St. Mary Mercy Livonia Receives $16,928 grant to support Healthy Livonia, install two new community pool lifts

Photo caption: Healthy Livonia, which includes participation from St. Mary Mercy Livonia and the City of Livonia, has purchased and installed battery-powered lifts at two area public pools. Funds for the pool lifts were provided by HomeServe USA, which recently met with hospital and city officials to present a donation for $16,928. Pictured above from left to right are: Ted Davis, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, City of Livonia; Livonia Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan; Myles Meehan, Senior VP, Public Relations, HomeServe USA; Mike Chambers, Regional Director, HomeServe USA; Dave Spivey, President, St. Mary Mercy Livonia; and Michaeline Raczka, Director of Community Health and Well-Being, St. Mary Mercy Livonia.

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Bobby Maldonado

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System

248-858-6662

Bobby.Maldonado@stjoeshealth.org

LIVONIA, Mich. (Sept. 28, 2020) – St. Mary Mercy Livonia announced that it has received a $16,928 grant from HomeServe Cares Foundation to purchase and install two new self-operable lifts that allow people with limited mobility to more easily enter community pools in Livonia. The grant is a continuation of the hospital's involvement with Healthy Livonia, a citywide collaboration to strengthen the health and wellness of everyone living and working in the community.

"With two new lifts in place, people who otherwise might not enter the pool will be able to do so independently and safely," said Dave Spivey, president of St. Mary Mercy Livonia. "We are incredibly grateful for the involvement of HomeServe Cares Foundation and for their support as we seek to increase accessibility so that more local residents can take advantage of a fun, healthy activity right here in our community."

With this grant, Livonia Parks and Recreation purchased and installed a Spectrum Aquatics Motion Trek 350 battery-powered pool lift at Moelke Park (Botsford Pool), with plans for an additional lift to be purchased and installed at Shelden Park (Shelden Pool). The lifts are self-operable from the deck and water and will allow people with limited mobility to more easily enter the pool. The pool lifts, which replace older lifts at two of the city's three outdoor public pools, are fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and specially designed for lift stability and ease during transfer.

Although the lifts are easy to use, all pool managers and lifeguards at the Botsford and Shelden pools will receive training on how to use them.

“Improving the accessibility to our outdoor pools is another step in developing a welcoming place for people of all abilities,” said Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan. “We greatly appreciate the HomeServe Cares Foundation’s grant and the work of Healthy Livonia.”

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Livonia's Parks and Recreation Department took additional precautions at its public pool facilities this past summer. This included use of online reservations and payment for open swim times; the adoption of enhanced cleaning protocols between swim sessions; scheduling multiple swim sessions each day with decreased capacity to allow for social distancing; requiring personal protective equipment and training for all staff; and requiring patrons to wear masks when not in the pool. These precautions will remain in place in 2021, or until the COVID-19 virus in no longer a public health threat.\

“We launched the HomeServe Cares Foundation to support organizations that foster community and make a town a great place to live, work, and raise a family," said Tom Rusin, Global CEO, HomeServe Membership. "And that is exactly what St. Mary Mercy Livonia is doing. The new pool lifts will ensure that everyone who visits the town’s pools has equal access to fun and recreation. Healthy Livonia is a great initiative that HomeServe is pleased to support.”

Healthy Livonia is a collaboration that leverages resources of the City of Livonia, Livonia Parks and Recreation Department, the Chamber of Commerce, Livonia Public Schools, and St. Mary Mercy Livonia hospital. This citywide initiative is intended to reach beyond the walls of any one organization to strengthen the health and wellness of everyone in the community. Started in July 2016, Healthy Livonia seeks to "Make the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice," with the mission, "To energize a community-wide focus on healthy living in Livonia, Michigan," and the vision, "To be the healthiest city in the United States."

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About St. Mary Mercy Livonia


St. Mary Mercy Livonia is a 304-bed hospital providing acute-care medical and health services to our community by board-certified doctors and registered nurses. We provide the highest quality services with leading-edge technology in our 24-hour Emergency Center, Senior ER, Heart & Vascular Center, Cancer Center, Birthing Center, Women’s Center, Center for Joint Replacement, Inpatient and Outpatient Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Units, Sleep Center, Wound Care Center, and Michigan Bariatric Institute. We also offer same-day diagnostic testing and a variety of community health education services.

For additional information about St. Mary Mercy, please visit www.stmarymercy.org.

About Saint Joseph Mercy Health System

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) is a health care organization serving seven counties in southeast Michigan including Livingston, Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Jackson, and Lenawee. It includes 537-bed St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, 443-bed St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac, 304-bed St. Mary Mercy Livonia, 136-bed St. Joseph Mercy Livingston in Howell, and 133-bed St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea. Combined, the five hospitals are licensed for 1,553 beds, have five outpatient health centers, six urgent care facilities, more than 25 specialty centers; employ more than 13,400 individuals and have a medical staff of nearly 2,700 physicians. SJMHS has annual operating revenues of about $1.9 billion and returns about $120 million to its communities annually through charity care and community benefit programs.