Wrentham Developmental Center One of Two Remaining in MA

By Grace Allen

Is Wrentham Developmental Center slated for closure? Some would say it certainly seems that way. A local coalition of families, caregivers, and advocates is speaking out on behalf of individuals with severe mental disabilities, demanding broader housing options amid shifting care policies.

Those policies increasingly emphasize community-based settings such as group homes. But advocates maintain that institutional care in places like Wrentham Developmental Center remains not only appropriate but essential for those individuals whose complex medical and behavioral needs exceed the capacity of smaller-scale environments.

On May 9, a group of advocates and family members visited the Massachusetts State House to urge legislators to keep Wrentham Developmental Center and the Hogan Regional Center open. From left, Mitchell Sikora (COFAR board member), Marsha Hunt, Shiri Ronen-Attia, Laurie Noland, Ilene Tanzman, Ana Paula Meehan, Allan Tanzman, Mary Dias, Elaine Delorey-Strug, Jim Durkin (AFSCME Council 93), and Kim Meehan. (Photo by David Kassel).

 On May 9, a group known as the Saving Wrentham and Hogan Alliance visited the Massachusetts State House to argue that the move towards a one-size-fits-all model of deinstitutionalization risks stripping away a vital option for those who require the structure, security, and specialized support that only institutional settings can provide.

The group is questioning why Wrentham Developmental Center, and the Hogan Regional Center in Danvers, are no longer taking new admissions. The Wrentham facility has 1,000 beds, and yet the number of residents is currently at 148. With no new residents, and current residents mostly elderly, the group believes the facility is on track to close.

Kim Meehan and Elaine Delorey-Strug were among the group of advocates who met with legislative aides to State Senators Paul Feeney and Rebecca Rausch on May 9. The two Norfolk women have family members with intellectual disabilities and point out that offering a choice between institutional or community-based care is federal law. They, and the other advocates, are urging Governor Healey, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), and the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to open admissions to the Wrentham Developmental Center and the Hogan Regional Center.

Both centers are intermediate care facilities (ICF), which provide comprehensive, long-term nursing and supportive care to residents. At one time, there were seven such facilities in the state.

Meehan contends that although ICFs provide full-time medical staff, structured programs, and constant supervision, DDS increasingly labels them as outdated and favors group homes instead—a characterization she disputes.

“I’ve visited group homes where all they do is sit in the house, watching TV all day,” Meehan said. “That’s not community. That’s isolation. And for severely developmentally disabled people, it’s not much of a life.”

The key difference between the state institutions and other settings lies in oversight. ICFs are federally regulated with strict standards for care, hygiene, and staffing—requiring doctors, nurses, and occupational and physical therapists, among other specialists. In contrast, many group homes, while privately operated under state contracts, are not subject to the same federal standards.

Meehan’s sister Kristen is currently living in the Hogan Regional Center, after being cared for by their mother for 50 years. When her mother passed away last year, Meehan and her sister Karen, co-guardians of Kristen, struggled to get her admitted to Wrentham. After a long battle with the state, and a story by Boston 25 News, Kristen was placed at Hogan, where Meehan says she is thriving. Still, the family would prefer Kristen be placed at Wrentham, just minutes from their homes.

“If her primary care doctor of many years, who oversees her day-to-day care, says she needs ICF placement, why does the state get to override that recommendation?” Meehan asked. “How can a one-time nurse assessment by the state make that kind of decision?”

Colleen Lutkevich is also a member of the Saving Wrentham and Hogan Alliance, and the president of the Family Association at Wrentham. Her sister Jean, now 72, has lived at the Wrentham Developmental Center for 60 years. Lutkevich says the 1980 federal case Ricci v. Okin, while greatly improving standards of care, oversight, and regulation for ICFs, contributed to a deinstitutionalization movement, pushing the state to reduce reliance on large state-run facilities and instead invest in community-based alternatives. 

“We saw vast improvements at Wrentham after Ricci v. Okin,” she said. “My sister went from living in a ward with 60 other people and hardly any staff to a beautifully renovated house on the grounds with her own bedroom and lots of staff. She has recreational therapy, a therapeutic swimming pool, and what they call ‘active day treatment.’ Tufts Dental operates a clinic on site. There’s a medical stabilization unit. All these services are helping to provide a meaningful life. It’s a wonderful place to live.”

What frustrates families most is the lack of transparency from the state, says Meehan. She maintains DDS continues to deny access to ICFs under the guise of promoting “community integration” while ignoring the preferences and needs of the individuals and families impacted.

“They haven’t given a real answer as to why people can’t choose,” said Meehan. “They just say ‘institutions are bad.’ But if you walk inside Wrentham, you’ll see it is beautiful—clean, safe, and full of love.”

Rep. Marcus Vaughn agrees that the refusal to admit new residents into the Wrentham and Hogan facilities raises serious questions, and notes he is pushing for answers from DDS. He has also begun working with his colleagues in the legislature to address the state’s admissions policies and long-term future of the developmental centers.

“While there has been no formal closure announcement, this quiet policy shift is functionally a closure by attrition,” said Rep. Vaughn in an email. “It undermines confidence in the state’s commitment to these critical care facilities. Families deserve to know the truth—not be left navigating mixed messages while trying to plan for the care of loved ones with complex needs. For individuals with severe and profound disabilities, settings like Wrentham and Hogan often provide the specialized medical care, safety, and structure that smaller communities simply cannot. The state’s current approach disregards this reality—and in doing so, it strips families of choice and limits options for those most vulnerable.”

Delorey-Strug, who has a young adult son with developmental disabilities, wonders why the state isn’t being more creative. She notes there are hundreds of acres of state-owned land on the campuses of Wrentham and Hogan that could be better used—not just for individuals with disabilities, but as inclusive communities.

“Governor Healey is calling for more housing,” said Delorey-Strug. “Well, here’s 400 acres at Wrentham already owned by the state. Why not integrate the community by building some condos for family members and let us live near our loved ones?”

Lutkevich agrees. “The state should be looking at Wrentham Developmental Center as a wonderful resource and trying new and innovative ways to keep it alive. Why not build elderly housing? Add a coffeeshop or community pool? Why not replicate or move Pappas Rehab to the site, for example? Why does the state not look at this in a meaningful way?”

The Saving Wrentham and Hogan Alliance has the support of the Massachusetts Nursing Association, the National Council on Severe Autism, Voice of Reason, and COFAR, the statewide nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

For now, however, families are left jumping through hoops and a system they say wears them down with red tape. 

“We just want real choice,” said Meehan. “We want the dignity of deciding where our loved ones can live and thrive.”

For more information, or how you can help, contact the Saving Wrentham and Hogan Alliance at [email protected].