Jennifer Schaeffer

Review of Everett YMCA

I was very disappointed in the new facility. I go...

I was very disappointed in the new facility. I go to the Marysville Y exclusively with a wheelchair bound client, and drive an accessibility van. We decided to try the new facility as we had heard great things. On my one and only visit, i noticed 22 parking spots for smart cars (only 8 were being used) and only 8 handicapped parking spaces, all of which were full (understandably considering the Y is a pretty popular place for people with disabilities). Not a single space was van accessible. There were no wheelchair accessible doors, with the exception of the front door which was a sliding door. There is no direct access to the pool, without going through the dressing room, which can be tricky with a large electric wheelchair. There are no clear aisles around the pool. I had to move several items for my client to reach the ADA chair. Someone else was observed on the other side of the pool doing the same with someone they were accompanying. The ada chair into the lap pool is placed WAY too high. In Marysville my client exits the chair into the water and back in unassisted. Here, I had to enter the pool and pull her into the water since the chair only lowered to about 3 inches under the water (by contrast, in Marysville the chair is fully submerged at its lowest point). To exit the water I had to bodily hoist her up and out of the water into the chair. Not an easy feat considering she is a fully grown woman and I am not a large-muscled woman. We were extremely disappointed, and will not be returning.