To: Department of Justice and Governor Ralph Northam
Right to Life for the most profoundly disabled
Governor McDonnell and the DOJ have reached an agreement under the false premise that it will bring improvement in health care for the most profoundly intellectual and physically disabled.
The DOJ demanded more community placement but did not demand complete closure of all 5 institutional facilities, one of which provides 5-star skilled nursing care and 24-hour on-site physician care to sustain life for those most profoundly disabled.
The Governor is privatizing all of it, but canceling the skilled care portion with no alternative that's remotely equal in the community. If this settlement is approved as written, it will pose a threat to the lives of many who only survive today because of the high quality of the specific institutional care they have been receiving to date. In a rush to a "one size fits all" solution the Governor has compromised the right to life for a most vulnerable minority.
The DOJ demanded more community placement but did not demand complete closure of all 5 institutional facilities, one of which provides 5-star skilled nursing care and 24-hour on-site physician care to sustain life for those most profoundly disabled.
The Governor is privatizing all of it, but canceling the skilled care portion with no alternative that's remotely equal in the community. If this settlement is approved as written, it will pose a threat to the lives of many who only survive today because of the high quality of the specific institutional care they have been receiving to date. In a rush to a "one size fits all" solution the Governor has compromised the right to life for a most vulnerable minority.
Why is this important?
Stop the pending agreement between Virginia and The Department of Justice. Governor McDonnell has over reached in his move to virtually close all institutional facilities and to privatize the care of the most profoundly intellectually and physically disabled.