funds can be raised by the end of August, we will renovate and reopen the pool.”

This proposal sidesteps the immediate needs of pool users, who call for the pool to remain open while plans for its future are explored.
To read or sign the petition in support of keeping the pool open, please see: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/save-the-riverside-pool