HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The labor union representing more than 65,000 public service employees in Pennsylvania today urged Governor Rendell to reconsider the recently announced plan to close Harrisburg State Hospital (HSH) by December of 2005. In a letter to the Governor, AFSCME Council 13’s Executive Director, David Fillman, emphasized that although the union represents 330 workers at the hospital, the loss of local jobs is only one reason that the union strongly opposes this closure.
The goal of complete rehabilitation in the least restrictive environment is highly admirable, said Fillman, but county mental health professionals concur that appropriate transfer planning for all 259 HSH patients cannot realistically occur within a single year. This becomes especially obvious, Fillman added, in light of the following factors:
Strain on Counties
The seven counties served by HSH have already begun to expect the worst, but they admit they are simply not prepared for it: Community resources are already strained to the breaking point. The June 2004 Service Area Plan (SAP) prepared by mental health professionals from these counties notes that “the residential capacities of the counties is already stretched beyond reason ... with the waiting list for residential services being approximately equal to the total capacity of all counties ... the possibility of a system ‘meltdown’ is very real.”
Regarding inpatient hospitalization, the SAP explains that, with the exception of HSH, not a single provider in the seven-county area exists for inpatient psychiatric treatment in excess of 10 days. In addition, the SAP reported that consumers in these counties must wait six to eight weeks for psychiatric appointments.
Exorbitant Costs
The State has made it clear that cost-savings is not the reason for the proposed closure of HSH, and the above-mentioned counties have already estimated that more than $38 million will be required to establish community- based programs for HSH patients.
Historically, the costs involved in state hospital closures far exceed the initial estimates, as these figures demonstrate:
Dixmont State Hospital $10 million over initial estimate Philadelphia State Hospital $20 million over initial estimate Haverford State Hospital $6 million over initial estimate Patient Care
Patients at HSH receive round-the-clock care from a variety of experienced, qualified caregivers including psychiatric aides, nurses’ aides, recreational therapists, and dietitians. Nonunion human service workers are typically paid low wages, receive no benefits, and have extremely high turnover rates.
Strain on Families
For families of patients who require further hospitalization, the closure of HSH will be an enormous burden, requiring several hours of additional travel time. Visiting their loved ones will become more difficult, and reduced family contact will lower the quality of life of the patients.
Community Safety
Of the 258 patients currently at HSH, more than 140 have serious psychiatric conditions that have required more than two years of hospitalization. Many of these patients are considered “forensic,” meaning that they have committed crimes or are capable of doing so. Even the most stable and cooperative patients in community-based programs can deteriorate, yet they can legally refuse treatment unless it is proven that they are a danger to themselves or others. The long, complex process of filing commitment papers will no doubt increase the strain on local law enforcement agencies.
Fillman urged the Governor to consider the patients, the families, the workers, and the counties that would be devastated by a needlessly hasty closure of HSH. He added that the plan prepared by the best available authorities - mental health professionals from the affected counties - recommends a five-year strategy, with the first year dedicated to funding the counties so that they can begin creating the necessary community-based programs, and the discharge of 30 patients a year for the next four years to reduce HSH’s final capacity to 150.
AFSCME
CONTACT: Lynne Kirk, AFSCME, +1-717-503-3697
Web site: http://www.afscme13.org/