5/18/2006
The West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) today announced that effective July 1, 2006, it will discontinue inpatient care services provided in the West Virginia Rehabilitation Hospital located within the West Virginia Rehabilitation.
Center in Institute, West Virginia. Following the closure of the inpatient care unit, DRS will be providing only those medical services required by students enrolled at the West Virginia Rehabilitation Center, as well as physical, occupational and speech therapy on an outpatient basis. The closing of the unit will result in the reduction of 22 employees, including 9 nurses, 12 health service workers and 1 physician. The State Personnel Board approved the reduction in force earlier today.
DRS operates the state and federally funded public vocational rehabilitation program. The vocational rehabilitation program, as mandated by the 1998 Federal Rehabilitation Act Amendments,
offers evaluation, counseling, medical and therapy services, vocational training and job placement assistance for the purpose of helping people with disabilities enter, keep or return to employment. These services are offered through 28 field office locations throughout the state, as
well as the West Virginia Rehabilitation Center.
The decision to close the unit resulted from a February 2006 study of the cost of operating the inpatient hospital compared to the number of people served in the program. The study looked at the number of individuals served in the hospital and the outcomes of those services over a three year period. The study revealed that a total of 233 patients were treated as inpatients in the hospital over the previous three fiscal years, and of that number 122 patients were DRS clients. The remaining 111 were private pay patients. Of the DRS clients served in the inpatient hospital, at the time of the study only 7 DRS clients had a successful employment outcome. The number of individuals who were employed represents only 3% of the total number of individuals served in the inpatient hospital unit during the period studied.
Over the past several years DRS has experienced decreasing supplemental revenue from the federal government while the costs to operate the vocational rehabilitation program have steadily increased. As a result, fewer funds are available for client services throughout the state. During the past year, services for the 15,000 people with disabilities served in the DRS field offices were dramatically cut. DRS assists more than 2,700 people with disabilities with college financial aid and support services. The amount of assistance available for clients utilizing college and other vocational training has steadily declined and services for all new applicants were suspended in February.
The growing cost of providing services, along with limited funds, has forced the agency to evaluate operating units within the organization for cost effectiveness. The operating budget for the hospital unit amounts to more than $2.7 million per year, including the therapy units. Although
DRS will continue to provide outpatient therapy services at the Rehabilitation Center, there is a need for the agency to make responsible decisions with regard to the resources we have available and how they can best be used. A significant savings will be realized with the closure of the inpatient unit. The savings will be redirected to provide services to a broader number of DRS clients.
Patients and staff being affected by this decision were informed on Wednesday, May 17, after which no new admissions to the hospital unit will be allowed. Patients currently in the hospital will continue to receive treatment along with discharge planning until the unit is closed in July.
DRS is working in cooperation with the WV Division of Personnel to locate vacancies in other state agencies that may be available for those employees who will be affected. Additionally arrangements have been made for the human resources departments of area hospitals to present information about existing vacancies to those employees in the affected positions.
Contact Information
Tracy Carr
304-766-4997