Rally supports keeping Allentown State Hospital open — themorningcall.com

Rally supports keeping Allentown State Hospital open — themorningcall.com

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State secretary praises MHAWC – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

State secretary praises MHAWC – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Mental Health Information – XMind – Social Brainstorming and Mind Mapping

Mental Health Information – XMind – Social Brainstorming and Mind Mapping

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Mental health treatment changing in Westmoreland – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Mental health treatment changing in Westmoreland – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Wernersville State Hospital might see influx of patients if state closes Allentown facility

This article …

Wernersville State Hospital might see influx of patients if state closes Allentown facility.

Was posted on November 3, 2009 on readingeagle.com and discussing the effect of the possible closure of Allentown State Hospital.

“Pennsylvania may close Allentown State Hospital”

 

This post is a followup to a post I did a couple days ago about an article indicating he possible closure of Allentown State Hospital.  Special thanks to John L. Micek who co-authored the followup article found below for supplying the link to the article found on The Morning Call website at …

http://www.mcall.com/news/all-a1_5hospital.7046943oct08,0,4804735.story

themorningcall.com

Pennsylvania may close Allentown State Hospital

By John L. Micek and Daniel Patrick Sheehan

Of The Morning Call

October 8, 2009

The state Department of Public Welfare is seriously considering closing the 97-year-old Allentown State Hospital and moving its patients to other hospitals.

At midday Wednesday, a senior welfare official said the department planned to close the mental health hospital. But after an outcry from area lawmakers, a spokesman for the governor’s office said no final decision had been made.

The state has had to make ‘’significant spending reductions this year,” Rendell administration spokesman Gary Tuma said, ‘’so examining potential savings possible through the closure of some facilities is a necessary part of that exercise.”

Tuma said the state is continuing to evaluate the hospital, its service and its costs. ”As in the past, any proposed closures are discussed with the Legislature and the community,” he said.

Allentown’s patients probably would be moved to Clarks Summit State Hospital in Lackawanna County and Wernersville State Hospital in Berks County, a welfare official said. Allentown State Hospital had 175 patients in March, the welfare department’s Web site says.

It was unclear Wednesday how many people work there.

About 60 registered nurses do, said Matt Richards, a spokesman for HealthcarePa, a branch of the Service Employees International Union.

Lehigh Valley lawmakers said they learned more than a month ago that the welfare department was mulling whether to close the hospital in east Allentown.

On Sept. 2, Rep. Mario Civera, R- Delaware, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, wrote to Public Welfare Secretary Estelle Richman asking her to confirm closure ”rumors.”

In the letter sent on behalf of Rep. Doug Reichley, R-Lehigh, Civera asked for hard numbers on a potential shutdown, including any potential savings and the number of employees and patients who would be affected.

In an Oct. 1 response, Richman sidestepped Civera’s questions, telling him: ”Should a decision be made to close the hospital, I assure you that all legislative leaders will be notified, along with the impacted delegation.”

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Reichley said Richman’s ”lack of clarity does not resolve the question of the potential closure and only serves to perpetuate uncertainties about the facility’s future.”

Rep. Karen Beyer, R-Lehigh, said closing the hospital would be ”thoughtless and cruel.”

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski included the hospital in his plan to raise $1.7 million in revenue from the sale of five city properties.

In a statement Wednesday, Pawlowski said he is concerned about the impact a hospital closing would have ”on the patients and families who will now have to travel greater distances for much-needed services. Likewise, I am concerned about the loss of local jobs and the impact that will have on the employees and their families.”

Pawlowski said the city had no final word on closure of the hospital, which is along Hanover Avenue and backs up to the Lehigh River.

Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham said the county has heard ”rumblings” about a closure but also hasn’t received official word.

”Most are running at anywhere from 25 to 40 percent capacity, so there have long been plans Â… to look at consolidation and closing,” Cunningham said. ”What we heard, and it’s not confirmed to us, is this new budget would reduce the amount of money available and force consolidation of the facilities.”

Closure ”would not come as a surprise,” he said.

john.micek@mcall.com

717-783-7305

Reporter Jarrett Renshaw contributed to this story.

Copyright © 2009, The Morning Call

Poll #20 – State Hospitals

How many state hospitals be closed in Pennsylvania?
(polls)

“State eyeing Allentown State Hospital for closure”

The following s a very brief extremely vague article I got an alert for in my email.  I am working on digging for more solid info or at the very least confirmation of the accurracy of the article.  I’ll be honest with you, this stirs up mixed feelings within me, but I aven’t thought my personal views out enough to feel comfortable in sharing them at this point.  I do have plans for a post or maybe even a published article on my thoughts and views about the closure of state hospitals.  Sadly though I’ve learned that when the stae government publicly announces they are thinkig of closing somthing it usually turns out they are further in the planning of the actual closure then what is made public.  So if this is true or not I don’t know, but I can say that I’m dilligently digging for more informatio that I hope I’ll be able to shae hea and will offer more details then the following article does …. may take soe time though so your patience is much appreciated whil I dig.

This brief article appeared in the October 7, 2009 edition ofthe  Morning Call at the following address ….

http://www.mcall.com/news/all-news-atown-statehosp-100709-cn,0,1798379.story

HARRISBURG | – The state Department of Public Welfare is seriously considering whether to close the 97-year-old Allentown State Hospital and move its patients to other hospitals in northeastern Pennsylvania.

At midday, a senior official in the Department of Public Welfare said the agency planned to close the hospital. But after an outcry from area lawmakers, a spokesman for the governor’s office said a final decision has not been made.

The hospital has 175 patients, according to the Welfare Department’s Web site.

– Reporting by John L. Micek, Call Harrisburg Bureau

Money Monday – September

 I don’t normally like to promote things on here if I can avoid it, but I thought this site was very appropriate for a Mony Monday post.  I don’t get anything for sharing the link with you, so by following the link to the Vocalpoint site, only you will benefit.   I’ve been with Vocalpoint for probably 3 or 4 months now, and have gotten some really cool coupons from them.  One example of a coupon I got through them was one I got for a free box of Rice Krispies cereal.  I haven’t bought boxed cereal other then oatmeal for years because of the cost of it so for me it was a special treat.  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Rice Krispies … strange as it may seem, as I eat them I get a little smile on my face as I think back to when I was a kid and how fascinated I was with them saying “Snap crackle pop” to me as I ate them.  Along with the coupon for a free box, I got several coupons each for $10 off which isn’t much when you consider that the box I got for free cost between $4 and $5  but like they say every little bit helps and the purpose of the extra coupons was to share them with friends and family.  Yeah in essense they want the whole world buying their product, but if the coupon goes to someone who buys the item already or like me normally doesn’t purchase it because of the price but would like to it could be a special treat for them.  Vocalpoint encourages folks to comment on items they receive coupons for so I guess you could say there is a catch, but they don’t penalize you if you don’t write a revie on something because it isn’t something you use or simply forget to write it.  Below you’ll find info on how to get to the vocalpoint site, I should warm you though that they are geared towards Mom’s in terms of a target audience, but since I don’t have kids, and they didn’t tell me to go away I figure anyone who doesn’t mind getting information geared towards Mom’s in exchange for some really good coupons, it is worth it.

I thought you might be interested in Vocalpoint.com.    Vocalpoint provides some great benefits and it’s all for free!   Here are some of the features:

• Surprising product information
• Great coupons/samples
• Cool things to share with friends

Hope you enjoy!

http://gotaf.socialtwist.com/redirect?l=-590080985977908839912

House Fall 2009 Season Premier
This piece is about my thoughts regarding the fall 2009 season premier of House which aired on Fox on Sept. 21, 2009
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/2202575/house_fall_2009_season_premier.html