Please save the Pappas Rehab Hospital for Children

By Guest

Dear Editor:

It’s budget season on Beacon Hill again, as Governor Healey rolled out a $62.07 billion FY26 budget proposal, which is an increase of $4.3 billion (7 percent) over the FY25 General Appropriations Act current budget of $59.6 billion.

This proposed spending grows significantly over FY25 GAA. Governor Healey’s budget includes free community college and universal school meals, while she continues to make questionable calls on our healthcare system, including levying a new tax on pharmaceuticals.

Governor Healey has a devastating plan to shut down a crucial state facility in Canton known as the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children (PRHC), formerly known as the Massachusetts Hospital School, which will surely have a deleterious effect on the lives of the families it serves.

Healey defended the decision, mere months after the closing of two hospitals formerly owned by bankrupt Steward Health Care, showing once again that she is a poor steward of our state finances. She needs to evaluate what’s important to the people who elected her. This will be a huge disgrace if she closes Pappas, which has unique services on a beautiful campus close to Boston that cannot be easily replicated, and has served our community for over a century. It’s a great model integrating education with medical and therapeutic care, provided to many children, including those who eventually went on to attend Milton High School.

Simply attempting to relocate these specialized services is not a viable solution. The care provided at PRHC, spanning medical treatment, therapies, education, peer interaction, and inclusion — cannot be replicated elsewhere. Current patients at PRHC have access to equine therapy, a heated pool for aquatics, and a recreation center with adaptive games and sports.

There are countless therapies available to the Pappas community, with an onsite school complete with special education professionals from classroom education to life skills transition assistance, not to mention the proximity to Boston Hospitals from Canton is a lifeline.

Closing PRHC is not merely a loss of yet another healthcare facility in the commonwealth, but it will be a loss of a sanctuary where children find care, hope, and community.

I urge the “leadership” on Beacon Hill to reverse this decision and ensure that PRHC continues to provide the specialized care and support needed by these children and their families. These children are some of the most vulnerable members of our society, and they deserve better representation, and advocacy for their needs than Governor Healey is providing.

Governor Healey has demonstrated time and again that she is not a leader who is “for the people,” including during her time as attorney general. I encourage state Senator Bill Driscoll Jr. and state Representative Richard Wells to advocate for their constituents to preserve this necessary facility and crucial lifeline for some of our children.

Regards,

Kerry White

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