profound mental retarded residents....

[Abecrombie]

please vote on poll , desperately need some feed back here due to my brother is in state developmental hospital and has been al his life , being in the community scares me due to the doors to be unlocked at all times and legal and professional medical references have not been involved. There is no subject model for the outcome and disreguards for the residents well being as far as adapting well,. there are no guarentees and no back up plan if this one fails . the hospital is being bought out by a computer corporation and wont allow the historical site that holds these residents to remain , even though there are only around a hundred or so profoundly grossly mentaly retatrded. technoligy today prevents such retardation and most residents are in the middle age group. guardians of residents are not being told the truth about the legislation and what steps are being done to provide a accurate feedback when asked questions concerning our loved ones in these hospitals.

* THAT IS A T....as in trust not rust in the second question. sorry

Edited October 31, 2006 by Abecrombie

[Atheist God]

Though i would'nt call it a retard community nor have anything again'st the mentally handicapped I feel I have the right to be told. I feel everyone in the community should know. As someone who has an uncle with the mind of a 10 year old, scizophrenic there is a potential danger hazzard. It is only fair that a memo go out in the said area.

[Leonardo]

Abecrombie,

I answered yes to both lower questions but I must admit I didn't understand the middle question. I answered yes to that because I thought your intent was to ask whether you, as the parent or guardian, would live in the community home along with your relative.

If that is incorrect I might not answer yes but don't know if I could change my vote. Clarification of this question would be appreciated

[Abecrombie]

Abecrombie,

I answered yes to both lower questions but I must admit I didn't understand the middle question. I answered yes to that because I thought your intent was to ask whether you, as the parent or guardian, would live in the community home along with your relative.

If that is incorrect I might not answer yes but don't know if I could change my vote. Clarification of this question would be appreciated

since I cannot go back to edit my poll questions or add another option , I could see how someone might be a bit confused . Thank you first off for seriously taking part and asking questions. My oldest brother is severly and profoundly mentally retarded and out of the three questions , I ask if they were to be relocated in the community as a neighbor living next door per say, would you want knowledge of this kind of residence next to your house in the community. why? because the plan that is proposing relocation is claiming that nearby neighbors will not know of their placement. All of the parents of the residents that I know prefer their loved ones to be remaining in the current state developmental hospital , thus it provides safety from everyday surrounding we are all used to . the fact that they will leave their door unlocked at all times if they were to be placed in the community upsets me because of harm and sericurity issues that do not protect these individuals from day to day crime. Most of the residents at the state hospital they are in now is closed off and visitation is made with family members only , thay have enough staff to handle residents , a on site medical team as well as facility to take care of emergency situations ,... in the comunity there are no guarentees to their safety nor is there a model to proove it works . it hasnt been done before and the studies show ,..their is no studies. I hope that has helped. And as far as my brther is concerned my mom took care of him at home till he was fourteen and it was too much on the family . he needed constanst twenty four hour a day supervision. Plus my parents felt that it wasnt fair for him nor the family to keep him inside with out that possible care that was and is provided by professionals in a enviroment that has helped him socialy.

[Leonardo]

OK, thanks for the clarification. I won't (or can't) change my vote but I would like to ask a couple more questions if you don't mind.

You say the current hospital is state-run. Surely the state have a duty of care to the patients to provide specialist alternative accommodation for these patients?

Economic constraints may mean they cannot build another hospital, but why did the sale ever get permission to go ahead if that was the case?

I take it your words 'placing in the community' means relocation to private family homes, not facilities designed to cater for their needs.

Sorry if this is dredging up old hurts. It may be that you have been through this and fought the state to get some commitment from them. It just really aggravates me when you get a governmental authority - part of whose job it is to look after the more vulnerable members of our communities - putting economy before community welfare. I know the harsh realities do mean you can't do everything for the betterment of the community but it doesn't prevent things like this from seeming so very unjust.

[Abecrombie]

You are correct and I dont , like the media, want to taint this in any way or to jeopordize the residents here. There might be a appeal to fight this and I wanted to get the subject out there so I can get feedback , so people are aware of these things. Once I know for certain, I will post the detailed information but currently I need to disscuss this subject with the sttourney general of the state I live in and find protection rights to add for the appeals if that be the case. So far the state is not showing me much as far as what rights anyone has here and it p***es me off. So bear with me and perhaps later on I can give the board more of the political inconsciable details I feel I shouldnt now ,.. my luck It will screw things up . And if I put too much info out there they can loophole it so legally , it will go against the reason why I started the thread to begin with. I will call this survey a feild research of opinions . And yes everyones input would be a big help.

Thanks for your concern

Abecrombie

[Leonardo]

Good luck

BTW I see what got me confused about your second question - you accidentally left the 't' off trust. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to 'rust in a community home'

[gollo]

I've found a couple of links that may be helpful to you:

Independent Monitoring for Quality

Independent Monitoring for Quality is an outgrowth of the Multi-Year Plan for Pennsylvania's mental retardation system, presented to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare by the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) to the Office of Mental Retardation (OMR) in July 1997. The Multi-Year Plan called for the creation of independent teams at the local level to monitor the quality of services delivered. The teams were to be comprised of individuals with disabilities, family representatives and advocates charged with the responsibility of assessing the quality of supports and services provided to individuals and families. Quality was to be measured in terms of outcomes as well as satisfaction.

The Human Services Research Institute

The Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) was established in 1976 with the express purpose of assisting states and the federal government to enhance services and supports to people with mental illness and people with mental retardation, and to support the development of alternatives to congregate care facilities.

Good Luck

[Abecrombie]

I've found a couple of links that may be helpful to you:

Independent Monitoring for Quality

Independent Monitoring for Quality is an outgrowth of the Multi-Year Plan for Pennsylvania's mental retardation system, presented to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare by the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) to the Office of Mental Retardation (OMR) in July 1997. The Multi-Year Plan called for the creation of independent teams at the local level to monitor the quality of services delivered. The teams were to be comprised of individuals with disabilities, family representatives and advocates charged with the responsibility of assessing the quality of supports and services provided to individuals and families. Quality was to be measured in terms of outcomes as well as satisfaction.

The Human Services Research Institute

The Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) was established in 1976 with the express purpose of assisting states and the federal government to enhance services and supports to people with mental illness and people with mental retardation, and to support the development of alternatives to congregate care facilities.

Good Luck

Thank you so much