Proposed closure of inpatient unit at Taunton State Hospital reflects statewide vision for mental he [View all]

http://www.tauntongazette.com/article/20140126/NEWS/140127051/1994/NEWS

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Proposed closure of inpatient unit at Taunton State Hospital reflects statewide vision for mental health services

TAUNTON — The state’s plan to close the inpatient unit at Taunton State Hospital reflects a philosophical shift that emphasizes community-based services over institutional care, a mental health official said Friday.

“When I started in the field, recovery wasn’t something anyone talked about. It was symptom management,” Department of Mental Health Deputy Commissioner Clifford Robinson said. “People tend to recover and rehabilitate better in a non-institutional setting, like the community. In the past 30 years there have been massive changes, and we think there are an awful lot of exciting possibilities out there.”

For the third straight year, the state is proposing to move all inpatient beds from Taunton State Hospital to the new Worcester Recovery Center. In each of the past two years, the state faced staunch local opposition. As a compromise struck in the Legislature, 45 beds currently remain at Taunton State, which used to have approximately 170.

Many local legislators, including state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, House Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia Haddad, D-Somerset, and Rep. Shaunna O’Connell, R-Taunton, have said they plan to fight the state’s plans again.