Saving Wrentham and Hogan Alliance

05/16/2026

Understanding the past is the only way to understand the crisis unfolding today. Massachusetts has never built a system capable of meeting the needs of the people it claims to serve.

05/15/2026

The proposed pediatric unit at Western Massachusetts Hospital is not a replacement for Pappas. It’s smaller, less specialized, and lacks the integrated school and therapies children need.

05/15/2026

🚨 NEW BLOG POST: Why 1915(c) Waivers Fail Medically Complex and Aging Individuals 🚨

As families, we all want the same thing: safe, appropriate, medically informed care for our loved ones with intellectual and developmental disabilities. But Massachusetts continues to rely on 1915(c) waivers that were never designed for people with chronic medical conditions or those who are aging and becoming more medically vulnerable.

Our latest post explains:

🔹 Why 1915(c) waivers assume minimal medical needs
🔹 How this leads to predictable gaps in care and medical oversight
🔹 Why aging adults with IDD are especially at risk
🔹 How the closure of Wrentham and Hogan would push people into nursing homes — just like the Rolland case
🔹 Why ICFs remain a critical, federally protected option for those who need ongoing clinical monitoring

Wrentham and Hogan are not outdated institutions — they are lifelines for individuals who cannot safely be served in waiver settings.

👉 Read the full post here:
https://savingwrenthamandhogan.org/why-1915c-waivers-fail-medically-complex-and-aging-individuals-why-the-closure-of-wrentham-and-hogan-would-be-devastating/

If you believe in protecting real choice, real safety, and real care, please read, share, and help spread the word.
Together, we can ensure that medically vulnerable individuals are not pushed into unsafe settings or funneled into nursing homes.

💙 Join us in this fight.
Families deserve better. Our loved ones deserve better.
Wrentham and Hogan must remain open.

Learn why 1915(c) HCBS waivers often fail medically complex and aging individuals, and why closing Wrentham and Hogan could increase nursing home placements.

05/14/2026

Today, Pappas Rehabilitation Center is being dismantled again. Students are being discharged one by one, even though no true replacement exists.

05/13/2026

Please email or call your state senator today:

Our fight to preserve the Wrentham and Hogan Intermediate Care centers has now shifted to the state Senate, where two budget amendments to save the centers have been filed in anticipation of next w…

05/13/2026

Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital once provided intermediate care facility (ICF) level care for medically fragile children. The state eliminated that program — and children were pushed into pediatric nursing homes.

05/12/2026

The state has a long history of dismantling specialized programs first and improvising alternatives later. Families pay the price.

05/11/2026

Across five decades, Massachusetts has repeatedly chosen the cheapest, least disruptive administrative option — even when it uproots people or strips away their rights.

05/11/2026

SWHA Community — We have an important update from the State House.

Two budget amendments have been filed in the Massachusetts Senate that directly affect access to Intermediate Care Facilities (ICFs) for individuals with the most significant disabilities. These amendments focus on transparency, informed choice, and the rights of individuals who require ICF‑level care.

Amendment 411 (Sen. Bruce Tarr)
• Affirms that individuals eligible for ICF‑level care have the right to choose an ICF residential setting
• Requires DDS to report how it informs families of all residential options, including ICFs
• Prohibits involuntary discharge from ICFs, consistent with Olmstead v. L.C.

Amendment 555 (Sen. Becca Rausch)
• Requires DDS to report how it informs families of all residential options, including ICFs

COFAR has already reached out to its members, and SWHA is joining this effort.
If you would like to support these amendments, you may contact your state senator this week to ask them to co‑sponsor Amendments 411 and 555. Families in Senator Lovely’s district may be especially interested, as Hogan Regional Center is located there.

This is the final opportunity to advance this language for FY27.

To find your state senator, visit the Massachusetts Legislature’s official site:
👉 https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator (malegislature.gov in Bing)

Thank you to everyone who continues to advocate for a full continuum of care for individuals with severe and profound needs.

Find your legislator by entering your street address, city/town, and ZIP code. Please note that you can only search addresses within Massachusetts, and that not entering the complete street address, city/town, and ZIP code may result in an inaccurate response.

05/11/2026

Why Sharing Historical Information Matters

At SWHA, our responsibility is to support families by providing clear, accurate, and evidence‑based information about the systems that affect their lives. That includes sharing historical material, even when it is uncomfortable, even when it raises difficult emotions, and even when some families would prefer not to revisit the past.
We understand that communication methods such as FC, RPM, and newer approaches like Spellers are deeply meaningful to many families. We also understand that families turn to these methods out of hope, love, and a desire to connect with their children.

Nothing we share is intended to diminish that.

But history matters.

There is a well‑documented record of cases in which facilitated or supported communication methods produced statements that were not the child’s, including false accusations that led to parents being investigated, arrested, or separated from their children. These events were traumatic for families and had lasting consequences. They are part of the public record, and they shaped national policy, clinical guidelines, and legal standards.

Sharing this history is not an attack on any family or any method. It is not a judgment about anyone’s intentions. It is not a statement about any individual child’s abilities.

It is simply information. Information that families deserve to have.
Families cannot make informed decisions if they are only shown success stories and never shown the risks. Our role is to ensure that parents have access to the full picture, including the parts that are harder to talk about. Transparency protects families. Silence does not.

We respect that different families will interpret this information differently. We respect that some will disagree. But we cannot withhold factual history because it is uncomfortable. Our commitment is to informed choice, safety, and honesty — even when the truth is complicated.

SWHA will continue to share information that helps families navigate a system that is often confusing, under‑resourced, and full of mixed messages. Our goal is not to tell families what to believe. Our goal is to ensure they have the knowledge they need to protect themselves and their children.

05/10/2026

Intermediate Care Facilities or ICFs exist because some people need 24 hour clinical care. Massachusetts has two — Wrentham and Hogan — yet families are routinely steered away from them.