Caregivers of the Developmentally Disabled in Western Massachusetts Sound Alarm as Patient Care Inside of Group Homes Spirals Du
PR Newswire
CANTON, Mass., Oct. 20, 2021
CANTON, Mass., Oct. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Under the safety of the state's whistleblower protection law for healthcare workers, several employees from the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) in western Massachusetts, who are unionized with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), recently sent a detailed letter to the department's commissioner imploring her to intervene in a growing patient-care crisis that is unfolding in many of the region's DDS group homes.
The letter, dated September 21 of 2021, was sent to Commissioner Jane Ryder, but she has yet to reply. Meanwhile, the crisis in care for the state's most vulnerable patients grows.
The clients living in the state's DDS group homes, including those in western Massachusetts, are some of the state's most vulnerable citizens. Nearly all of them have multiple diagnoses with comorbidities, and most are non-verbal. As a result, these clients require around-the-clock care from highly specialized nurses and healthcare professionals.
The lack of staff and a lack of adequately trained staff in these homes are problems that have long plagued the department, and MNA leaders have a well-documented history of trying to address them with management. But the issues have increased exponentially in recent months.
Professional staff and clinicians at the affected homes — which include homes in Hadley, Amherst, Whately, Westfield, South Hadley, and Wilbraham — detailed numerous problems and concerns in their whistleblower letter, including:
MNA leaders at the region's DDS group homes call on the department to bring in more staff or outside support, train all staff appropriately, and work collaboratively with elected MNA leaders on short- and long-term solutions.
MassNurses.org │ Facebook.com/MassNurses │ Twitter.com/MassNurses
Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/caregivers-of-the-developmentally-disabled-in-western-massachusetts-sound-alarm-as-patient-care-inside-of-group-homes-spirals-due-to-severe-understaffing-and-training-failures-301405081.html
SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association