I Wouldn’t Put My Dog In Rosewood”

Looking back on her three and a half years at Rosewood Center, Anna Burkett has only one good thing to say about it: She enjoyed working at the hospital with babies. Besides that, the institution was not a place for a teenager to grow up.

Anna, now 51, endured two stints at Rosewood and three in foster homes. An older brother and sister spent even longer durations at Rosewood.

She’s not too eager to talk about the bad things. The neglect – watching a friend die after being denied hospitalization. The punishments – having to stand on your toes against a wall, having to scrub the floor for hours. The food – “It looked like stuff you’d feed a pig for breakfast.”

Anna says the staff never told her she had rights to live in the community. Ultimately, it took a concerned Social Worker to assist Anna in returning to the community.

For the last 24 years, Anna has lived at Claiborne Place in Annapolis, a residence for seniors and people with disabilities. After moving into the community, she worked for 10 years at Montgomery Wards before retiring.

She enjoys, crafts, Christmas parties, bingo, animals, tv and music. She’s got a lot of friends, including a boyfriend, Jerry, a fellow resident of Claiborne she’s known for three years.

Proof of Claiborne’s success? “Lots of people live here who used to live in the Crownsville Institution, including one who lived there for 20 years.”