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Wernersville
State Hospital
Harrisburg State Hospital Closing
Dear Members, Supporters and Stakeholders,
As you may know, the State Department of Public Welfare has made
a decision to close Harrisburg State Hospital by December 31st of
2005. Currently, there are 258 consumers and 540 employees at HSH.
NAMI Pennsylvania is committed to doing everything possible to assure
consumers currently at the facility receive the best care available
and that their families, friends, and loved ones are included in
the process of review, service development and placement. We will
work to insure that the needs of consumers who are on the waiting
list or who will need an admission are addressed. We will provide
materials as they become available to our members through the affiliates.
We will also post information on our website which will be updated
weekly.
The NAMI PA Board of Directors met with Joan Erney, Deputy Secretary
for the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and
her staff on Saturday, January 15, 2005 to discuss the proposed
closing of Harrisburg State Hospital. As follow-up, we are preparing
testimony which will be presented at a Public Meeting at the Zembo
Mosque on January 28th at 12:30 in the evening. We will post the
testimony on the website and mail copies to the affiliate Presidents.
The following information was shared with our Board of Directors:
• Rationale
for Closure of Harrisburg State Hospital
• Proposed
Harrisburg State Hospital Closure Talking Points- Violence and Homelessness
• Harrisburg
State Hospital Service Area Plan Overview
• Harrisburg
State Hospital Critical Dates- OMHSAS
• DPW
OMHSAS: Southeast Regional Community Mental Health Services Plan
• DPW:
OMHSAS Unified Systems Update
• Pennsylvania
Psychiatric Society Letter
• News Articles
and Editorials
To keep our members informed we will provide weekly updates as
the hospital closing proceeds, through our website, and by email.
We will also provide information by mail to our affiliate Presidents.
Family members and consumers are invited to attend a meeting at
Harrisburg State Hospital Chapel at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January
25th. OMHSAS has also scheduled two public hearings on Thursday,
January 27th from 2:00-4:00 p.m. and 6:00-9:00 p.m. (UPDATE: DPW
has extended the public hearings through Friday). We will provide
testimony at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
We need feedback from our affiliates. Please share with us your
thoughts regarding the positive aspects of this proposal and concerns
you may have. Also, please contact us if there is a need for assistance.
Sincerely,
James W. Jordan, Jr.
Executive Director
NAMI Pennsylvania
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