Massachusetts
Families and staff fight back against plan to close Massachusetts rehab hospital for children
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s administration is moving to close a state-run hospital in Canton to cut costs. Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children is home to dozens of kids with special needs.
Families and staff say they were never consulted about the relocation plan and are fighting back. They say what happens at Pappas is pure magic.
Nurse Maureen Arnstein has been working at the hospital for 17 years. “They make progress, and you see it and you celebrate it,” Arnstein said.
More than a rehabilitation hospital
Built more than a century ago to aid disabled children and young adults, Pappas is a more than a rehabilitation hospital. It has a school with real classrooms, a handicapped accessible pool and therapies like horseback riding, all designed to help kids like Billy Alish gain independence.
Billy’s mom Alma says he wouldn’t be where he is now if he was living at home. “He is able to express himself, he can talk, and socially he has friends,” Alma Alish said.
Born with cerebral palsy Billy can’t walk but that does not stop him from achieving his goals including writing a book. At 11 he accomplished the goal, publishing a book about his dad who passed away.
He dictated the book using speech therapy. Since then, Billy has learned to use his eyes to control his computer. With the help of a device, Billy can read, listen to music, surf the web and do what most kids do online.
Despite success stories like Billy’s, last month as part of budget cuts, Governor Healey put Pappas on the chopping block, claiming closing it will save millions. “I think of it as a redirecting of services of care,” Healey said.
But that is not how families and staff see it. Arnstein says she feels betrayed. “To think they’re just a budget issue will never sit well with me,” Arnstein said. “They’re more than a line on a budget. They are human beings that just do things in a different way.”
Teachers and nurses tell the I-Team they were blindsided. They had no idea the Healey administration was planning on relocating the kids to a hospital in the western part of the state, far from their doctors at Children’s Hospital and their caregivers who will not be moving with them.
Angry, they are now banding together. Kathryn Reynolds a long-time teacher at the school.
“There are humans behind those numbers. There’s people and they’re people that deserved to be loved and appreciated and accepted and to have a place that is theirs, not a place they can be put in as an afterthought,” Reynolds said. “Pappas was again built for them.”
Governor reconsidering immediate closure
Their passion is catching the attention of political leaders who announced the governor was reconsidering closing the hospital. Congressman Stephen Lynch said he spoke to Gov. Healey and that, “perhaps an immediate closure is not warranted,” Lynch said. “So that is good news in the very short term.”
But it is the long-term families are worried about, vowing to continue the fight to save Pappas. “The people who are making the decision to get rid of this, I don’t think they know what they’re talking about,” Alma Alish said. “Who are you to make the decision? don’t you think we should decide on this as a community?”
On Wednesday Senate and House leaders said they were caught off guard by the plans and pledged to scrutinize the proposal.
The I-Team reached out to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. In a statement a spokesperson said, “Our administration appreciates the feedback we’ve received from patients, families, employees, labor and elected officials. We all share the same goal of ensuring high-quality, modernized and specialized care for the young people we serve, as well as supporting our hardworking employees. We look forward to continued collaboration on the path forward to provide the best setting for these children.”
Two people were seriously injured in a stabbing at the Cedar’s Mediterranean Foods manufacturing facility in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on Tuesday morning.
Haverhill police said they responded to the Cedar’s plan on Foundation Avenue around 10:30 a.m. for a report of a disturbance involving a weapon. When they arrived, they found two people suffering from apparent stab wounds.
Both people were provided with medical assistance on scene and taken to area hospitals with what police described as serious injuries. Their names have not been released, and no update on their conditions was immediately available.
Preliminary investigation determined that the two people knew each other, and police said there is no ongoing threat to the public. They said their investigation into the incident remains active.
Two Plymouth, Massachusetts teens were saved from the summit of Mount Washington after a leg injury stranded them.
Khang Nguyen,17, said he and his friend, 18-year-old Vaughn Webb, thought they were well prepared for their hike on Saturday. They brought trekking poles, layers, microspikes for their boots and more.
But halfway up the trail, Nguyen feared the worst when his leg began to hurt.
“It was just incredibly painful to lift up my right leg,” he explained. “I told [Vaughn] to leave me behind so I could go on my own pace and for him to reach the summit to get help at first.”
The pair managed to reach the top of the mountain but had to seek shelter next to a building as wind gusts increased, and the air temperature reached 38 degrees. Nguyen said they also ran out of food and water. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department received the 911 call around 7:30 p.m. and quickly alerted a State Park employee who began to search for the two teens.
“Conservation Officers then began responding in four-wheel-drive pickup trucks to try and get to the summit and back ahead of incoming snow,” the game department said in a statement.
After around 30 minutes of reaching both Webb and Nguyen were found. They were taken inside a building and Nguyen was being treated for his injury.
“The worker that was up there, [said] that they came in record time, and we appreciate their help a lot. It saved our lives potentially,” Nguyen explained.
The pair was successfully taken off the mountain by 10 p.m. The two teens are now safely back in Massachusetts and are incredibly grateful to their rescuers.
As libraries across western Massachusetts celebrate National Library Week from April 19 to April 25, they are honoring “the last real third space where everyone is welcome,” in the words of Greenfield Public Library Assistant Director Lisa Prolman.
According to the American Library Association, National Library Week is “an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries and library professionals play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities.” This year, several libraries in the region will be hosting events to highlight the roles they play in their communities.
The Athol Public Library is among the venues engaging in National Library Week festivities, with a whole host of events starting on Tuesday, April 21, with Silly Goose Story Time at 10:30 a.m. The library will hold multiple events each day, including “Free Book Friday” on April 24, which Assistant Director Robin Shtulman said is “really fantastic.”
Shtulman said the week celebrates and emphasizes the “freedom to read, community outreach and celebrating the staff, without whom nothing would happen.”
The Athol Public Library said in an event announcement that “whatever brings you joy, the library has something for everyone,” and that aspect is being emphasized this National Library Week. To name a few of the events on tap, on Tuesday, April 21, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., there’s a volunteer opportunity where teens will make greeting cards for senior citizens; “A Minecraft Movie” will be shown at the same date and time; and on Thursday, April 23, the library will host Scavenger Hunt Bingo for all ages. For a full list of events at the Athol Public Library, visit atholpubliclibrary.com.
In Shelburne Falls, the Arms Library will feature a gallery from the Carlos Heiligmann Collection, a series of photos of public libraries across western Massachusetts. Also in collaboration with the Arms Library, Pothole Pictures and the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club will partner for a screening of “Free For All: The Public Library” on Saturday, April 25, at 2 p.m. at the Shelburne Falls Theater at Memorial Hall.
The documentary focuses on the evolution of the public library from its origins in the 19th century and the challenges it faces today, with modern-day issues such as book bans, funding cuts and debates over censorship.
It also explores the role that women’s clubs, like the one in Shelburne Falls, played in creating the modern library system. To serve their communities, women’s clubs took the lead in fundraising, collecting books and advocating for library legislation.
“Our women’s club in this town started with a group of 60 women who were gathering for lessons. … Because of the support of women in the U.S., we established over 80% of the public libraries [in the country],” said Christin Couture, program chair for the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club. “This film … I hear it’s so fascinating.”
Following the film’s screening, there will be a panel of local librarians who will engage in “lively conversation” about the history and future of public libraries. Tickets are $6, though school-age children will be admitted for free.
In Charlemont, Tyler Memorial Library will host an open house on Saturday, April 25, from noon to 2 p.m. featuring refreshments, a tour of the library and sun catcher crafting.
The Greenfield Public Library, meanwhile, is taking National Library Week in a bit of a different direction, as it is offering a book repair demonstration with Tom Hutcheson on Thursday, April 23, at 3:30 p.m. The day marks William Shakespeare’s birthday.
Although the book repair session required registration and is currently full, those who are interested may be placed on a waiting list at greenfieldpl.libcal.com/event/16460179.
Greenfield Public Library Director Anna Bognolo recognized the hard work that everyone has put into making the library a success, offering a “huge thank you” to the volunteers and staff who make its varied offerings possible.
“Stop by and support your library,” Bognolo said.
“Libraries, especially in this economy, are more important than ever,” Prolman said. Referencing the library’s role as a place where community members can go that is not work or home, she added, “They are the last real third space where everyone is welcome, and we don’t charge you for being here.”
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