Pa. to close hospital for the mentally ill

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Welfare will shut down an eastern Pennsylvania mental hospital by the end of the year.

Acting Secretary of Public Welfare Harriet Dichter said today the department will close Allentown State Hospital by Dec. 31.

The decision to close the hospital comes as the number of patients at the seven state hospitals has dropped from almost 5,000 in 1994 to a little more than 1,500 today.

Dichter says the state is reducing its reliance on institutional care. Instead the focus is on home- and community-based services.

Officials say the $35 million budget for the hospital will be reinvested in other mental-health programs.

About 175 patients are currently being treated at Allentown State Hospital. It employs more than 350 people on its 217-acre campus.