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WHITE HAVEN — Is the closure of White Haven State Center a done deal?

One state official told a parish hall packed with staff and relatives of center residents Thursday evening that it is.

Another took the floor with news that state lawmakers aren’t ready to accept that answer.

State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, came to the podium during a formal public hearing at St. Patrick’s Parish Center to read out testimony on behalf of himself and Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, in opposition to the closure, which was announced by the state Department of Human Services last month.

Before he did, however, Yudichak announced to the room that there will be a Sept. 24 hearing before the Senate Health and Human Services committee in Harrisburg on the administration’s decision to close White Haven and the Polk State Center in Venango County.

The centers serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities — 112 in the case of White Haven, many of whom have lived there for decades. The state’s plan calls for White Haven to close in three years.

“This will bring in DHS to answer some pointed questions,” Yudichak said to the Times Leader regarding the planned Senate hearing. “This isn’t about dollars and cents. This is about a political decision to move away from facilities like White Haven Center.

“You’re hearing from families who say this is the best care,” Yudichak added, saying he believes officials in Harrisburg also need to hear that message from families.

Thursday’s hearing in White Haven, meanwhile, was convened by DHS officials to take testimony from the public on closure plans.

“While our decision to close White Haven State Center is a final decision, tonight we do want to hear about your thoughts about that transition process,” Deputy DHS Secretary Kristin Ahrens told the audience before the public comments began.

State Reps. Eddie Day Pashinski, Gerald Mullery and Tarah Toohil also were in attendance. Their views will be part of upcoming Times Leader reporting on this issue.

Passionate testimony

Speaker after passionate speaker told Ahrens exactly what they thought.

Not everyone who spoke opposed the closure.

One man, Robert Zotynia, 32, used his electronic speaking device to describe how life has been better for him living at home with his mother, Pamela Zotynia.

Zotynia spoke about how he volunteers, votes, runs errands and relies on support staff who assist him.

“I want to live in my own home when she is gone,” Zotnyia said of his mother, adding that his staff has been working with him to make sure he can do so.

Still others, including Arc of Pennsylvania Executive Director Sherri Landis, spoke about why they believe community-based services will be better for people with disabilities than the remaining state centers, which she called “outdated.”

Landis, among several who defended the closure, was roundly booed by the audience despite admonitions from a DHS moderator.

The prevailing feeling in the room was clear: Keep White Haven open. Relatives and staff members wore green T-shirts in support of “WHC,” and many carried posters and cards bearing the initials of their loved ones who reside at the center. Still others maintained a demonstration outside on Church Street, waving posters to motorists.

Susan Jennings told the audience she is the mother of a severely autistic son named Joey.

“He was in and out of six different group homes. They could not manage his difficult and challenging behaviors under the community service system,” Jennings said, going on to describe the health effects Joey suffered from overmedication, as well as how he was sent to psychiatric wards — one where he “languished for six months, not because he needed to be there but because nobody had a place for him.”

“The community has failed my son over and over again,” Jennings said. “He was saved by White Haven Center.”

Another woman, Candy McAndrew, described how she had a unique perspective on the situation.

“I had two brothers at White Haven Center. I also work in a group home facility,” she said. “The plan for community living has been implemented for almost three decades. It is not the utopia that it is being sold as.”

McAndrew said her brother Joseph has been at White Haven for 50 years, while her brother John was moved out in 2002.

“John actually moved into a more restrictive situation. He had less freedom. He was able to roam the grounds here and now he’s in a house on the highway with a door alarm,” McAndrew said, adding that his health and emotions have suffered after leaving White Haven.

She predicted that similarly it would be difficult to provide the range of necessary health care services to residents in the community that they now receive at White Haven.

While DHS officials made it clear at the outset that Thursday was not a time to answer questions, Ahrens told the audience before testimony began that “no resident will leave this center without a destination of their choosing … and without fully developing a plan to meet all of their physical, emotional, medical and behavioral support needs.”

Ahrens also said staff affected by the closure “will be counseled regularly on other opportunities for state employment.”

Employees have been rallying against the closure, and plan to do so again in Harrisburg on the day of the state Senate hearing.

Maria Ferrey, from Weatherly, is a caseworker who has been at White Haven for 15 years.

“If they close this place it means that my family loses their home,” a tearful Ferrey said during an interview with the Times Leader.

“I’m staying here until the end and we are fighting,” Ferrey said, adding that at the very least she hopes an extension beyond three years may be possible.

She’s concerned about her family, but also about the residents and their families who will be affected.

“The average amount of time for people living in state centers is 47 years,” Ferrey said. “There’s such a thing called transfer trauma. It’s devastating. The people in my caseload are severely disabled physically and intellectually, and they just don’t understand.”

For video from Thursday’s hearing by staff photographer Aimee Dilger, see https://youtu.be/9v8Nl4MNA5s.

Family members of White Haven State Center residents line Church Street in the borough Thursday evening to rally against the state’s plans to close of the facility.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_TTL091419white-haven2-7.jpg.optimal.jpgFamily members of White Haven State Center residents line Church Street in the borough Thursday evening to rally against the state’s plans to close of the facility. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

Robert Zotynia, with the help of his family, uses a computer to testify in favor of community living during a public hearing on plans to close the White Haven State Center.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_TTL091419white-haven3-7.jpg.optimal.jpgRobert Zotynia, with the help of his family, uses a computer to testify in favor of community living during a public hearing on plans to close the White Haven State Center. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

Family and friends of the 112 residents at the White Haven State Center hold initials of those patients at a packed hearing to address the announcement last month that state officials will close the facility within three years.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_TTL091419white-haven4-7.jpg.optimal.jpgFamily and friends of the 112 residents at the White Haven State Center hold initials of those patients at a packed hearing to address the announcement last month that state officials will close the facility within three years. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

Ann Winsock holds photos of family members, including sister Janine Winsock, who has lived at the White Haven State Center for over 40 years.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_TTL091419white-haven5-7.jpg.optimal.jpgAnn Winsock holds photos of family members, including sister Janine Winsock, who has lived at the White Haven State Center for over 40 years. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

Family and friends of the White Haven State Center’s 112 resudents hold up initials of those patients during Thursday’s hearing.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_TTL091419white-haven6-7.jpg.optimal.jpgFamily and friends of the White Haven State Center’s 112 resudents hold up initials of those patients during Thursday’s hearing. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

Rosemary Oliver holds a photo of her son Tony Truskowski on Thursday during a public hearing at St. Patrick’s Parish Center on the closing of White Haven State Center, where her son resides. Oliver said her son would not be able to live in a community living setting because of his severe medical disabilities.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_TTL091419white-haven1-7.jpg.optimal.jpgRosemary Oliver holds a photo of her son Tony Truskowski on Thursday during a public hearing at St. Patrick’s Parish Center on the closing of White Haven State Center, where her son resides. Oliver said her son would not be able to live in a community living setting because of his severe medical disabilities. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader
Families, staff denounce White Haven Center closure; Yudichak announces Harrisburg hearing

By Roger DuPuis

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