Following a rally on Sunday from people who want to see the Mills Health Center in San Mateo reopen its therapeutic swimming pool, Sutter Health issued a response about the closure, which they described as a “difficult” decision.
“As a not-for-profit organization, Mills-Peninsula Medical Center continually assesses the needs of our community to ensure we deliver the highest quality care in the most affordable setting to best serve our patients,” said a spokesperson for the organization in an email. “As part of that effort, we made the difficult decision to permanently close our Aquatic program.”
The Sutter spokesperson said that the Mickelson pool was funded through philanthropic donations to the hospital as part of a fundraising campaign.
“It’s not a community pool and was never publicly funded,” the spokesperson said. “The continued uncertainty presented by COVID-19, our focus on providing quality acute care services and our ongoing efforts to be good stewards of resources have led us to close the program.”
Former pool users, disability advocates and San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa had all urged the health care provider to reopen its therapy pool at Sunday’s rally.
Located at the Mills Health Center in San Mateo, the heated pool was the only of its kind in the county meant for seniors, people with chronic pain or disabilities and others seeking therapeutic care.
A coalition of health care workers, local governments and former pool users created an organization called Warm Water Wellness, and backed by 5,000 petition signatures, demanded the health care provider either reopen the pool or refund the philanthropic donations it received. They argued that the pool was meant for the community.
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