Lisa Robinson, (Mother)
When my classmates and I first entered onto the grounds of Central State, I thought wow this is very huge, so many buildings mostly white in color and houses scatter about the campus grounds.
During this visit I believe it was very well organized and almost like a set to be filmed, with all the right props and rehearsed scenes to be recorded and filmed.
We toured the Allen Building, which house about 170 residents (in all there is about 5000 at the entire facility); all of them require skilled Nursing staff. Each of these residents was diagnosed with Profound/ Severe Mental Retardation and other disability issues. I met several young men and women their ages ranged from six year old to 22 years old…. Joseph who is 22 years old was totally bedridden and required care around the clock and then I met Marcellious who shares a room with John. Marcellious is 16 years old and has cerebral palsy and is severely contracted, he did appear to understand us when we spoke to him, but he did not acknowledge us. I talk about Marcellious because he had a impact on me immediately because I have a son name Marcellious also who is 17 years old and have cerebral palsy and severe mental retardation, you see this could be my son who has be institutionalized for reasons unknown. This made me feel sadden and it also made me want to do something, what I don’t know exactly but for sure I will get a living will so that my son will not have to go to a place like Central Hospital. You see when we use the word hospital it represents a place to make you well and heal you from what is ailing you then you go home to a loving and caring family who will continue to support your every need. This environment was not a nurturing and loving homelike environment, yes there was nursing staff but anything from a loving and caring family member.
I continued the tour with many thoughts on my mind; we were then taken to another unit where residents who have been deemed ready to transition back into the community. There were several different workshops areas where you could learn and perform different work duties. Each work site the resident can earn wages and learn skills that can be used when they re-enter the community. I thought it was a nice facility and area for the residents however it was very structured also with a guard present at all times.
Then there was the Boling Building and the Phoenix Building where the higher functioning people reside. We were informed that the staff ratio is six to one, which is in my opinion that is not adequate staff for folks with different levels of needs and concern.
In one building the rooms were decorated from Bed Bath and beyond or Martha Stewart Home Stores, with all bedding and accessories matching, nice beds and furniture and each room had televisions and other entertainment. Then it was the other unit that I believe that we were not suppose to visit, this unit was unclean, not furnished well, beds looked like children beds (adult men) slept in. They did not have the nice recreation rooms with different games and things to chose, in fact the only entertainment unit did not have any games in it and it was broken. I was very disappointed in this and felt bad for the men. We were told that it was due to funding that this unit did not have the same luxuries and quality that the other unit has, the men shared one shower area and one bath area.
My experience at Central State hospital is that for people who have been lost in the system with no other place to go, it should be a temporary solution. I do understand that children who are medically fragile need medical care, but lets fix this and find a way to get real loving, caring homes for our children, lets stop spending money on buildings and enlarging hospitals like Central to house more people, let us knock down the barriers that is preventing real solutions to this very real issue.
What Is Really Going On At Central State Hospital?
By Cynthia Branch
Milledgeville, GA - Sometimes parents are faced with many emotions including feelings of sadness, not knowing what to do, lost, guilt and insecurity when making life changing decisions. The stress, finances including emotional connotations of what to consider for a love one and a child, has forced many families to face placing their love ones in a group home, assistant living centers, other facilities, institutions for reasons unknown and for reasons involving the health concerns of the caregiver, aging parents or family members. The need for continuous support and services is very evident when the caregiver is no longer able to provide for their love one.
Understanding that some of the decisions may or may not be associated with many choices or options since one of the main driving factor equates to the mighty dollar of what will be spent towards the level of care, accommodations, placement, support and treatment in many cases that involve our love ones...which is really sad and yet very true.
First before sharing what was revealed through close observation, per what was understood after listening to others employed at Central State Hospital and as a concerned mother of a child with multiple disabilities Central State Hospital never be an option in planning for my angel's long term future.
Ahhh...Ahhh..., Central State Hospital and Facilities located in Milledgeville GA is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes from Atlanta GA. Close observation revealed that on Central State Hospital's mass campus like grounds within some of the facilities/buildings concerns were revealed as follows:
Medically Fragile Facility - Hospital Setting
Adults ranging from 19 to 70+ years old were observed in this hospital section. As you walked through this area, you would see some of the walls and rooms decorated with stars, clouds, bears and etc. which is usually seen in a newborns room or nursery.
Concern... assuming many of the individuals in this area may have cognitive concerns, appear non- verbal and my possibility be visual learners if they are only see this type of newborn environment day after day, year after year without any change, it does not appear their minds will be allowed to grow and develop.
Further observation in this entire section revealed there were no cameras, no monitoring systems anywhere including where the staff or nurses station is. Individuals in this area appeared to have multiply disabilities inclusive of having a tracheotomy, breathing tubes, feeding tubes and remember many of them appeared to be non verbal and non mobile.
If complications should arise during sleeping hours there is a serious level of concern of how lives are saved if the staff is not in the immediate area with the individual or awake...survival appears slim to none because there is no monitoring system.
In the same adult section for the medically fragile there was (1) girl who had been in this area at for an approximately (3) years. She was 6 years old, cute as a button, had the biggest brown eyes, she appeared non verbal, did not giggle, did not smile, had a tracheotomy and AFO's on with no shoes. This adult hospital environment was inappropriate for a child this young, there were no other age appropriate children and no area for children to have fun.
All Men's Adult Facility
The all men's adult facility (dorm setting/building 5 floors) for approximately 60 men with disabilities that were Mild, Moderate and Mild/Moderate Autism.
Observation revealed that the limited staff was mostly women working and caring for this group of men - the ratio was 2 women assigned to approximately 6 to 10 men at a time.
Concerns - no cameras including monitors anywhere, most of the men had their own room if they did not have a roommate. You could if an individual had limited resources and received a little support from a family member , because the location of their room was noticeably different. The rooms did not lock and anyone could enter at any time. 24/7 Interaction with only men....what about those hormones with the number of women their caring for those individuals?
Understanding that many individuals may have been placed at Central State as young as 2 months, became adults there, lived out there lives and with approximately 4000 buried there.... is this another form of being sentence to life on death row without ever being able to smell the roses?
Georgia's aim should be regarding moving children and adults forward.....1. Moving individuals out of the institutions. Preparing them for the transition which is inclusive of training, daily living skills and providing some form of resources for 3 months that will assist and prepare them upfront.
2. Educating individuals...in school the goal of education for any student is preparation for adult life and for adults preparing them to live on their own with hopes that they will become a contributor to society.
3. Rehabilitation for all individuals should be on the assumption that they can learn and must have the opportunity to do so through training, retraining, supports and assistance that is tailored to the individual involving the appropriate accommodations needed.
4. Unlock the Waiting Lists with more openings. Increase the number of waivers including the supports that is needed for so many individuals and their families.
5. Providing affordable health and dental insurance for caregivers.
6. Allocating the money to families through direct services....allowing families to control the money since many family member are already doing a better job of taking care of their love ones.
DISABILITY MOVEMENT....Georgians must continue to increase awareness, keep paving the way for so many deserving individuals and let life begin for so many outside of isolation.
April 16, 2008
Central State Hospital
Milledgeville, Georgia
As a member of a leadership program called Partners in Policymaking, I was recently given the opportunity to tour Central State Hospital in Milledgeville Georgia. I was very uneasy and scared at first about the decision I had made to attend Central State Hospital because of the things I had heard about the hospital as I was growing up, but then I decided I needed to know exactly what it was like for myself.
I will start by saying, I have a five year old little girl with the diagnosis of Down syndrome who absolutely means the world to me. Besides my relationship with God, she is the reason why I choose to get out of the bed in the morning and start a brand new day. She is the joy and love of my life, and her disability has truly changed me and opened my eyes to a whole new world. I am very grateful God chose me to be her mommy, and she is blessed to have such great families. We have so many hopes and dreams for her and step by step we are achieving them. I am so thankful because Central State Hospital will never be the future plans for my little girl. In fact, Central State Hospital opened my eyes to a world that I couldn’t envision for anyone.
I had no idea so many people whether young or old were abandoned. I thought moms and dads should love unconditionally, care inspite of good and bad times. Next to one of the beds of a young girl, her mother had left a note saying that she wanted to take her daughter’s pain away. I still wonder if it really the parent who was in pain because she did not understand her child was a very special person, and she did not know how to deal with her child’s disability. I feel blessed to understand that we are all equal under God, all having imperfections, but also perfect in his eyes.
After this haunting experience, I want people to know that if my mother had never had faith in me, or believed in me, I wouldn’t be the mother I am today. This belief stands true for all people. We need our families or people that love us in our lives. Since leaving Central State Hospital it has renewed my resolve to be a better listener, to help more people with or without disabilities, and to just try to make this world a better and safer place for all people.
What we sometimes fail to realize is we are all a day away from a car accident, or gun shot wound, or sickness. If God choses us to live and be paralyzed or to use a wheel chair, we will want to be treated with love, dignity and respect. It is the way we make each other feel connected to each other. As Maya Angelou said, “ I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
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