Thank you all for your support! Here’s an update from our organizing group:

We are still fighting to reopen the community pool program. In June of 2022, CPMC reopened the pool for therapy services only to community members who need short term services, have the right insurance coverage, and can afford the expensive co-pays. For example, Anthem Blue Cross bills $187.00 for each warm water procedure and requires a co-pay of $21.09 for every visit. 

When private hospitals in San Francisco eliminate health services or make a substantial reduction in the level of services provided, they must comply with the requirements of the Community Health Planning Ordinance of 1988. CPMC should have provided prior notice to the Public Health Commission. Given that CPMC did not provide notice to the public and Health Commission prior to eliminating the services provided, there was no meaningful opportunity for us to be heard on the issue of detrimental impact, including the lack of alternative means available in the community. 

The guided group hospital -based sessions, also known as community pool and the arthritis aquatic exercise program, served thousands of people with physical disabilities, most of them elderly, for decades at the Davies Campus. For many people with disabilities, as is true for us, warm water therapy is the only way to have access to meaningful exercise, treatment for our conditions, and relief from pain. 

We are still fighting to reopen the community pool program and specifically to demand a Proposition Q hearing regarding its closure so we can speak to its value. Please join us by signing and sharing the petition!

Sincerely,

Alison Wright and Colette I. Hughes,

Former Community Pool Participants