HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Pool Acquires Wheelchair Lift

The city has acquired a wheelchair lift for the City Gym and Pool that will enable the disabled to more easily use the pool for rehabilitation.

Money to buy the lift came from a $95,000 Community Development Block Grant. The hydraulic lift cost about $15,000. The rest of the federal grant will be used to improve heating and for a filter and tile work at the indoor pool.

The gym and pool, built in 1931, had lacked easy access to the water for people who can’t use the pool steps.

Ann Cruz, director of health and fitness for the Rehabilitation Institute of Southern California in Orange, said pool exercise can improve the emotional and physical well-being of wheelchair-bound people.

Those who have the use of their upper bodies can swim laps and have a vigorous workout, she said. Exercise programs help the disabled build self-esteem and make them feel more a part of society, she said.

In the past, city recreation employees lifted disabled people from their wheelchairs and into the water, a cumbersome and time-consuming process, said Community Services Director Ron Hagen.

If the city had not obtained a lift to provide access for the disabled, it could have been fined or ordered to close the pool, Hagan said.

The next swimming class for the wheelchair-bound at the City Gym and Pool is scheduled Sept. 28 through Oct. 28. The hourlong class starts at 7 p.m. and is held Tuesdays and Thursdays. There is a $9 fee for the program.

The city’s pool, at 1600 Palm Ave., operates at near capacity from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, Hagan said. To meet the demand for facilities, officials are hoping to build a swimming complex that would include diving and Olympic pools and one for handicapped swimmers, possibly in Central Park, he said.

For more information about the lift, call the City Gym and Pool at (714) 960-8884.