Fight for the Glavin Center Continues on Beacon Hill

As talks about the state's budget continues on Beacon Hill, families of those who reside at the in Shrewsbury continue to fight its closure expected next year.

Will and Rose Dumont of North Brookfield, whose 28-year-old son is among the patients, said they and other Glavin families expect the state to transition the patients to community group homes next year. The Dumonts said they and other families believe the same level of care will not be provided at the group homes, according to the Telegram.com.

The closure was delayed last year for a more thorough study of the closure plan, but state officials are now advancing the closure plan again. .

“It’s not fair to him,” Dumont said of her son, Stephen Dumont told Telegram.com.

Mrs. Dumont said state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, who has previously supported keeping the center open, is not opposing closure this year.

Brewer, who is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said he now believes the per-patient costs are too high, according to Telegram.com.

The Dumonts said state Sen. Michael O. Moore, D-Millbury, and state Rep. Ann Gobi, D-Spencer, are backing their efforts to keep Glavin open.

Moore said he will file a budget amendment that would require a delay in closing the facility until an independent study of the closure plan is undertaken.

He said the facility is currently using only about half its beds, and he has questioned whether per-patient costs could be reduced if it is fully used.

“We have heard from the administration that it is going to save some money, but we do not have an independent assessment of those costs,” Moore said, according to the Telegram & Gazette. “I am going to put in an amendment for an independent study."

While administration officials have argued that patients can be well cared for in community group homes, some familiar with the patients and operations at the Glavin Center have argued against the closure in the past.

D. Alfred Bacotti of Shrewsbury, who served as director of the Glavin Center for 30 years before his 2008 retirement, has disputed administration claims that the closure will result in savings, arguing that services provided at Glavin Center are not factored into cost estimates for group home operations.

The Glavin Center is located on Lake Street and most of the outdoor property is used for in-town and travel soccer teams for Shrewsbury Youth Soccer.