SKOWHEGAN — Redington-Fairview General Hospital is considering closing its two aging indoor pools, a move that would leave those who say the facilities have helped them rehabilitate after injuries, stay fit and learn to swim with no other nearby option.

The pools, a 94-degree therapy pool and an 84-degree lap pool, are the only year-round, indoor aquatics facilities easily accessible to the public. The facility serves hundreds of people, according to the hospital, Somerset County’s primary medical provider.

But the pools at Redington Rehab at 57 Fairview Ave. require significant — and costly — structural upgrades to remain open, said Buffy Higgins, the hospital’s director of operations.

Meanwhile, Redington-Fairview is seeing an uptick in demand for physical, occupational and speech therapy, Higgins said via email. Those services currently are offered out of the same building.

“As part of our long-term facility planning, we are exploring the option of filling in the existing pool space and renovating the area to create additional patient care areas that better meet current and future needs across these growing service lines,” Higgins wrote. “We understand the importance of aquatic services to many of our patients and members of the community.”

Higgins said Redington-Fairview executives have not made a final decision about the pools and are evaluating all options for replacement. Higgins added the hospital has no timeline for a decision, as executives continue to discuss the matter internally.

“Our priority remains ensuring safe, high-quality care and making thoughtful, responsible decisions that best serve our patients and community while aligning with RFGH’s mission,” Higgins wrote.

Current program offerings include water aerobics, water fitness and swimming lessons  according to current flyers. A Special Olympics program also regularly uses the facility.

For adults, a monthly membership to access the pools, use a fitness room and take classes is $60; a day pass is $7.50. Students and senior citizens pay half price for both the monthly and daily passes.

The hospital estimates the pools serve about 950 people, a figure that includes recent one-time users as well as regular visitors.

Among them is Brenda Madden, 65, of Anson, who said she first used the therapy pool after being injured in a car crash more than two decades ago and then again after a rotator cuff injury.

Madden, in a lengthy social media post that circulated widely in local groups and that she shared with the Morning Sentinel, wrote of the many people she has seen benefit from the facility and the positive relationships that form there.

“This community deserves better than a quiet closure of a resource that has benefited so many,” Madden wrote in the post, which also praised the pool staff.

Julian Payne, 57, of Cornville, said he started swimming daily in January after being prescribed a CPAP machine for sleep apnea, while also dealing with other health problems like high blood pressure and pre-diabetes.

In the last few months, Payne said the hourlong daily swims, along with regular walking and diet changes, have resulted in him losing 40 pounds. He said he has also been able to stop using the CPAP machine and been able to get off most of his medications.

“It’s great preventative medicine,” Payne said of the swimming pool. “It’s good for the mood, too, just general wellbeing and how friendly the staff are … There’s no judgment of what level you’re at — you just come and do the best you can.”

The next closest indoor lap pool from his Cornville home, Payne said, is at the Alfond Youth & Community Center in Waterville. But he’s concerned that driving that distance every day to exercise would not be worth it if the Redington-Fairview pools were to close.

Baylee Dominski, 33, of North Anson, said her 5-year-old son, who has autism, takes private swimming lessons at Redington Rehab once a week. It is also where Dominski learned to swim years ago. While her family has the means to get to the Waterville pool, if needed, in the past it was not a good fit for her son because that facility is much busier and noisier, Dominski said.

“He’s also benefited therapeutically on so many other levels,” she said. “It’s helped him with regulation and mood, and I know that a lot of other kids benefit from this as well.”