South Mountain Restoration Center
Message from the CEO
Welcome to the webpage for South Mountain Restoration Center.
South Mountain Restoration Center is a 159 bed long-term care facility dedicated to providing compassionate, professional quality care to our residents. The Center is licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
It is our mission to provide the highest quality of care and services to our residents in order to assist their recovery. The ultimate goal of the Center, whenever possible, is to have residents return to their home in their community.
South Mountain Restoration Center is "A Community of Hope".
Location of the Center
The Center is located in Franklin County on Pennsylvania Route 233 between Gettysburg and Chambersburg, adjacent to Caledonia State Park, the Mont Alto Campus of The Pennsylvania State University and is surrounded by the rolling hills and beautiful woodlands of south-central Pennsylvania's Michaux State Forest.
The address and main telephone number for the Center is:
South Mountain Restoration Center
10058 South Mountain Road
South Mountain, PA 17261
Telephone: 717-749-3121
Admission Process
The Center serves individuals from it's local communities and throughout the Commonwealth. The Center provides care to persons who have histories of serious psychiatric illness, persons who have lived for many years in state centers and persons who have been incarcerated. Residents of the Center have exhausted other alternatives for placement, are psychiatrically stable and do not exhibit behaviors that would put themselves, or other residents, at risk of harm.
The Center restricts the admission of residents with active psychosis, substance abuse problems or combative behavior. Residents are admitted without regard to race, color, national origin, religious creed, sex, actual or perceived sexual orientation, actual or perceived gender identity, and/or actual or perceived gender expression, age or disability. All new residents must be certified by the Area Agency on Aging as needing nursing home care.
For additional information about admission, or to make a referral, please contact the Center's Social Service Department. The Social Service staff are available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and may be contacted by calling 717-749-3121.
Messages may be left 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the above-listed telephone number and someone will return the call during regular hours of operation.
Visiting Guidelines
Visitors are welcome at the Center any time, but visiting is generally encouraged between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. daily. Visitors are requested to discuss visits outside these hours with staff in advance. There are visiting rooms on the living areas and on the first floor.
Resident Programs
The Center's holistic approach to recovery-oriented care includes programs that are in place and available to our residents to address their individualized needs. Our programs are specially designed to enhance the quality of life and encourage independence. Goals promote optimal physical, emotional, social and spiritual health. Many of our residents have co-occurring disorders that include dementia, along with chronic physical and mental problems. Many residents receive complex medical interventions including gastrostomy tubes and intravenous medications.
Our residents stretch across the continuum of age, health, and need for support; so our recovery programs are as individualized as the needs of each resident. After admission, Center staff and residents work together to develop an individualized treatment plan which is based upon a comprehensive plan developed and administered by the Center's interdisciplinary team.
Services are designed to meet the needs of our special populations: persons of size, persons on parole, persons with a history of mental illness, and persons with dementia. These services may include, but are not limited to; skilled nursing, social services, medicine, activities, pastoral care, dietetics, physical occupational, speech and music therapies, and psychological services. Other services are provided to residents of the Center by community-based consultants.
Additional programming is provided through interactions with volunteer groups, religious services, and professional hair care services. Recreational activities include holiday parties, carnivals, open houses, trips, picnics and other activities organized by staff members.
Residents who have made progress through their treatment program are encouraged to participate in more independent activities as staff explore the possibility of returning the resident to a community-based treatment program. Social workers consider a broad range of living arrangements by contacting family and service providers in the resident's chosen county of residence to ensure that the resident receives appropriate treatment services in the community.
A committed workforce, Board of Trustees, advocates, community volunteers, family and resident councils, consultants and spiritual leaders help ensure the provision of quality care and integration of the residents into the wider community.
Resident Rights
The South Mountain Restoration Center is committed to assuring that the rights of all residents are protected, as outlined in Federal and State regulations and in agency policy. We provide copies of these rights to residents at admission and annually. Copies of the residents' rights are also available to families and others.
The Center believes in and respects resident rights by providing a quality of life that supports independent expression, decision-making, and action. These rights provide for considerate and respectful treatment in an environment, which contributes to a positive self-image and preserves dignity.
The South Mountain Restoration Center trains all employees to assure that the rights of residents are respected and protected. Other organization safeguards established to protect resident rights include the External Advocate Program.
External Advocacy Services
Advocacy services are available through the Franklin/Fulton Mental Health Association. The External Advocate works on the hospital premises and is available to all residents and their families. They can be reached by calling 717-749-4042.
Advisory Structure
The Resident Council meets with the Center staff on a monthly basis to discuss concerns and suggestions for program improvements. The Family Council also meets with Center staff to learn of program updates, discuss concerns and offer suggestions for program improvements.
An Advisory Board of Trustees, consisting of nine community members appointed for time-limited terms by the Governor, meets on a quarterly basis to advise the Center's CEO regarding concerns and suggestions for program improvements.
Employment Opportunities
South Mountain Restoration Center provides a variety of employment opportunities. For specific information regarding current and future openings please contact:
Human Resources Department
South Mountain Restoration Center
10058 South Mountain Road
South Mountain, PA 17261
The Human Resource Office can be reached by calling 717-749-4008
For all Commonwealth employment, visit the Employment PA website at Employment.PA.gov for additional information. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer.
Additional Nursing Career opportunities can also be acquired by visiting www.dos.pa.gov/nurse
Directions
From Harrisburg, PA or Hagerstown, MD: Traveling on Interstate 81, take Exit 20 (Scotland Exit). Travel south on Route 997 approximately 3.5 miles to the intersection at U.S. Route 30. Turn left onto Route 30 East. Travel on Route 30 East approximately 2 miles to Route 233 South (Rocky Mountain Road). Turn right onto U.S. Route 233 and travel approximately 5 miles to the stop sign. At the stop sign, turn left. The main entrance to the Center is located on the right approximately ¾ mile.
From York/Lancaster/Baltimore: Traveling on Interstate 83, take U.S. Route 30 West toward Gettysburg. Travel on Route 30 West for approximately 50 miles to Route 233 South (Rocky Mountain Road). Turn left onto Route 233 and travel approximately 5 miles to the stop sign. At the stop sign, turn left. The main entrance to the Center is located on the right approximately ¾ mile.
From PA Turnpike Route 76: Traveling on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, take Ext 201, Blue Mountain exit. Turn right onto Route 997 south. Travel on Route 997 for about 12 miles. At the entrance for Letterkenny Army Depot, bear left at the fork in the road continuing south on 997 south. You will continue on 997 south until you reach Route 30, passing a McDonald's and the Chambersburg Mall. At the intersection with Route 30, Turn left onto Route 30 East and travel approximately 2 miles. Turn right onto Route 233 South, (Rocky Mountain Road) and travel approximately 5 miles to the stop sign. At the stop sign, turn left. The main entrance to the Center is located on the right approximately ¾ mile.
After entering the Restoration Center grounds, there will be a stop sign. Proceed straight through at the stop sign. The visitor's parking lot is on the right. There are three doors at the front of the building, please enter through the center entrance and check in at the Communications Center for a visitor's badge and further directions.
History of South Mountain Restoration Center
In 1901 The South Mountain Restoration Center began as a tuberculosis sanatorium, White Pine Camp, under the leadership of Dr. Joseph T. Rothrock. White Pine Camp was renamed the Mont Alto Sanatorium in 1907, South Mountain Sanatorium in 1918 and the Samuel G. Dixon State Hospital in 1956.
The Dixon State Hospital, under the Department of Health, closed as a tuberculosis hospital in 1968. The highest census for the hospital had been about 1200 persons with 700 employees. In late 1965 a campus transition had begun to serve older persons who had lived in state mental hospitals and centers. Under the control of the Department of Human Services, the South Mountain Geriatric Center was renamed South Mountain Restoration Center in 1968. At its peak in 1970, the Center served 1100 residents in multiple campus buildings.
Today, South Mountain Restoration Center is a long-term care facility operated by the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
Campus tenants now include a Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Amory, Abraxas, the South Mountain Post Office and a DHS Office of Children, Youth and Families secure treatment unit. The Center operates on-site water and wastewater treatment plants, a steam plant, springs, and the Carbaugh dam to serve all campus occupants. About 1040 total persons now reside or work on the campus. The building presently occupied by the Center's residents was constructed in 1938 as the "Adult Hospital Building".
Thank you for visiting our webpage and we hope this information has been helpful. If you have questions or wish to learn more about the Center, please do not hesitate to contact us by calling 717-749-3121 to reach our Communications Center. They will, in turn, forward your call to the appropriate staff member.