West Hartford's Justina Pelletier Transfered to New Facility

Justina Pelletier, the 15-year-old West Hartford girl who had been held at Boston Children’s Hospital in a custody dispute since February 2013, has been moved to a new facility, the Boston Globe reported Friday.

The Globe said that Pelletier was moved to the Wayside Youth and Family Support Network in Framingham, though she remains under the care of Boston Children’s doctors as they find another care team to take over the West Hartford teen’s case.

The move is consistent with a Jan. 10 ruling by Judge Joseph Johnston that called for Pelletier to be moved from Boston Children’s Bader 5 psychiatric unit to a new facility.

Justina, who has been diagnosed and treated by Tufts Medical Center doctors for mitochondrial disorder, a rare genetic disease, was sent to Boston Children’s Hospital for a bout with the flu last February.

Justina’s regular doctor was unavailable at the time.

Doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital reportedly disagreed with the diagnosis and instead diagnosed Pelletier with somatoform disorder, a mental illness characterized by pain and gastrointestinal symptoms that have no identifiable physical cause.

The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families then took custody of Justina when the Pelletiers disagreed with Justina’s treatment.

Even with the transfer to a new facility last week, several questions loom.

It’s not clear how long Justina is to remain at the new facility, or what kind of care she will receive.

Further, the Globe reported that it is uncertain if Justina’s move to the new facility means that she will eventually be reunited with her family in West Hartford, or whether the Massachusetts DCF will continue to retain custody.