Adaptive scuba diving organization Diveheart has announced it is building the world’s deepest warm-water therapy pool.
This net-zero project is targeting a spot in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
After securing the second of two patents on the deep pool design earlier this year, the Diveheart management team decided to reveal the pool’s design and kick off a major fundraising campaign in 2024.
According to Diveheart Executive Director Tinamarie Hernandez:
“There are many great types of therapy, but in scuba diving we have the franchise on zero gravity. It’s thrilling to help get someone out of their wheelchair and standing up underwater for the first time since their injury, or maybe for the first time in their lives.”
Diveheart’s deep pool will provide a way to scale up and help many more people enjoy the benefits of underwater zero gravity in a confined and safe warm water environment. The pool will be a worldwide destination for research, rehabilitation, education, training and will provide vocational opportunities as well.
The depth of the pool is important because it allows Diveheart to replicate the benefits of deep open water diving without the unknowns of weather, water movement and other factors that limit opportunities for research and rehabilitation.
Currently, the world’s deepest pool, at 200 feet (61 meters), is located in Dubai, but no existing deep pool anywhere in the world is functional for adaptive scuba and scuba therapy, says Jim Elliott, Diveheart’s founder and president. However, the Diveheart pool will meet this need if the organization meets its fundraising goals, he added.
For more info, go to diveheart.org.
