MHS - SHOWING WHAT'S POSSIBLE!
In the face of budget cuts, this long-term facility for children and young adults with multiple disabilities is stepping up its outreach and education efforts.
Last year, the state of Massachusetts froze its budget and, as a result, cut funding for one of the units at the Massachusetts Hospital School (MHS). Since then, the board of trustees and the development team, led by Kathleen Kalell, foundation director, have stepped up their efforts to educate state legislatures and the community about the best kept secret in pediatric medicine for the state. And they are finally seeing some success.
MHS opened in 1907 as a residential hospital for children with severe and complicated medical challenges.
Kalell said the kids at MHS fall into many different categories, but many are partially or completely paralyzed and cannot speak. The hospital aims to provide medical, habilitative, and rehabilitative services to increase the quality of life for the children and allow them the maximum level of independence possible.
But the hospital is a unique hybrid that also provides recreational, educational, and vocational services—it’s a fully functioning school as well as a hospital.
