Dental clinic closing means thousands could lose access to care
March 24th, 2010From the Boston Globe:
Advocates in Massachusetts say the state’s decision to close the Fernald Development Center will trigger a loss of dental care for some 2,100 people with disabilities who have long been ignored by private dentists.
“Where will they go?” said Marilyn Meagher, who heads the advocacy group Fernald League for the Retarded Inc. “These are extremely handicapped people. It is going to be very devastating for them.”
The Waltham dental clinic is located on the Fernald campus, which is set to close June 30. Officials for the state and for Tufts University, which runs the clinic, said they are working to make sure that people will still be able to access dental care at other Tufts clinics.
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March 26th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
I live in Los Angeles where a Developmental Center close to my home called Lanterman Developmental Center is also being considered for closure by the state. The residents like the ones at Fernald will face the same challenges especially with access to healthcare which now is being provided at the center also. I attended the hearing where many healthcare staff members spoke on the same issue as was written in the article.
As much as it is important that people with disabilities live out in the community,there are some who have servere disabilities which require specialized care that Developmental Centers do a good job at providing.
Developmental Centers provide training and internship opportunities for many healthcare professionals that in the long run will benefit people with disabilities who do have a hard time finding healthcare professionals to provide healthcare services in the private sector.The closure of Developmental Centers will be a loss to many colleges as they serve as training centers for those professionals as well as people with disabilities.