It hasn't been an easy year for the Rosewood Center.
One resident sexually assaulted another last spring, even though a
supervisor had been warned by her staff about the potential for
trouble, according to internal state records released this month.
Over the summer, residents at the 300-acre compound in Baltimore
County for the profoundly mentally disabled saw its former
administration building set ablaze. When asbestos was discovered
inside, demolition was postponed, and the crumbling building at
Rosewood's entrance remains ringed by rubble.
Rosewood's future appeared especially dire in September, when state
investigators threatened to pull almost half the center's funding.
Rosewood staff members had not thoroughly investigated violent acts
committed by patients against others and themselves, and then failed
to come up with plans to protect the roughly 200 patients from future
abuse and self-injury, according to the state report.
But officials at the Owings Mills college-like campus said in
interviews last week that they've turned the corner.
"We have had significant challenges here, but we've received a
great deal of help," said Alexis M. Melin, a regional director
who oversees Rosewood for the state's Developmental Disabilities
Administration.
Shortly after the state's report on Rosewood, its longtime facility
director left, one of a string of recent departures. A corrective plan
submitted by Rosewood officials lifted the threat to withhold federal
funding, estimated at $17 million.
"We still do have concerns, but there is no longer an immediate
jeopardy to individuals there," said Wendy Kronmiller, director
of the Office of Health Care Quality at the Maryland Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene.
New training for Rosewood's staff is set to begin next week. An
outside consultant, James C. Tolan, also conducted a top-to-bottom
review of patient care and remains at Rosewood to oversee additional
changes.
Tolan found that about one-third of the patients needed to have
changes made to their care plans. In an interview last week, he said
he could not say whether that number appeared high, adding that
comparing Rosewood with other facilities was difficult because the
type of care provided was too different from the three other centers
for the mentally disabled in the state.
Recently, Melin stepped in to launch a nationwide search for a new
director while reassuring patients, their families and Rosewood's
staff that the center can continue to provide quality care.
Glenn M. Brown said he has already seen a change for the better.
"Of course I was concerned. I've had a daughter at Rosewood for
41 years," said Brown of Hyattsville, who serves as the vice
president of the auxiliary at Rosewood.
Challenges at Rosewood remain. Its top leaders - the acting facility
director, medical director and chief operating officer - have been in
their positions less than a year.
The center has more patients than its budget funds - 204 versus 189 -
as well as fewer staff than needed - 358 versus 380 - according to
Melin. Its infrastructure is in need of substantial repair, though
Melin said last week that several capital improvement projects are in
the works.
Some parent advocates, including Brown, as well as state
investigators, say they believe the court-committed population at
Rosewood mixes uneasily with its longtime residents and poses security
problems that the staff has not been trained to address.
Kenneth Fields, a direct-care worker with court-committed patients and
a union representative at Rosewood, says he believes more needs to be
done to protect staff members from violent outbursts.
"I don't think it's fair for them to place [court-ordered
clients] at Rosewood and not give the staff training on how to deal
with them. We're getting injured," said Fields, who recently
returned to work after a Rosewood patient injured him. "There
[are] a lot of people who are contemplating leaving. It's becoming
frustrating for us, because Rosewood is a wonderful place."
But Melin said there are no immediate plans to close Rosewood or move
the court-committed population, known as forensic clients, to another
facility. In fact, she said, the number of patients sent to Rosewood
over the past four years by judges has grown fourfold since 2002.
Founded more than a century ago as the Asylum and Training School for
the Feeble-Minded, Rosewood housed 2,744 people with profound mental
retardation and other developmental disabilities by the 1970s. Today,
only a fraction remain, with 57 patients who are committed to Rosewood
by the courts because they are believed to be incompetent to stand
trial.
Sue Thomas, Rosewood's director of day programs, provided a tour last
week that illustrated the challenge of caring for Rosewood's
residents. Some are able to put together piecework for private
companies inside classrooms, and others are able to earn minimum wage
at other jobs around the center. To keep up spirits, the staff plans
field trips to the movies, holds an annual prom in the gym and uses
time in the indoor pool as rewards for good behavior.
But many here use a wheelchair, and they are unable to walk and feed
themselves.
"Our emphasis is that we want to enable as many people here to be
able to go back to their communities," said Thomas, who has
worked at Rosewood for 28 years. For years, nearby residents and some
advocates for the developmentally disabled have called for Rosewood's
closure. The state legislature also tried to close Rosewood.
Officials at the Maryland Disability Law Center called on Gov. Robert
L. Ehrlich Jr. to move most of Rosewood's residents into community
facilities and devote its resources to those who have been committed
by the courts.
"We have been complaining about conditions at this facility for
years," said Lauren Young of the law center's litigation center.
"It has inadequate staff, insufficient medical and psychological
support for people, and has repeatedly violated people's rights. They
have engaged in illegal use of restraint and seclusion, and deprived
residents of adequate services. We have asked the governor to work
with us to help individuals leave Rosewood and get the services they
need."
But Rosewood's supporters, who include the parents of adult residents,
say that many of the residents could not survive in a different
environment, such as a group home.
"If my daughter goes into a community home, there are going to be
steps, and she's going to fall down on them," Brown said.
"She needs one-on-one help, and she's not going to get that in
the community. She's much safer at Rosewood."