EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: October 18, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Patrick Heisinger, Interim City Manager
BY: James Colin, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Resolution to reopen the Mack E. Mickelson Arthritis and Rehabilitation Center Therapy Pool
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution calling on Sutter Health to reopen the Mack E. Mickelson Arthritis and Rehabilitation Center Therapy Pool for community use at the Mills Health Center in San Mateo, with the same open access hours in place prior to January 2020.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 5: Improve Communication and Enhance Community Engagement Priority No. 6: Create a Healthy and Safe Community
Background
In June of 2021, Sutter Health announced that it would permanently close the Mickelson Therapy Pool, which has operated for over 25 years, to independent use by patrons, in spite of the critical need for this facility.
The Mickelson Therapy Pool has been used over the years by thousands of residents of San Mateo County who suffer from a broad range of health issues, including permanent disabilities, debilitating injuries, autoimmune disorders, and mobility impairments. These County residents have used the Mickelson Therapy Pool to rehabilitate those health issues and mitigate physical decline.
Analysis
The Mickelson Therapy Pool has historically provided both preventative and interventionist therapies to residents of San Mateo County suffering from health issues and it is an asset to the community at large and even more so to residents who are elderly or who live with mobility impairments and health conditions.
Sutter Health and its subsidiaries and affiliated entities receive significant financial benefits from their operations in San Mateo County, including from both public and private contracts.
Over 4,300 patients, caregivers, and community members have signed a petition to reopen the Mickelson Therapy Pool in order to increase the health, independence, and dignity of those residents who rely upon it. Warm water therapy pools in the region can and do operate profitably and safely under relevant COVID-19 regulations. As such, we request that the Council adopt the attached resolution calling on Sutter Health to reopen the Mack E. Mickelson Arthritis and Rehabilitation Center Therapy Pool with the same open access hours, for community use, that it had prior to January of 2020.
Fiscal Impact
There are no fiscal impacts associated with the resolution.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice by making the agenda and report available on the City’s website and on a bulletin board located at City Hall: 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The action being considered by the City Council is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a “project” pursuant to 15378(b)(4) because it is a fiscal activity which does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant impact on the environment.
The action being considered does not constitute a “Project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378 (b)(5), in that it is a government administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
Awarding this contract is not a project under The California Environmental Quality Act (Section 21000, et. seq. of the California Public Resources Code, hereafter CEQA) because the action has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
Attachments
A. Resolution Therapy Pool