Soldat_Américain
02-21-2010, 05:29 PM
Department of Developmental Services announces plans to close Lanterman Developmental Center
By Maritza Velazquez, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/29/2010 09:08:03 PM PST
Lanterman Developmental Center one of the state's largest mental hospital at 3560 W. Pomona Blvd. in Pomona on Friday, January 29, 2010. After 82 years of opperations, the California Department of Development services annouced its intention to close the Lanterman Developmental Center. (SGVN/Staff photo by Watchara Phomicinda)
POMONA - The State Department of Developmental Services announced Friday its plans to close the Lanterman Developmental Center in Pomona.
The 24-hour residential care facility serves individuals with developmental disabilities.
Citing a declining population and deteriorating infrastructure, Terri Delgadillo, director of the Department of Developmental Services, said if approved by the legislature, the center would begin the closure process no earlier than July.
"Parts of Lanterman are over 100 years old," Delgadillo said. "It's hard for us to operate, plus economically it's a challenge for us, because we know repairs will be needed."
Delgadillo said the water and sewer system need to be upgraded.
According to officials, the population at the developmental center has been on the decline since 1968.
While there was once 3,000 residents, it's now home to 398 individuals with developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Down syndrome and autism.
Officials said a planning team will work with individual clients at Lanterman to determine where they will be placed. They did not put a timeline on when it would be closed.
"The planning process will include identifying what the best possible option is for each particular individual. We're committed to not moving people until that happens," said Patricia Flannery, deputy director of the Developmental Centers Division.
Also affected are the more than 1,300 employees at Lanterman.
"We will be working with the employees as we have done in closure of other facilities, to help them find alternate employment," Delgadillo said.
Roger Waring, who has made food deliveries at the center for the past four years, said he was devastated about the news.
"It's a good place to work," he said. "And after you've been here for so long, you get attached to the clients."
The Department of Developmental Services will submit a detailed plan for closure to the legislature by April 1, and a public hearing will most likely be held in late February, Delgadillo said.
Once closed, the legislature can identify the 305-acre property as surplus, and it would be handed over to the Department of General Services for its sale.
"Once it's declared surplus, we begin working with the community on what the property can be used for and pursue bids for the sale of the property," said Eric Lamoureux, GCS spokesman.
Anthony Palacio, a Diamond Bar Realtor who specializes in commercial properties, said it would be difficult to determine how much the site could be worth.
"It's difficult because there are no properties to compare it to in the area," he said.
Diamond Bar city officials said they would be willing to work with the city of Pomona to determine the future use of the site.
"I'm sure we'd love to work with Pomona," said councilwoman Ling Ling Chang. "From what I understand is that they'll have at least one public meeting in the Pomona area. I'm sure that we will be attending that meeting to see their plans."
Local business owners expressed concern Friday about the fate of their shops due to the number of customers they would lose.
Photo Gallery
Lanterman Development Center Closing
(SGVN/Staff photos by Watchara Phomicinda)
.
"I think they frequent a lot of the local businesses," said Kawika Violoria, owner of Da Kine Hawaiian Grindz Restaurant, located in a small shopping center across the street from Lanterman.
Jim Beauchamp, a manager at adjacent Oak Tree Lanes, echoed the same sentiments.
"We get a lot of their clients and people who work there," he said. "It will definitely have an effect on us."
But Lanterman isn't the only state facility to face closure.
Just last year, the Department of Developmental Services shut down two in California, due to a declining population.
Delgadillo said in the late 60s, California had more than 13,000 residents living in state-operated facilities. Now, there's just 2,145 in the system.
"Back in the 40s and 50s, when a family had a child with a developmental disability, the approach of the medical community was that to place their child in state facility. But by the 60s, there was an effort nationally and also in California to provide opportunity for people to remain at home in their community," Delgadillo said.http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_14298955
Department of Developmental Services to close Lanterman Developmental Center in Pomona
30. January 2010 04:38
At a general employee meeting Friday morning at Lanterman Developmental Center in Pomona, state Department of Developmental Services representatives officially announced plans to close the state center that provides care for hundreds of Californians with developmental disabilities.
“The unique, professional services provided at Lanterman and at other state developmental centers simply don’t exist anywhere else”
No actual closure date was given, and other details were not available from the DDS at this time.
The 24-hour facility currently has 398 clients and employs 511 members of the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians.
CAPT members at Lanterman -- Psychiatric Technicians, Psychiatric Technician Assistants and Senior Psychiatric Technicians -- provide round-the-clock level-of-care nursing and therapeutic care for the Californians with profound to severe developmental disabilities who call the facility home.
CAPT members say client care should be first in the minds of everyone involved. It is unclear what the plans are for the individuals living at the developmental center, but the association worries many clients will be transferred to community homes that lack the high level of vital services individuals depend upon at Lanterman.
“The unique, professional services provided at Lanterman and at other state developmental centers simply don’t exist anywhere else,” said CAPT State President Tony Myers, himself a Lanterman Senior Psychiatric Technician. “We will fight for our clients and the services we proudly provide them.”
Source: California Association of Psychiatric Technicians
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100130/Department-of-Developmental-Services-to-close-Lanterman-Developmental-Center-in-Pomona.aspx
Family concerned about life post-Lanterman
Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Staff Writer
Created: 02/14/2010 09:10:50 AM PST
POMONA - The announcement of the possible closure of Lanterman Developmental Center, a 24-hour residential care facility that serves people with developmental disabilities, has caught Renee and Ron Stein off guard.
"It was like someone punched me in the stomach," Renee Stein said. "Just last week they told us `No way, that's not even an option."'
Citing a declining population and deteriorating infrastructure, Terri Delgadillo, director of the Department of Developmental Services, said that, if approved by the Legislature, the center would begin the closure process no earlier than July.
"Parts of Lanterman are over 100 years old," Delgadillo said. "It's hard for us to operate, plus economically, it's a challenge for us, because we know repairs will be needed."
The Steins' son, David, 32, has been living at Lanterman for 12 years. Early on, doctors diagnosed him with autism, cerebral palsy and mild mental retardation. He also has poor impulse control.
His parents fear that if he is forced to move into community setting, he may hurt himself or those around him.
Recently, during a home visit in Rancho Cucamonga, their son pulled out his tooth and one of his fingernails.
"First five days everything went well and then all of a sudden there was blood all over the house," Ron Stein said. "We had no idea where it came from. There is a reason why he's at Lanterman."
Karen Jones, executive director of PVW (formerly known as Pomona Valley Workshop), understands the Steins' fears, but suggests keeping an open mind about community-based placement.
"There is a myth that individuals living in developmental centers are completely different from people with developmental disabilities living in the community," Jones said. "The truth is they are very similar."
Jones said consumers who lived at the now-closed Agnews Developmental Center in Northern California have found a way to successfully transition into the community.
"They should talk to those parents," she said. "Majority of their fears are gone because they see that it works."
Budget-wise, closing Lanterman makes sense, Jones said.
Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa is just 30 minutes away and is also running well under capacity. The two facilities can be consolidated.
Also, when a person comes out of a developmental center, the cost of taking care of them is split between the DDS, Medi-Cal, and In-Home Supportive Services. All together, it still amounts to about a third of what the state has to allocate to take care of them at a developmental center, Jones said.
Ron Stein understands what it means to balance a budget - he just doesn't want it done at his son's expense.
"We are going to fight closing of Lanterman," Ron Stein said. "You give all this money to people who are here illegally yet we have people who were dealt these problems at birth and we want to take away their services."http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_14400965
My aunt is currently a patient at Lanterman Developmental Center and has been there since she was ten years old, she became mute at age four and went blind at age six. I got off the phone with my mother today and this was a huge part of our conversation. One of the questions we have of the committee is where all the people have gone. Because with immensely large population the population inside the state developmental system has decreased. The state has tried to put the patients in group homes, however they don't receive the care necessary in order to live. These people are not capable of functioning as members even within a group home.
This has been going on for a few years now...even when almost all of the families of the patients have stood up against this move by the state to cut costs.
By Maritza Velazquez, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/29/2010 09:08:03 PM PST
Lanterman Developmental Center one of the state's largest mental hospital at 3560 W. Pomona Blvd. in Pomona on Friday, January 29, 2010. After 82 years of opperations, the California Department of Development services annouced its intention to close the Lanterman Developmental Center. (SGVN/Staff photo by Watchara Phomicinda)
POMONA - The State Department of Developmental Services announced Friday its plans to close the Lanterman Developmental Center in Pomona.
The 24-hour residential care facility serves individuals with developmental disabilities.
Citing a declining population and deteriorating infrastructure, Terri Delgadillo, director of the Department of Developmental Services, said if approved by the legislature, the center would begin the closure process no earlier than July.
"Parts of Lanterman are over 100 years old," Delgadillo said. "It's hard for us to operate, plus economically it's a challenge for us, because we know repairs will be needed."
Delgadillo said the water and sewer system need to be upgraded.
According to officials, the population at the developmental center has been on the decline since 1968.
While there was once 3,000 residents, it's now home to 398 individuals with developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Down syndrome and autism.
Officials said a planning team will work with individual clients at Lanterman to determine where they will be placed. They did not put a timeline on when it would be closed.
"The planning process will include identifying what the best possible option is for each particular individual. We're committed to not moving people until that happens," said Patricia Flannery, deputy director of the Developmental Centers Division.
Also affected are the more than 1,300 employees at Lanterman.
"We will be working with the employees as we have done in closure of other facilities, to help them find alternate employment," Delgadillo said.
Roger Waring, who has made food deliveries at the center for the past four years, said he was devastated about the news.
"It's a good place to work," he said. "And after you've been here for so long, you get attached to the clients."
The Department of Developmental Services will submit a detailed plan for closure to the legislature by April 1, and a public hearing will most likely be held in late February, Delgadillo said.
Once closed, the legislature can identify the 305-acre property as surplus, and it would be handed over to the Department of General Services for its sale.
"Once it's declared surplus, we begin working with the community on what the property can be used for and pursue bids for the sale of the property," said Eric Lamoureux, GCS spokesman.
Anthony Palacio, a Diamond Bar Realtor who specializes in commercial properties, said it would be difficult to determine how much the site could be worth.
"It's difficult because there are no properties to compare it to in the area," he said.
Diamond Bar city officials said they would be willing to work with the city of Pomona to determine the future use of the site.
"I'm sure we'd love to work with Pomona," said councilwoman Ling Ling Chang. "From what I understand is that they'll have at least one public meeting in the Pomona area. I'm sure that we will be attending that meeting to see their plans."
Local business owners expressed concern Friday about the fate of their shops due to the number of customers they would lose.
Photo Gallery
Lanterman Development Center Closing
(SGVN/Staff photos by Watchara Phomicinda)
.
"I think they frequent a lot of the local businesses," said Kawika Violoria, owner of Da Kine Hawaiian Grindz Restaurant, located in a small shopping center across the street from Lanterman.
Jim Beauchamp, a manager at adjacent Oak Tree Lanes, echoed the same sentiments.
"We get a lot of their clients and people who work there," he said. "It will definitely have an effect on us."
But Lanterman isn't the only state facility to face closure.
Just last year, the Department of Developmental Services shut down two in California, due to a declining population.
Delgadillo said in the late 60s, California had more than 13,000 residents living in state-operated facilities. Now, there's just 2,145 in the system.
"Back in the 40s and 50s, when a family had a child with a developmental disability, the approach of the medical community was that to place their child in state facility. But by the 60s, there was an effort nationally and also in California to provide opportunity for people to remain at home in their community," Delgadillo said.http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_14298955
Department of Developmental Services to close Lanterman Developmental Center in Pomona
30. January 2010 04:38
At a general employee meeting Friday morning at Lanterman Developmental Center in Pomona, state Department of Developmental Services representatives officially announced plans to close the state center that provides care for hundreds of Californians with developmental disabilities.
“The unique, professional services provided at Lanterman and at other state developmental centers simply don’t exist anywhere else”
No actual closure date was given, and other details were not available from the DDS at this time.
The 24-hour facility currently has 398 clients and employs 511 members of the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians.
CAPT members at Lanterman -- Psychiatric Technicians, Psychiatric Technician Assistants and Senior Psychiatric Technicians -- provide round-the-clock level-of-care nursing and therapeutic care for the Californians with profound to severe developmental disabilities who call the facility home.
CAPT members say client care should be first in the minds of everyone involved. It is unclear what the plans are for the individuals living at the developmental center, but the association worries many clients will be transferred to community homes that lack the high level of vital services individuals depend upon at Lanterman.
“The unique, professional services provided at Lanterman and at other state developmental centers simply don’t exist anywhere else,” said CAPT State President Tony Myers, himself a Lanterman Senior Psychiatric Technician. “We will fight for our clients and the services we proudly provide them.”
Source: California Association of Psychiatric Technicians
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100130/Department-of-Developmental-Services-to-close-Lanterman-Developmental-Center-in-Pomona.aspx
Family concerned about life post-Lanterman
Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Staff Writer
Created: 02/14/2010 09:10:50 AM PST
POMONA - The announcement of the possible closure of Lanterman Developmental Center, a 24-hour residential care facility that serves people with developmental disabilities, has caught Renee and Ron Stein off guard.
"It was like someone punched me in the stomach," Renee Stein said. "Just last week they told us `No way, that's not even an option."'
Citing a declining population and deteriorating infrastructure, Terri Delgadillo, director of the Department of Developmental Services, said that, if approved by the Legislature, the center would begin the closure process no earlier than July.
"Parts of Lanterman are over 100 years old," Delgadillo said. "It's hard for us to operate, plus economically, it's a challenge for us, because we know repairs will be needed."
The Steins' son, David, 32, has been living at Lanterman for 12 years. Early on, doctors diagnosed him with autism, cerebral palsy and mild mental retardation. He also has poor impulse control.
His parents fear that if he is forced to move into community setting, he may hurt himself or those around him.
Recently, during a home visit in Rancho Cucamonga, their son pulled out his tooth and one of his fingernails.
"First five days everything went well and then all of a sudden there was blood all over the house," Ron Stein said. "We had no idea where it came from. There is a reason why he's at Lanterman."
Karen Jones, executive director of PVW (formerly known as Pomona Valley Workshop), understands the Steins' fears, but suggests keeping an open mind about community-based placement.
"There is a myth that individuals living in developmental centers are completely different from people with developmental disabilities living in the community," Jones said. "The truth is they are very similar."
Jones said consumers who lived at the now-closed Agnews Developmental Center in Northern California have found a way to successfully transition into the community.
"They should talk to those parents," she said. "Majority of their fears are gone because they see that it works."
Budget-wise, closing Lanterman makes sense, Jones said.
Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa is just 30 minutes away and is also running well under capacity. The two facilities can be consolidated.
Also, when a person comes out of a developmental center, the cost of taking care of them is split between the DDS, Medi-Cal, and In-Home Supportive Services. All together, it still amounts to about a third of what the state has to allocate to take care of them at a developmental center, Jones said.
Ron Stein understands what it means to balance a budget - he just doesn't want it done at his son's expense.
"We are going to fight closing of Lanterman," Ron Stein said. "You give all this money to people who are here illegally yet we have people who were dealt these problems at birth and we want to take away their services."http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_14400965
My aunt is currently a patient at Lanterman Developmental Center and has been there since she was ten years old, she became mute at age four and went blind at age six. I got off the phone with my mother today and this was a huge part of our conversation. One of the questions we have of the committee is where all the people have gone. Because with immensely large population the population inside the state developmental system has decreased. The state has tried to put the patients in group homes, however they don't receive the care necessary in order to live. These people are not capable of functioning as members even within a group home.
This has been going on for a few years now...even when almost all of the families of the patients have stood up against this move by the state to cut costs.