Pool Therapy

A Gillette therapist will provide your pool therapy. 

Inpatient Pool Therapy 

If you are getting pool therapy during a hospital stay, Gillette nurses or Rehabilitation Therapies staff will take you to the pool. 

Outpatient Pool Therapy 

• Please plan to arrive at Gillette 15 minutes before your appointment so you have enough time to register and change clothes. If you are unable to keep your pool therapy appointment, call to cancel the appointment. Your therapist will be waiting for you in the pool and won’t know that you aren’t coming. 
• Bring your own bathing suit and towel. 
• Check in at Rehabilitation Therapies.
• You must be able to independently dress yourself or have a caregiver with you in the locker room.

• Bringing family members/caregivers: It might be appropriate for family members or caregivers to be in the pool with you if it advances the therapy care plan. Your pool therapist will let you know if this is the case. 

• Toileting: Patients who are not toilet trained must wear pool appropriate diapers or plastic pants. If the pool is contaminated it will need to be shut down for up to 24 hours for chemical treatment. 

• Canceling: Anyone coming to pool therapy must be free from (and not recently exposed to) contagious illnesses. Please cancel if you are sick or have had diarrhea 48 hours before your appointment hours. You also need to cancel if you have any open cuts or wounds.

Your therapist will discuss your specific goals for pool therapy. Some of the general benefits are: 

• Warmth of the water. Warm water (above 90 degrees Fahrenheit) promotes body relaxation, decreasing muscle tightness, allowing stretching. 
• Buoyancy of water. Buoyancy can be used to assist or resist movement. It supports your body in a way that makes sitting, standing and walking easier. 

We want your experience to be positive. Please tell us about any past unpleasant water experiences that might affect your pool therapy sessions. Also, please tell your therapist if you have seizures or any other medical condition that may interfere with pool therapy. Based on the information you provide, along with your performance/ adjustments to the pool, a therapist might recommend, after a trial period, that pool therapy is not beneficial and should be discontinued.