Health Minister Zane DeSilva has praised the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute for its efforts integrating patients into the community.Mr DeSilva told the House of Assembly MWI’s 15 community group homes across the Island allow 116 people to lead normal lives instead of being stuck inside the institution.“Recent research indicated that 80 percent of family members prefer community-living to inpatient treatment,” said Mr DeSilva in a Ministerial Statement.“Having service users in the community has also resulted in an increase in visits from family members, which means an increase in social interaction for service users. This is beneficial to the family and to the service user.“This programme is supported and successful because it is about providing better care and ensuring better lives for a very vulnerable group of people who will thrive more in a community setting, rather than being locked away in an institution.“For learning disability service users, group homes are their permanent home. Providing these residents with a home-life environment with support enables them to experience a much-improved quality of life compared to an institutionalised care environment.”He asked the House to join him congratulating MWI on the success of its community group home programme.