Annual 'Meet Your Legislators' meeting reported in Kenwood Press

The turnout was good for the PHA general meeting on March 12. On the agenda was the annual 'Meet Your Legislators' session that gives elected officials a chance to receive first-hand testimony and the community the opportunity to meet their representatives. The room full of PHA members, SDC employees and other interested community members came with lots of comments, questions and requests for the legislators and their representatives who were in attendance.

Everyone was reminded of the value of the services at SDC and many spoke to the issues and concerns surrounding the continuation of those services. Most importantly, specific suggestions were offered for cost-savings and improvements. The legislators also left having received requests for public hearings and more transparency in how DDS operates, how money is allocated and spent, and on the results of care in regional and developmental centers.

Minutes from the meeting will be printed in the next edition of The Eldridge Gazette. When that becomes available there will be a link to a copy for download on the resources page of the Parent Hospital Association website. You can also add your name to our mailing list to receive a copy by email or snail mail.

Fortunately members of the press also attended the meeting, and the Kenwood Press subsequently reported on it. See: Legislators warned over developmental center transfers, by Jay Gamel, in The Kenwood Press.

---

The next PHA general meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m., Saturday, May 14, 2011, in McDougall Hall on the SDC campus.