News

Save AFSCME Jobs!

On Monday, May 6th we need your help to save AFSCME jobs in Medford and Rowley! Come support our AFSCME brothers and sisters in Locals 3338 and 2905.

Local 1700 Defeats Privatization Effort in Duxbury

"Congratulations to the members of AFSCME Local 1700 Duxbury School Custodians on their victory over a short-sited plan to privatize custodial services in Duxbury this morning.

Senate overrides Governor's Veto - Protects Taunton State Hospital 07/13/2012

Senate overrides governor’s veto, protects Taunton State Hospital
Source: wickedlocal.com

BOSTON - State Sen. Marc R. Pacheco, D-Taunton, announced that the Senate voted Thursday, July 12, to protect mental health services in the state by overturning two of Governor Patrick’s vetoes.

Taunton Gazette Editorial: Override Patrick's Veto on Taunton State Hospital 07/10/2012

Our View: Override Patrick's veto on Taunton State Hospital
Source: South Cost Today

Gov. Deval Patrick's Community First Initiative, his justification for vetoing the plan to keep several dozen beds open at Taunton State Hospital for the mentally ill, aims to provide "care to individuals with disabilities in appropriate settings."

Compassion and the state 07/10/2012

The disagreement over the closing of Taunton State Hospital and the effort to reverse closure of the Glavin Regional Center in Shrewsbury might seem to matter to only a few.

But such facilities ably serve some of our most needy individuals. They are staffed with gifted professionals. Most especially, they are places where hope pours in daily from family members and others who cherish their special someone who lives there.

Victory in Taunton 06/28/2012

BOSTON - Advocates for quality mental health care and maintaining the comprehensive and award winning services available at Taunton State Hospital scored a significant victory today when Massachusetts House and Senate lawmakers agreed to a Fiscal Year 2013 budget that keeps the facility open through next the next fiscal year beginning July 1.  The budget provides funding for 45 state-operated beds at the hospital and includes language calling for an advisor

OUR VIEW: The human side of the Taunton State Hospital equation 06/19/2012

OUR VIEW: The human side of the Taunton State Hospital equation
Source: Taunton Daily Gazette

Patients' families speak out over proposed Taunton State Hospital closure 06/17/2012

As the debate about Gov. Deval Patrick’s plans to close Taunton State Hospital continues on Beacon Hill, several family members of patients committed there expressed fears about how the shuttering of the institution could affect their loved ones.

While some expressed concerns about how the change of setting to a state hospital in Tewksbury or a newly constructed one in Worcester would affect the stability of the patients, others talked about fears related to proposals to put group homes in the community.

Legislators push to keep 72 beds in Taunton State Hospital 06/16/2012

The fate of Taunton State Hospital currently rests in the hands of a joint conference committee that’s meeting to iron out the differences between the House and Senate budget bills.

“We’ve had some sympathetic ears in the Senate,” said state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton.

During its budget debate, the Senate unanimously approved a budget amendment calling for Taunton State Hospital to remain open at an occupancy level of 72 beds until an independent study on the facility is concluded.

Family members visit patients in Taunton State Hospital 06/16/2012

Each weekend, Norwood’s Michael Donovan takes a trip to Taunton State Hospital to visit his brother.

There is a certain routine that comes with the visits: Checking in with a receptionist, receiving a visitor’s sticker and being escorted to a visiting room in one of the units before being greeted by his brother, who is retrieved by a staffer at the hospital from a shared area of the ward that visitors are restricted from. Before walking into the visiting area, a staffer behind a glass partition hits a buzzer to open a door.