We have several encouraging developments to share with you.
On 1/26/23, Warm Water Wellness attended the Peninsula Health Care District (PHCD) monthly meeting. Our goal was to request that PHCD, in concert with the Sequoia Healthcare District (SEQHD) and the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors (BOS), send a letter to Warner Thomas, the newly installed permanent CEO of Sutter Health, reiterating and clarifying the previously implied offers of financial and operational support that the three entities have made to Sutter Health to facilitate the reopening of the Mickelson therapy pool.
What we got was much better.
January is a month in which Sutter Health Mills-Peninsula Medical Center CEO Janet Wagner makes one of her four quarterly reports to the PHCD. After her report, she was asked by PHCD Director Dennis Zell for an update on Sutter’s position regarding the Mickelson pool.
Instead of her usual terse recital that the Mickelson pool is permanently closed and there is no hope for a change in policy, Wagner surprised us all by announcing that Sutter Health Mills-Peninsula is bringing in an expert from the Redwood City YMCA to evaluate the current condition of and the cost of refurbishing the Mickelson therapy pool. Although this is by no means a commitment from Sutter to reopen the Mickelson pool, it is a step in the right direction, and we look forward to hearing the outcome of this evaluation.
There still appears to be a concerning lack of understanding by Ms. Wagner, however, regarding just what constitutes a warm water therapy pool. After her encouraging comments regarding the possible refurbishment of the Mickelson pool, Ms. Wagner disappointingly rehashed the Sutter corporate position that there are comparable pools in the area suitable for former Mickelson therapy pool patrons and named the PJCC and YMCA pools as examples.
Warm Water Wellness reminded Ms. Wagner that none of Sutter’s recommended “replacement pools” come even close to having the usability and accessibility features, such as ramps, lifts, and 90-plus degree water, necessary for warm water therapy, and that the only remotely comparable pools, Pomeroy in San Francisco and Timpany in San Jose, are prohibitively too far away for most former Mickelson users. We also expressed disappointment that Ms. Wagner has to date refused to discuss the issue of the Mickelson therapy pool directly with us or any other stakeholders.
We hope that Ms. Wagner took our comments to heart.
After Ms. Wagner’s quarterly report, Warm Water Wellness presented our request for a joint letter to Sutter, which was followed by an impassioned public comment by former Mickelson user Angela Steyer.
In response, Director Zell made a motion to form an ad hoc committee. He also expressed concern at Sutter’s failure to communicate with suffering former Mickelson pool patrons. “It really, really bothers me that Sutter hasn’t even shown the courtesy of meeting with anyone yet,” said Zell. “Maybe if we gather a couple of Supervisors and a couple of district members here and a couple of district members from Sequoia maybe we can get their [Sutter’s] attention.” The motion passed 5-0 with a recommendation that the committee would have two members each from the Peninsula and Sequoia healthcare districts and the BOS, and one representative from the Redwood City YMCA.
It is our hope that the SEQHD, BOS, and RWC YMCA will join this newly formed ad hoc committee and that Mills-Peninsula CEO Wagner and Sutter Health will collaborate to reopen the Mickelson therapy pool.
You can view the 1/26/23 PHCD meeting here.
Video timestamps:
- Sutter Health Mills-Peninsula Medical Center CEO Janet Wagner’s response to PHCD Director Zell regarding the Mickelson therapy pool 14:17-16:22
- Warm Water Wellness CEO Lindsay Raike’s rebuttal to Ms. Wagner 20:12-25:13
- WWW CEO Lindsay Raike’s presentation to the PHCD Board proposing that the PHCD, SEQHD and SMC BOS write a joint letter to the new Sutter corporate management 59:49-1:06
- Angela Steyer's compelling public comment 1:06-1:07:14
- PHCD Director Dennis Zell’s motion to create an ad hoc committee to begin discussions with the SEQHD and the SM County BOS to find a solution with Sutter + the PHCD Board’s discussion; Motion passed 5-0 1:07:14-1:11:50
HOW YOU CAN HELP
We are 92 signatures shy of 5000 supporters on our Change.org petition. Please share our link far and wide to help us reach our next goal! change.org/save-the-Mickelson-pool At 5000 signatures, Change.org will send an email notification to Sutter management, putting additional pressure on the decision makers.
Currently, 19 out of 20 cities and towns in San Mateo County have passed resolutions, issued proclamations, or written formal letters to Sutter Corporate supporting our cause. Please help us reach out to the remaining city that hasn’t done so: Redwood City. Please contact the council and ask the members to pass a resolution supporting the reopening of the Mickelson therapy pool so that we can have full county support. Alternatively, you can make a public comment at their next hybrid meeting on 2/13/23 at 6:00 PM. The agenda and Zoom login information will be available on the Redwood City website 72 hours prior to the meeting.
Correspondence to the entire Redwood City Council may be sent to:
City Council
c/o City Clerk
1017 Middlefield Road
Redwood City, CA 94063
council@redwoodcity.org
S.T.O.M.P.! (Save The/Our Mickelson Pool!)
If you would like to join our advocacy group, please email us at info@warmwaterwellness.org