Provision of health care for persons with developmental disabilities living in the community. The Morristown model
P. R. Ziring, T. Kastner, D. L. Friedman, W. S. Pond, M. L. Barnett, E. M. Sonnenberg and K. Strassburger
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.
Persons with developmental disabilities living in the community have a
greater number and variety of health care needs than the average population
of the same age and sex. The erroneous assumption that the generic health
care system would be able to provide all necessary services to the large
number of individuals recently transferred from state residential
facilities to the community has proved to be an unexpected disappointment
to human service policymakers. In an effort to remedy this situation, a
program of health care services was established by the New Jersey
Department of Human Services at a community teaching hospital to supplement
the existing generic system of medical care. Within four years, the program
had rapidly grown to provide care for 729 patients who had come to rely on
the center for primary care, specialty medical and dental services, and
medical case management. The demographic characteristics of this program
are described as well as data on morbidity, service utilization, and
special problems encountered when care was provided to this complex and
medically underserved population.
