Greeneville Closure Approved

By Walter F. Roche Jr.


A federal judge has approved a plan to permanently close the Greene Valley Developmental Center and place its 96 current residents in smaller community facilities.
In a 13-page order issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Kevin H. Sharp also rejected a last minute effort by relatives of some of the current residents to keep the facility open.
The judge approved the exit plan submitted jointly by the state and the groups that originally filed the federal lawsuit. The plan calls for the closure to be completed by June 30, 2016.
Stating that he would not allow "perfect to be the enemy of good," Sharp concluded that the exit plan was "fair and appropriate."
He noted that the plan includes provisions requiring the state Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to draw up individual plans for each of the residents. It also requires that the state make refinements to protocols for the use of psychotropic medications and to provide for behavorial respite and crisis prevention services.
The judge also noted the high cost, $1,361 per resident per day, of keeping the center open.
He said disapproval of the plan would result in further litigation setting all parties "many steps back."
He rejected the pleas of the relatives and conservators of some current residents who had charged that they only got last minute notice of the closure agreement.
Sharp noted the litigation dates back nearly two decades and said the relatives and conservators failed to meet four criteria needed to qualify.
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