Following Sutter Health’s June decision to permanently close the Mickelson pool in San Mateo, Burlingame trial lawyer Joseph Cotchett is asking Sutter to reopen it or face potential legal action on behalf of users affected by the closure.
“We are going to make them change their ways, or we are going to bring a lawsuit,” Cotchett said.
The Mickelson Arthritis and Rehabilitation Center pool was a vital community hub for seniors, people with chronic pain or disabilities and surgery patients to heal through warm water therapy techniques. The pool is the only one of its kind in San Mateo County and led to community dismay following its closure announcement. It is located at Mills Health Center downtown San Mateo campus at 75 S. El Camino Real. Mills-Peninsula is an affiliate of Sutter Health, which announced the permanent closure in June. Mickelson pool originally closed in March 2020 due to the pandemic. The building has a unique design and water heating levels for users. It includes 90-degree water warmth and a ramp that descends into the pool, a hoist and wall space at various depths not available at other locations.
Mills-Peninsula Medical Center CEO Janet Wagner said in an October letter to the Peninsula Health Care District that it considers the pool “permanently closed at this time.” The letter noted the pool was an indoor facility with poor ventilation and no dehumidifier, and it did not meet the legal and regulatory requirements of a health care facility. The unpredictable nature of COVID-19 and requirements were factors in its closure, with Sutter Health stating it is focusing on minimizing the resurgence of COVID-19.
“Given the protracted and evolving nature of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and our commitment to the safety of our patients, community and workforce, we hope you will understand that it is unfeasible for us to reopen the pool,” Wagner said in the letter.
Cotchett is known for being the lead trial lawyer in the Lincoln Savings & Loan Association/American Continental Corporation case in 1990 involving Charles Keating. He has his Burlingame-based firm, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, working with pool users and community members following their requests for help.
Cotchett wants to meet with Sutter Health representatives, but he said they have refused to meet so far. He wants Sutter Health to provide more reasoning for the closures amid its profits this year and for it to immediately reopen the pool and make necessary repairs. Cotchett said in a letter to Peninsula Health Care District last week that Sutter had provided shifting explanations for the closures, including citing financial issues. Community donations helped lead to the pool’s original opening, including a $1.5 million contribution from the late philanthropist Mack E. Mickelson, after whom the pool is named. Cotchett noted Pomeroy Recreation & Rehabilitation Center in San Francisco, a comparable therapy pool, had recently reopened and has complied with San Francisco’s public health restrictions.
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“The people of this community deserve a health care program that is going to take care of everyone,” Cotchett said.
Cotchett has taken the case pro bono, emphasizing helping kids with special needs, people with chronic pain and seniors. He called the closure and overall situation an outrage and had never seen anything like it.
“They are denying people medical health that is absolutely needed in our community,” Cotchett said.
Kathleen D’Elia and associate Andrew Britton of Cotchett’s law firm have been involved with researching and finding out more about the case. D’Elia said by email the firm is reaching out to pool users. Potential plaintiffs include people who used the pool for a medical reason on doctor’s orders and have been denied services due to the closure.
Over the last six months, community outreach has played a key role in the fight to raise awareness and save the pool. Lindsay Raike, a leader with the advocacy group calling to save the Mickelson Pool, has helped rally users and community residents to fight for its reopening. She has started a petition with more than 4,000 signatures protesting Sutter’s decision to close the pool. Raike recently formed a nonprofit organization called Warm Water Wellness with help from local users and residents to fundraise and work to reopen the community pool. The cities of Half Moon Bay and Burlingame, along with Peninsula Health Care District and the Sequoia Healthcare District have written letters to Sutter Health on the importance of the pool communities and asked for a solution.
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(2) comments
Many thanks for your coverage of this community issue. When I was seriously affected by arthritis pain in disintegrating joints, my orthopedic surgeon wrote a prescription for physical therapy in the Mickelson pool. It was a fantastic experience - I was able to keep my muscles and bones reasonably strong without pain, by doing exercises in the warm water. After my two joint replacement surgeries, I again returned to the pool for my physical therapy.
I met so many wonderful people of all ages there. All had a reason to be grateful for this wonderful resource, built by community donors.
Sutter has established a track record of closing health care resources in our county that support the aging population plus folks of all ages with significant disabilities.
There is a large group of residents who have been protesting this closure actively, and many in the Health Care districts have been paying attention. I greatly appreciate all of their efforts to maintain this unique health care resource for residents.
CRR
Now who didn’t see legal action eventually occurring? Maybe Mr. Cotchett could contribute $1.5 million and get the pool named after him, instead of trying to extort Sutter into reopening the pool. Maybe Mr. Cotchett could get the state to pay for and to take on any liability, along with overlooking legal and regulatory requirements for a health care facility. Personally, I’d like to see the facility stay open as it does offer unique features and benefits but it has to make financial sense for Sutter. Note to any health care providers thinking about opening a one- or two-of-a-kind facility, think twice, else you may potentially be saddled with paying for it forever, even if it means you have to run it at a loss.
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