4,537 Comments for Pennhurst State School

Maybe one of the staff drew it?

The sunlight beyond the partially opened door just makes this shot. What a wonderful photograph!

Connie, nobody has mentioned your uncle or his "passed". We are here to admire some awe-inspiring photography and accounts from those that have resided/have relatives that resided at these places are usually welcome, provided they are of relevence to the topic.

As has been said, we haven't mentioned your uncle at all and Navi is right....flaming will get you nowhere.

Contribute positively or don't bother at all.

Unless your uncle is this wheelchair, no one is talking about him.

I think it's just rotten (or "roten," if you will) that "you people" keep flaming in the comments section and trying to ruin our enjoyment of the past.

How about contributing something positive about your family's experience (even if the story is negative, at least you wouldn't be trying to insult us) so we have a better idea of what it was like for your uncle, and we can empathise?

Otherwise, there's no sense crying over spilt milk.

i found out my uncle lived there and i think it is just roten that you people just keep bringing up thing that the people that lived there want to forget. how would you like people talking about your passed? it make me cry just to have you guys talking about my family.

I think the red and blue book is "Developing Your Language"

Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I'm not doubting you at all. I know that clients were over medicated to keep things under some control. And I'm sure with smaller numbers to take care of you probably were able to implement programs to curb those behaviors. No arguemnet there. I guess I was just wandering what medical problems could have been taken care of years earlier. I still believe the medical care they received was pretty good. Hey, I commend you for being able to stay 22 years in this field of work. It's a thankless job, no doubt. I had enough after 11 years.

Chilling...especially after Jmack's comment.

If you told me there was $15 million at the end of that tunnel, I still would not go. Way too creepy for me!

WOW!!!! Weird! Me likey!

Looks like the room in the movie "SAW".

Amayzing Foto!!! I'm wondering what it is that you are thinking as you are take the picture? Do you get any weird feelings? Huh, I need to know.

is this the insane asylum or the school?

BSMarcia. I certainly would not deny that there are lousy group home agencies. The first agency I worked for in 1983 eventually lost their contracts for the group homes (only after many employees left the agency and made their comments to MH/MR). In the year I was there (I switched to the agency that was running their day program) I remember countless Dr. appointments in which the Dr stated "this should have been taken care of years ago". Every one of the people I worked with had their meds drastically reduced by the end of the first year. That is really scary after what you said about their meds being drastically reduced before leaving Pennhurst. I know that the main reason the meds were reduced was because the head resident advisor (or whatever we were called in those days) was a great advocate for the people and pushed the Drs. when they didn't want to do a thorough job. I know that not every group home had a leader like her. I am not going to say that everyone who left Pennhurst had as many problems as the people I worked with but I know the people I worked with. I am not really damning Pennhurst/Pennhurst staff as I am damning the MR system as a whole. It is just as screwed up today as it was when Pennhurst was closed. Please don't take it personally as I have been part of the same system for the past 22 years.

Thank you Franco for your insight. I think it's great that you've done research on Pennhurst and have a better understanding of how things were. It's funny that you felt the clients that came to you were heavily medicated because most had their meds cut drastically before leaving. And physically they were in such bad shape? Having worked day shift for a few years I know that Drs. appointments were an everyday occurrence. So that strikes me as odd. I could tell you of clients that left for group homes that did not receive as good medical care and didn't live very long on the outside.