'I have constant pain in my ankle': Residents rallying to save St. Thomas' only therapy pool

Every morning, Rob Viscontas walks four kilometres along Sunset Road, south of St. Thomas.

Hundreds of people honk and wave to the Union resident who had a brain aneurysm in 2015, forcing him to be in hospital for months.

Suffering from severe ankle pain and unable to use his right foot, he found relief in the therapy pool at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital (STEGH).

Now that relief has been taken away after STEGH closed the pool.

They say on July 10, a failure occurred in the therapy pool, leading to extensive flooding into “critical hospital infrastructure.”

“I have constant pain in my ankle,” said Viscontas. “The heat, the buoyancy, the water temperature. It's very heated around 87 or 88 degrees [Fahrenheit]. We have 50,000 people in the surrounding area and the only other heated pool is the Y (YMCA), but that’s only 80 degrees.”

Rob Viscontas – who suffers from severe ankle pain- waves to oncoming traffic south of St. Thomas, Ont. on Sept. 17, 2024. Viscontas, a regular user of the therapy pool at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital, is one of those rallying to keep the pool open. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

The therapy pool, installed in 1990 as part of the South Building construction, is operated by Talbot Trail Physiotherapy (TTP) who rents the space from STEGH.

STEGH CEO Karen Davies declined to answer questions by CTV News, instead referring us to a statement released on their website, which refers to the recent failure.

“In response to this incident, the pool was immediately drained and St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital engaged a third-party mechanical engineer (Chorley and Bisset) to assess the damage and identify the root cause,” said the statement by Davies and TTP President Chris Streib.

“The engineer's report revealed that the aging infrastructure supporting the pool requires substantial investment. The report revealed that the aging infrastructure supporting the pool requires substantial investment of approximately $350,000.”

It goes onto state that even with repairs, the risk of a future leak cannot be eliminated, and the pool will remain empty.

“The decision to leave the pool empty was not made lightly, but was necessary to ensure both fiscal accountability and continued safe operations at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital,” said the statement. “We understand the health benefits for those who utilize the therapy pool and we regret this situation.”

Opened in 1990, the therapy pool at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital sees more than 700 patients per month. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

In an attempt to save the pool, users have planned a meeting for Wednesday night at 105 Fairview Ave. in St. Thomas.

“We're trying to gather ideas to brainstorm, to move forward, to open that pool, so that we can continue with our personal mobility,” said Beth Beecroft, who has organized the brainstorm session. “I personally started using the pool in 2020. It was after surgery, and I've had complications throughout the last five years. I find that it helps with all of my muscular and skeletal issues. When I don't have that pool, I find that everything tightens up and seizes up.”

Beecroft is suggesting the more than 700 therapy pool users write letters to MPP Rob Flack, St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston, and councillors, as well as Davies to let them know their personal stories.

Viscontas said there are many people who need the pool more than him, but without it he’ll continue to walk with constant pain.

He’s pleading to STEGH to find the money to make the necessary repairs.

“Try and find some money if you can,” he said. “I use it just to get by in life. I’m not the only one with aches and pains, but it’s needed.”