'!f0t Wells Health Resort Could Be RevampedTo Provide Ne:w Kind Of Physical Therapy

By CHERY.LHOWELL that the resort might closeAdvert:ser Staff Writer and keep Louisianians from~LEXANDRIA - The Hot enjoying one of the state's

wells Health. Resort isa pleasurable and perhapsj ,,"!,i1jar name to a lot of healthful natural resources,1 oUlsianians. Bul how many indicated' that he would do! .:ople have visited it lately everything he could to obtainId .seen the condition it's in the necessary funding in ap-'W?Or know that the state propriations and capital-vernment had been con- ouUay bills.jering Its closure? "I ain reaily amazed allheIloi. Weils has become numbers of people who usem-down over the years, and it," Brinkhaus said in ans.main feature - the bath interview. "If they thinkcuse - has not been opera- lhey're going to save moneyonal for some time. shutting it down, I think. The _inoperability of the they're mistaken."ath house and the decrep- Since then, it has been'Ide of the other facilities proposed ·that Hot Weils be.tracted the attention of the transferred from the De-epartment of Culture, Ree- partment of Culture, Recre -ation and Tourism, which ation and Tourism to the.I~jurisdiction over the re- Office of Hospitals and turnrt; The department con- it into a physical rehabllita-J~ted a study to determine tion center.hether it was feasible to According to Dr. Jonathoneep the resort open. Roberts of the Office· ofrhe' study outlined two Hospitals, the commillee hasistc options: begin a six- recommended the proposal,ear phased renovation of but the House and Senate. co resort at a cost of must still approve It.-,proximately $10million, or Roberts said the Office of, .ose It. The report indicated H 0 spit a 1s wan t s to"at .without the major re-: appropriate $1.4million fromovations, the resort, which ,the capital outlay budget of• open only part-time now the Iegistature torestore theue to its condition, would' hath house. re-dig the weilonllnue to deteriorate. that has been clogged withIn reply to the report, the mineral deposits, dig another:overnlfr Dave Treen 10-. weil called a "disposal weil"icated that other programs- that will put the used waternd .projects had greater back into the ground, and

- 'lorIty, andrefused to grant remodel the hotel andne money needed to keep it . grounds..operatlon. . "When this remodeling canThis caused consternation put Hot Weils back on among the people who selt-supportmg basis," Rob-.ished to see the state facili·. erts said, "our dream is to,; kept open. Sen. Armand J .. buUd a physical rehabllita-brinkhaus, expressing con- lion center 'as weil, with 20-30,'ern in a leller dated April 24 beds for the ~allents."

1'ijL~t'sunba!~butdiltrI Acadiana

• .Advertl.er. Lafayette, La., Sunday. Jun •. 13. 1982,. 1 • ~

. According to Roberts, re- normalized routine after 'they can take their place in Thompson. "It's just toohabilitation is the "missing treatment for crippling dis- society again." good a spot not to let it keep ,link in health care in eases, Roberts Indicated that Hot doing what it was meant toLouisiana," He said that he "I don't propose to start a Weils Is an exceilent spot for do,"feels there is not enough nursing home," Roberts clar- such a center because the According to Thompson,emphasis on the rehabilita- ified. "This would simply be belief people have in the another $430,000 is beingtion of patients. a place where patients who water's curative properties asked from the Legislature"We put our emphasis on have been treated for dis- can somelimes be as appropriations for an

diagnosis and treatment - eases sucb as rheumatoid beneficial to the mind as the 0 p e ra tin g bud get fornot continuing care," Rob- arthritis, cardiovascular medical cure is to the body. employees at the rehabilita-erts said. He added that to problems (strokes), am- "The general pUblic will tion center. The Office ofhis knowledge, there is very putations that bave been always be able to get the Hospitals says that one of its·litlie .care available in replacea by prostheses; and baths and rub-downs they've biggest jobs in making HotLouisiana for patients wbo neurological disorders can gotten before, as well," Wells Into a fine rehabilialionneed to ~et used to a stay for a month or two until according to. Rep. Richard center would be to attract a

professional staff .Although the future looked

bleak for a while, those whohave been working to keepHot Weils on the map areoptimistic about its chancesof staying open."It seems to me as though

it takes something more thanthe usual. reasonable de-mands to get something likethis done," Brinkhaus said.

'. "It was only after some ofj', the media gave this coverageand some scathing lellerswere written that this wasaccomplished. ""This arrangement will be

fine with me," Brinkhauscoiltlnued. "Anything thatkeeps Hot Weils open andoperating for the people Inour region has my approv-al. "Hot Wells wlil continue to

operate on a part-lime basisas It has In the past,according to Thompson, untilthe renovations are com-pleted. At that time, it will beopen full·lime again.

Headed For Hot Wells?ALEXANDRIA - Hot WeilsHealth

Resort is In an area that lies about 15miles west of Alexandria. Located'wtthm three miles of Colile Lake(which includes a boat landing and

@ swimming area), Lake Rodemacher,1£W and the Klsatchie National Forest, it isWi an Ideal spot for camping and vaca-

tioning .Hot Weils itself was discovered in

1913when an oil company explorationfound a minerai water weil 3,000 feetbelow the surface with water atllS'F.In 1915, the Louisiana Hot Weils

Sanitarium was opened there.Numerous reports and case historiesindicated that bathing in the water hadtherapeutic value for the temporaryrelief of arthritis and skin disorders.Despite the fact that research on thesubject failed to find scientific ormedical evidence to support theseclaims, people continued tonock there.In 1925,another weil was drIlled.By 1947the existing bath house had

, been bullt. Ten years later a restau-rant and pool were added. Whlle underthe jurisdiction of the Department ofHospitals during the 19505, the areabecame known as the Hot Wells HealthResort. It was a favored vacation spotof many people, whether they hadhealth problems they hoped the waterwould cure, or they sought only restand relaxation."Everyone used to go there." said

Kirk Carney of the Department ofCulture, Recreation and Tourism,"from people with crlppllng arthrtllsto people wltb basicaHy nothingwrong.'

"Even If you were quite healthy,"Carney added, "there was nothingmore relaxing than the four-hourtreatment of a sauna, whirlpool andmassage, and crashing in your hotelroom after. It wasn't even expensive.The four-hour treatment cost just $11."The mineral colitent of the water at

Hot Wells Is so high that the materialsused to bulld the structures and pipessoon began to corrode. The bath houseIs no longer in operation becausemineral deposits bave clogged the welland the pipes.Carney said that major renovations

were also needed for other parts of theresort because maintenance was notkept up and the 1950s-style buildingshave become run down. A new disposalwell must also be dug to return thewater to the ground."We can't put it back into the lakes

because It would kill the fish," said Dr.Jonathon Roberts of the Office ofHospitals. "And If we put It back intothe water system, the minerai depositswill start clogging up those works. Ithas to go back into the ground it camefrom."(EDITOR'S NOTE: Tbe Hot Weill

Health R_rt Ia opeD,7 days a weekthrouabout the year. The restaurant Iaopen lrom 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Motelaccomodatton ranges from $17 to mfor sln~ and fi'om $30 to $26 fordoubles. ue campground, wbleb Iaopen 24 boars a day COlt $I a Dlgbt andincludes water, electrlCltyU' comfortareas and a dumplq Ita on. Tentsand trallera are welcome. Tbebathboule II currenti)' e1oIed.