So, while the Patrick Administration is closing down Fernald, claiming “community first” as it evicts profoundly impaired people from their homes….he fails to provide relocation funding for Tufts Dental, which provides ….are you ready…drum roll please…dental services for the much heralded “community.” Tufts provides services for the developmentally disabled for miles around, not just Fernald. Thank you, Governor Patrick, for making our point that the services in the residential campuses can’t be duplicated in the “community.” Where in hell are these people going to go for dental services now? These profoundly impaired people just can’t show up at a regular dentist and expect services for their very special needs, which can involve reverse swallowing, mouth, teeth, jaw and facial deformities and let’s not forget the behavioral challenges. Are you paying attention Executive Secretary JudyAnn Bigby? How about you, DDS Vendor Commissioner Elin Howe? What’s your plan for providing the “same as or better” level of care for the class clients of Fernald, Wrentham, Monson, et al?
And to then to throw the legislature and everyone else off track, so that they can’t following the bouncing ball….the line item for funding for dental services (4512-0500) has been zeroed out and rolled into a massive “dog’s lunch” line item 4510-2500, Health Promotion, Violence Prevention and Workforce Expansion. This line item runs the gamut, from providing funds to the YMCA to domestic violence prevention. Can you believe this? And there isn’t enough funding because the state has already notified Tufts, which has notified its staff of the impending closure, and resulting layoffs.
Lay-offs. More lost jobs. More of our family friends and neighbors in the unemployment line. Are we paying attention yet? Have we had enough? This is about priorities. Evidently the Governor doesn’t think this is one of them. I think he’s wrong.
On Monday, March 22, COFAR is hosting a State House Stroll, to support the needs of people with disabilities. Please join us if you can.
Does anyone have more information about this, such as the date when the administration notified Tufts of the closure plan, and the date when Tufts issued their notification to their staff?
I bet Tufts Dental doesn’t contribute to the legislature and the governor the way other groups do.
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p>The new budget screws all kinds of vital services. What always manages to avoid the cuts are such things as the courts and legal aid – because it benefits lawyers. They are very well connected political. About half the legislature are members of MassBar.
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p>Another thing that never gets attention is the health insurance for state workers. The unwashed public must make do with whatever plans are on the Mass Insurance Connector. But this is not good enough for unionized state workers.
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p>If we put state workers on the same plan the rest of us have this year’s budget problems would be over. We would not be contemplating a 4% cut to local aid which hits school and police departments in the towns. Nor would we be cutting these kinds of vital state services.
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p>The insurance issue is being blocked by a small number of legislators who won’t even let the issue out of committee to be debated on the floor of the house and senate.
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p>People need to wake up – its not about party this year – its about electing candidates who are independent of a corrupt single party machine.
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p>I have an article about it.
The Fernald Dental Staff was told in writing on March 10, 2010, by Dr. Daarren Drag. Dr. Drag is the director of the dental program at Tufts.
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p>Dr. Drag mentions in his letter all the work he did with the various state departments (DDS, DPH) trying to relocate the Fernald dental facility in Canton. I do not believe Canton is the center of the area were the majority of the 2100 dental patients live.
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p>Dr. Drag writes about Tufts concern about the future employment opertunities for the dental staff; that is nice.
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p>I realize the letter was written to the dental staff but I do not read one sentence expressing concern for the 2100 dental patients, intelectually disabled persons diagnosed with mental retardation.
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p>The decission by the Patrick administration not to fund the relocation of the Tufts Dental program to Canton is outragious and totally unacceptable for the 2100 patients. The nieve answer is that the patients will be served by any dentist in their home town. I do not believe this because the community dentists do not have the office backup to care for patients with major medical issues like seisures. What happens if a patient has a seisure with a mouth full of dental equipment?
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p>A final point that is shown by this outrageous decission is that Gerald Morrissey is not the Commissioner. Former Commissioner Morrissey knew how to negotiate financial issues with the legislature. He is missed during these tight economic conditions by the 2100 intelectually disabled patients.
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p>Mav
Can you imagine once this happens? IIRC, if you take MassHEalth, you cannot limit the number of MD patients in your practice (late and low reimbursement is the problem) and you cannot refuse ANY MH dlient if you take one.
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p>So a profoundly disabled epileptic with a deformed jaw walks in, and you have no equipment, expertise or training – and the state tells you you cannot reject them for treatment?
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p>This is getting beyione greed – this is getting dangerous.
This is just another step that our Governor has taken to show the disrespect he has towards the most vulnerable people we have in the DDS community. I wonder how Deval would feel if he had a family member in the system? On second thought … then all these cuts would not be happening, instead he probably would be increasing their budgets to the higher limits!
I guess the 2100 people who are served by Tufts Dental at Fernald are going to have to learn to gum their food or learn to live with whatever dental problems and pain they have. Obviously, Governor Patrick and Commissioner Howe couldn’t care less about the people at Fernald or the thousands of developmentally diabled people who rely on services only available to them at Fernald. I personally hope they both need a “root canal” and are told they have to learn to live with the pain because their dentist doesn’t know how to take care of that. Never thought I would find myself wishing pain on someone!
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p>As we have been posting for years, closing Fernald and the other developmental centers is just the tip of iceberg. This is clear proof that it extends way beyond Fernald. Once we lose Fernald, once we let them have an inch, they will take a mile. Its happening!
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p>I keep thinking about all the recent hoopla in the news about the “r” word and how offensive it is. Too bad all these groups are so focused on just a word they have completely missed whats important….actions. This kind of action. Too bad they can’t channel their outrage on something important.
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p>I plan on attending the State House Stroll. It is my intention to express my outrage to my senator and representatives and anyone else who is influential. I plan to let them know that if Fernald closes on June 30, if Tufts Dental closes on June 30, if cuts continue, they will lose the vote of my entire family and all of our friends.
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p>If they sit by and let this travesty take place, they do not deserve to be representatives of the people and should be in unemployment lines (hopefully with a toothache) with the people they have put out of work.
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Cahill and Baker are beating each other over the bush to see who can cut more services than Deval, and we have the Deval record to see he doesn’t care about the vulnerable in society either. Ross is the only leader with the guts to make the tough choices to save our state and keep it livable.
I agree with you that government cannot cut its way out of the Great Depression that has engulfed working people.
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p>Every layoff and cut, in fact, feeds the depression. The fewer consumers, the less consumption.
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p>I do NOT see a courageous response either from state government or the national government in terms of putting people to work. There should be no layoffs of teachers, librarians, fire fighters, janitors, maintenance workers, nor should our guns, our trains, our nails, or our steel be made abroad even if it costs more to make them here.
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p>I also bothers me that every bandaid I buy says made in China.
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p>Hello – every single layoff slows economic recovery because each person laid off is one less consumer. THAT is not so hard to understand.
Please tell us Grace Ross’ position on serving the needs of the mentally retarded population in MA.
going to deliver the dental care of these residents to schools with more political connections than Tufts — like BU or Harvard. I can picture BU drooling at the mouth “so to speak” at getting new clientele. Sometimes it is the callous way state agencies do business.
GovernorPatrick has no intention to maintain dental care for the thousands of disabled human beings in thisstatedictatorship we call Massachusetts! He failed to include funding for dental services in the budget..<
p>He treats zoo animals better–they got what they needed within twenty-four hours!
dental is one of the first to go . Then they can start to restore dental services slowly. If Harvard and BU managed to keep their school clinics open as well as some community health centers they will likely have funding restored for provision of Mass Health Dental services. This could have effect the effect of cutting Tufts out of the action. BU and Harvard probably have more political clout.
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p>I am just speculating — this thread is the first I have heard of the stoy
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p>Has Tuft closed or just stopped doing state subsidized restorative work? I think right now Mass Health is paying for no restorative work anywhere – just extractions exams and dentures
Although we all know this is a bottom line driven Administration…they still have the “same as or better” level of care benchmark to meet. How is this current crew ever going to meet that while shutting down Tufts? I think we should look into that.
At this point, it appears the administration is accountable to no one. Its doing whatever it wants whenever it wants. So the benchmark is meaningless.
Maybe not. Might be a lawsuit in the making.
Unfortunate that the only way to ensure “equal or better” is through the legal system. Long and costly.
You’re right–there is no oversight of this DDS agency, the administration, or EOHHS for that matter. And there’s no accountability to the rest of us.
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p>But many individuals are still entitled to “equal or better”. And many others are entitled to individualized services. The problem is that the agency charged with oversight of services for these disabled–many profoundly–persons repeatedly fails to do the right thing.
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p>It will probably take more than one lawsuit to begin to correct the multiple injustices that are occurring.
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p>And our elected officials sit passively and do nothing!