Shortly afterwards, she returned to Sheppard. The months following the birth and loss of her child were difficult for her. Concurrently, her father's insurance coverage was depleted and she was soon to be discharged from the hospital. Without private funding, her only option was placement in the public mental health system. She was judged by Sheppard to be at serious risk of suicide and in need of continued hospitalization. The Maryland state hospital system however, rejected Anna because she had never lived in the community. The Pennsylvania system also refused her admission. To qualify for plaement in a publicly funded hospital in Pennsylvania, city and state mental health regulations required that Anna first live in Pennsylvania and then be observed and perceived by an authorized person in the act of ebing dangerous to herself or someone else.

Political interventions were necessary to finally find Anna placement at the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute (EPPI), where she would be evaluated and eventually moved to a State Hospital. Accompanied by several of the Sheppard staff who had been closest to her, Anna was admitted to EPPI in October, 1984. She was moved two months later to Philadelphia State Hospital.