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State close to
choosing hospital site
(December
2005 Issue)
By Phyllis Hanlon
In October, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH)
Inpatient Facility Feasibility Commission held a public hearing
to garner feedback about an appropriate location for the construction
of a new facility to combine the existing Westboro and Worcester
State Hospitals.
According to DMH General Counsel Lester Blumberg, following the
public hearings, a straw poll was taken and the Commission endorsed
the majority's wish to build the hospital at the Worcester site
with the caveat that, should the project prove impossible, Westboro
would be considered as an alternative.
Blumberg says that architects worked closely with the state Division
of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) to examine both campuses in great
detail. "After narrowing down the possible sites, it was agreed
that there were two potential sites, one on each campus that could
accommodate the optimal model. Both sites had advantages and both
required compromises," he says.
Jeffrey Geller, M.D., M.P.H., professor of psychiatry and director
of Public Sector Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical
School, testified before the Commission's public hearing in October.
Supportive of the Worcester location, Geller emphasized the historical
importance of this site. "Worcester was the prototype for how the
state would set up a state-run facility," he says.
Constructed in 1830, Worcester became the model upon which other
states fashioned their institutions, according to Geller. He admitted
that both facilities play a pivotal role in delivering mental health
care, citing the DMH's 2004 Inpatient Study Report for the General
Court that indicates that Westboro and Worcester together account
for 40 percent (384 in Westboro, 948 in Worcester) of the state's
continuing care adolescent and adult inpatient beds. The new hospital
will assume responsibility for 37 percent of the state's patients.
Geller points out the Worcester location's proximity to UMass Memorial
Medical Center will facilitate efficient delivery of medical and
surgical services. Also, Worcester's existing psychiatry and psychology
programs as well as its Center for Mental Health Services Research
will allow residents superior training and research opportunities.
Blumberg says, "The consultants will now focus on the recommended
site to complete their feasibility study including more detailed
site and planning work. We expect their final draft report in mid-January
and the Commission will make its report to the Legislature as soon
thereafter as possible."
He adds that the DMH commissioner has the statutory authority to
designate the site for state hospitals and that such a designation
would require legislative support.
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