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Local wellness center battles Department of Health to keep its doors open

A local wellness center that some have relied on to find relief is struggling to keep its doors open, battling Duval County's Department of Health over permitting.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local wellness center that some have relied on to find relief is struggling to keep its doors open, battling Duval County's Department of Health over permitting its float tanks as swimming pools. 

The owners disagree and cannot operate because of an injunction imposed by the DOH and accuse the department of being unwilling to work with them to obtain permits so they can safely accommodate customers.

Members of Indigo Float want to use one of the center's float spas to help relieve chronic pain, anxiety, inflammation and improve sleep.

"It's just an amazing stress reliever," member Bob Davidoff said. 

But not many have been able to enjoy the benefits because of a legal dispute between Indigo Float and the Duval County Department of Health. Owners Matt and Jacki Stewart say the float spas are permitted by the county DOH as public swimming pools which mandate using pool chemicals inside the enclosed tanks.  

"In our fluid solution, there's so much Epsom salt that we are unable to test using traditional chlorine testing methods that are designed for recreational pool water, the water isn't the same. So, the testing methods don't work," Owners Matt and Jacki Stewart said. 

The Stewarts say a float spa is nothing like a swimming pool and the biggest hurdle has been proving that to the department of health and a judge. 

"A float spa is different in that it fully evacuates the float solution in between every guest. So, it goes through a filtration outside of the tank, so that we can come in in between every, every use and clean the inside of the tank as well," the Stewarts' said.

"It's the furthest thing from a pool," Davidoff said. 

In November, a judge partially sided with the couple, explaining the DOH relied on an un adopted rule in making that determination which “Affected the rights of Indigo Float” the Stewarts say the injunction has yet to be removed. 

"I had one mom call me last week with a son who just suffered a concussion. And she was trying to get in and get him some time in the float spa. But yeah, we have people call us every day that that want to use our services and can't. From a revenue perspective, we have been unable to keep our staff employed, we have struggled to maintain our financial obligations, such as the rent in this in the shopping center," the Stewarts said. 

The Stewarts say they are hopeful their business can be saved and are doing everything they can to stay afloat until the next chance to plead their case again in court. We reached out to the Duval County Health Department for comment but were told due to pending litigation, they can't comment on the case. More information about Indigo Float's battle with the DOH can be found here.

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