LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — For nearly four years, Tom Kashatus of Glen Lyon has been fighting to keep the White Haven Center in Luzerne County open.
With its closure now just days away, he feels "confused, despondent, unsatisfied."
"There's a lot of sadness, and right now, I really don't know how to put it towards and inform the people that things don't look too good," Kashatus said.
Kashatus's late daughter Maria was a long-term resident of the facility for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
"Maria was there about 40 years," explained Kashatus.
Kashatus is still the legal guardian of a few residents needing state care.
In 2019, The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services announced its plan to close the White Haven Center in Luzerne County and the Polk Center, a similar facility near Erie.
In its announcement, the DHS called the closure part of an effort to move Pennsylvanians away from institutionalized care.
Kashatus and others with connections to the state facilities protested the closure.
"I feel it's important because you never know when it's going to happen to you, or you're going to have a loved one that you're not going to be able to take care of. Where are they going to go," added Kashatus.
They filed a federal class action lawsuit to keep the facilities open for their loved ones.
"Once we had gotten an attorney to help fight the case and start looking for a trial and all, I feel positive all the way up until maybe about two or three weeks ago," said Kashatus.
Despite the lawsuit, DHS is moving forward with the closure, telling Newswatch 16 expects it to happen by February 24.
In 2019, The White Haven Center in Foster Township was home to about 100 residents. More than 400 people worked there.
As of last week, DHS says only eight residents and fewer than 200 employees remain.
Since 2019, DHS has been transitioning both residents and employees to community-based placements, private intermediate-care facilities, or placement at state centers in Selinsgrove and Ebensburg.
"I just hope that they get the care that they deserve. I think Selinsgrove will try their best," said Kashatus.
Kashatus says he will continue to fight to reopen the White Haven Center or another facility like it.
Newswatch 16 attempted several times to contact lawyers involved in the class action lawsuit, but we did not get any calls back.
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