Sonoma Developmental Center Losing Millions in Federal Funding

The Press Democrat
Media Coverage

Sonoma Developmental Center Losing Millions in Federal Funding

"The Sonoma Developmental Center is losing millions more in federal funding that likely will have to be made up by California taxpayers after health officials discovered a disabled patient in February hooked up to an empty oxygen tank, triggering decertification of several units.

The patient did not suffer lasting harm as a result of the snafu, according to officials. But the incident has profound implications for the Eldridge facility near Glen Ellen, including the loss of an estimated $26 million in federal funds that would have gone toward patient care.

The situation further clouds the immediate future of the center, which the state is seeking to close by 2018. Some advocates for the disabled say patients aren’t safe at the facility, and the state should move more quickly toward finding alternative care for them in community-based settings."