State direct care workers for some of this state's most profoundly developmentally disabled citizens at Lakeland Village will picket Gov. Chris Gregoire's Spokane office Monday in the wake of a consultant's report calling for a radical downsizing at the Medical Lake facility.
The members of Local 573 of the Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME will picket from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., this Monday, Oct. 19, at the Governor's Eastern Washington Regional Office, W. 1611 Indiana in Spokane. Brief remarks and a march will take place starting at about Noon.
The consultant's report released Oct. 14 would shrink Lakeland Village from its current capacity of 238 residents to only 26 over the next eight years. Lakeland and counterparts in Selah and north of Seattle would become smaller skilled nursing facilities only.
The Medical Lake City Council on Oct. 6 officially opposed the closure or downsizing of Lakeland Village and the nearby Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women. The consultant's report did not recommend any further reductions at Pine Lodge, but community members still believe legislators may target it.
This consultant’s report was mandated by the Legislature to recommend a plan to cut 1,580 beds in Corrections, 235 beds in Juvenile Rehabilitation and 250 beds in the residential habilitation centers. The consultants were Christopher Murray and Associates.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment Policy
We appreciate our readers and thank you for adding to the discussion. The following guidelines are established to ensure respectful tone in the comments of readers so we can all enjoy the site.
• Keep comments on topic - any comment that appears to be off-topic will be edited or deleted.
• Profanity - we’re PG13 here. Moderate language is allowed, but we reserve the right to edit out anything offensive.
• Personal attacks - personal attacks on the authors or other commentators will result in an immediate ban.
• Editor’s right - While we encourage comments that challenge or offer constructed criticism, we reserve the right to edit or remove any post, and to ban a user.*
• External linking - external links are ok, if they are relevant to the original post and your comment. Simply linking to your own site will be frowned upon.
Final Words
You, and only you, are responsible for your words. Once your comment is submitted, that’s it — you’re immortalized. Think before you submit.
*WFSE members are protected under the following Communications Ethics policy:
Under the provisions of the AFSCME “Bill of Rights for Union Members” regarding communications, “Members shall suffer no impairment of freedom of speech concerning the operations of this union. Active discussion of union affairs shall be encouraged and protected within this organization.”
If you believe your comments were removed unfairly, you may protest the removal of your post to the Communications Committee. Leave your protest at Contact Us on WFSE.org