Hello Everyone!
As I mentioned what would happen in my last update, on Wednesday, March 22, four of us representing the communities affected by the abrupt closure of EHFC met with senior management of Northshore-Edward. We were able to deliver our messages directly. While any actions by management have not been decided, we think they now have an appreciation of the human toll it has taken on our community. We also offered several ideas to increase revenue and repurpose space at EHFC to enable it to remain open.
In summary, management has not committed to anything as of yet. We will continue to press for action.
Below is a summary of the messages we delivered:
1. People are angry! We had a member with a disability provide a first-hand account of how EHFC is a special place for her and how she struggled for years to find a supportive environment until she found EHFC. With over 3,250 signatures, nearly all comments accompanying the petition express their dissatisfaction with the EHFC closing and how important the center’s community is to them.
2. Seven Bridges is not a substitute.
a. The locker rooms at 7B are three times as far from the entrance than they are at EHFC. This presents a significant barrier for older and physically challenged members to continue to exercise and receive the irreplaceable benefit of close relationships.
b. The special aquatic class schedule is not sufficient. The most significant reduction in water-based classes (37% decrease) affects seniors and special health populations.
c. Two of the WAVES weekly swim practices are slated for the children’s pool which is currently heated to over 85 degrees. This is unsafe for elderly swimmers - WAVES has members up to 84 years old!
d. The training area at Seven Bridges is long and narrow in contrast to the spacious center area at EHFC. This will reduce the capacity of members to use it.
e. Packing EHFC members into the Seven Bridges facility will make an already crowded facility more crowded and will discourage exercise.
3. Northshore has violated every single line of its Mission, Vision, and Values statement with the closing and the abrupt, non-communicative fashion in which they did it. I included these in my last update and read them out loud at the City Council meeting on March 21.
4. Northshore-Edward is in violation of the public-input requirement of the Martin Mitchell Campus Master Plan that facilitates communication and coordination among the stakeholders of the Martin Mitchell Bequest. In contrast to how Northshore brazenly ignored the public input requirement, School District 203 held multiple hearings before expanding Naperville Central High School several years ago, as required by the Master Plan.
5. A health-focused organization should be encouraging physical fitness as an effective way to reduce health problems. It seems that shutting down EHFC will worsen health outcomes, ultimately raise healthcare costs, and result in higher insurance rates for EVERYONE. In effect, all of us will be negatively impacted by this decision so that Northshore can generate more positive revenue numbers.
6. We left the Northshore-Edward management our presentation that contains several personal impact statements so that they can better understand the real anguish the closure has caused.
7. We stressed how their actions are hurting their brand, which they have worked so hard over the years to build - “Healthy-Driven” is being replaced by “Wealthy-Driven.” We also tried to convey how the abrupt closure of EHFC will impact where Naperville residents choose to obtain their healthcare in the future.
8. In the spirit of constructive partnership, we urged that it’s not too late to do the right thing and to keep EHFC open. And that if they did, the community would rally to help make that happen.
We will continue to pressure Northshore to act in the best interests of our community. At the March 21 City Council meeting, we pointed out to Council members that Northshore ignored the Martin Mitchel Campus Master Plan requirements to obtain public input. This inaction sets a very dangerous precedent for the rest of the stakeholders of the 212 acres that Caroline Martin Mitchell bequeathed to the City of Naperville – these stakeholders include Naper Settlement, NCHS, the Von Oven Scout Reservation, Sportsman’s Park, the Community Garden Plots, Knoch Park, the Naperville Cemetery, and a large section of the downtown Riverwalk. We will continue to avail Council to lead and compel Northshore to uphold the Master Plan requirements. Learn more about the Martin Mitchell Campus Master Plan and watch the 3/21/23 City Council Meeting Public Comments.
We press on!
Steve