NO discrimination: Consider Building a New Wellness Center with a Warm Water Therapy Pool at downtown location

Tell Mercy Hospital they can NOT DISCRIMATE again ELDERLY, LOW INCOME and DISABLED!!

There were just shy of 2,000 letters which were sent out to member of the Wellness Center notifying them of the closure and demolition of the center. We are asking that you consider rebuilding a new Wellness Center in a new location at Mercy downtown or move the location of the central utility plant. 

The mission statement for Mercy states "The Mission of Mercy Medical Center - Des Moines, as a member of Catholic Health Initiatives, is to nurture the healing ministry of the Church, supported by education and research.  Fidelity to the Gospel urges us to emphasize human dignity and social justice as we create healthier communities."  The Wellness Center is a big part of the healing process.  There is already an overload of patients needing aquatic therapy.  Not all of these patients are willing to go to the westside for therapy.  Some of your current members take the Dart bus to your facility.  It takes an hour and a half to go from the southside to the westside one way.  The central location near downtown provides easy access for patients to get the care they need. 

Your website lists Mercy's values as "Reverence, Integrity, Compassion and Excellence".  Where is your Excellence in care when you are taking away an essential part of recovery for patients who have had joint surgeries, suffer from a chronic illness or experience strokes?  Patients need the important part of recovery to build their strength and gain better coordination.  The warm water pool is essential for these patients. Without it, recovery will take much longer or they will have to live with more pain and at a lowered state of wellbeing. Where is your Compassion for these patients?  Where is your Integrity when patients who are on a fixed income cannot afford the extra cost of another fitness center? 

Where is your Reverence for patients such as Eva Buchholtz who suffered from a stroke and cannot move one of her arms and has troubles walking without a cane and a leg brace up to her hip?  When Eva started coming to the pool, she was only able to stay in the shallow water and had to secure one arm to the side of her body with a belt.  Now Eva can swim around the deep water and if she slips, she can pick herself back up without any assistance.  Another patient example is Bonnie Comer who suffers from Muscular Dystrophy.  By coming to the warm water pool, she has improved flexibility and balance.  This is all because of the use of a warm water pool.

According to Mercy's website under the "Business Health Services", it states "Mercy is proud to offer health care services to employers of all sizes services that drive down health care costs and increase employee productivity, job satisfaction and overall health."  Overall health is the purpose of your wellness center.  It provides your employees and patients a place where they destress, lose weight, relieve pain, become healthier overall and improve their self-confidence.

We ask that you reconsider your decision to close and demolish the Wellness Center because:

            -Patients need a central location near downtown

            -Many patients are on a fixed income and cannot afford a more expensive fitness center

            -Mercy provides a friendly environment with a sense of community for its members

            -The Wellness Center provides a social outing for members

-Patients get some mental healing from being able to share their struggles in life with other members who understand what they are going through.

-Mercy provides a safe environment