Wernersville State Hospital preparing for Allentown State Hospital patients

Posted: March 9, 2010 By: Valdis I. Lacis Source: Reading Eagle

Wernersville State Hospital is preparing two new units to accommodate the transfer of up to 65 patients from the recently closed Allentown State Hospital. "We're adhering to a tight timeline," Andrea B. Kepler, Wernersville chief executive officer, told hospital trustees Monday. Transfers from the Allentown facility, which the state Department of Public Welfare closed Jan. 28, are to begin by the end of April, she said. Each new unit will be able to take in 23 patients, expanding the 220-bed capacity of the inpatient treatment center for serious and persistent mental illness. In addition, up to 85 workers out of 275 at Allentown will transfer over the next several months. "We're already planning to integrate both staff and patients," Kepler said. Also Monday, Andrew D. Boyer, safety manager, said the hospital no longer operates its own water filtration plant but buys water from the Wernersville Municipal Authority. Kepler said the change came after the state issued two advisories to the hospital last year about the quality of the drinking water. "The borough's water quality is respectable," Kepler said, adding that the $10,000 monthly water bill is a lot better than a possible multi-million dollar project to repair the filtration plant and close cracks in the reserve water tank. And, the trustees reappointed Redith Snoberger as chairwoman. Original Article