Inclusion Daily Express -- Coalition Rallies At Governor's Mansion For Rosewood Closure

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Coalition Rallies At Governor's Mansion For Rosewood Closure
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
October 11, 2007

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND--Dozens of disability rights advocates rallied Wednesday outside the home of Governor Martin O'Malley, demanding that he close the troubled Rosewood Center.

The Developmental Disabilities Coalition, which is made up of a number of disability groups, including The Arc of Maryland, the Maryland Disability Law Center, and People on the Go of Maryland, brought a list of demands to present to the governor.

Those demands include finding homes in the community for about 130 of the 166 residents, along with smaller facilities for about 30 "forensic" residents whom courts have considered too dangerous for the community.

The coalition had asked to meet with the governor in September, but the governor responded that he was too busy, and referred the group to Catherine Raggio, secretary of the Maryland Department of Disabilities.

The group remained determined to meet with O'Malley because he is the only one who could order the facility's closure.

Unfortunately, the group was turned away Wednesday, after an officer with the Department of General Services explained that they needed to have a permit to march.

For years, disability advocates have pushed the state to close Rosewood and move its residents into the community. After new admissions were halted for the third time this year, many said problems there seem to be getting worse.

Last month, health officials reported that they found the facility unsanitary -- including cockroaches and rat feces in food preparation areas and sewage pipes leaking on medical equipment -- some residents not receiving enough nutrition, and staff failing to protect residents from assaults by other residents.

Four years ago, then-Governor Robert Ehrlich called for a plan to start closing institutions. The next year, the Department of Health recommended shutting down the facility.

Related:
"Coalition persists on closure of Rosewood" (Baltimore Sun)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/07/red/1011d.htm
"Rosewood Center" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/institutions/md/rosewood.htm

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