Officials Hopeful Residential Facility for Special Needs Seniors Will Remain Open

According to a story in The Delaware County Times, an agreement could be reached between Elwyn and the state of Pennsylvania over licensing issues of its Valley View residential facility for deaf and deaf-blind senior citizens located in Media, Delaware County.
Valley View is a senior adult day program and residential facility that serves the deaf and deaf/blind community. The staff is trained to address the unique set of challenges and medical needs of the elderly. Elwyn has programs in four states, including Pennsylvania, and has been developing unique and innovative services for people with disabilities for 110 years.
In early March Elwyn was notified by state officials that Valley View would be closed because of licensing issues but that deadline has been extended.
Since Valley View is the only nursing/assisted living home in the state that’s fully accessible to those who use ASL to interact with a staff, it does not fall under licensing requirements for a nursing home or assisted living facility. Therefore, government departments have been unable to find an appropriate category to permanently license it.
Some believe the deadline was extended to come up with a viable solution to keep the facility open while others fear it is only buying the state more time to relocate the Valley View residents.
A rally organized by the Pennsylvania Society for Advancement of the Deaf took place Saturday outside the facility to raise awareness that the facility might be forced to close and drew a large turnout.
The Times story states that through an American Sign Language interpreter, speakers relayed the importance of keeping the facility open and not moving its 40 elderly residents in other nursing homes that serve the hearing community. They stressed that without 24/7 communication access in ASL the patients could feel isolated and this could lead to deterioration of mental and physical health.
Among those addressing the rally was Dr. Larry S. Taub, head of the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf who attended as a member of the deaf community.