Officials in Morristown are
adding up the costs they expect to incur when some beds from the state mental
health facility are moved to their community temporarily.
Governor Peter Shumlin discusses the future of the Waterbury office complex, his plan to build a 25-bed psychiatric hospital and to add beds at Rutland Regional Medical Center and Brattleboro Retreat.
The Shumlin administration and the union
representing Vermont state workers are in talks about a possible
retirement incentive program for workers at the now-closed Vermont State Hospital.
Gov.
Peter Shumlin wants lawmakers to send him a bill that overhauls the
state’s mental health system, and he has
warned the Legislature not to tinker with his proposal for a new 16-bed
regional facility.
Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding tells The
Associated Press that the workers are scheduled to get layoff notices Friday and
they’ll formally leave state employment in April.
Last night, an overflow crowd filled the
Lamoille Community Connections conference room in Morrisville. About 150 people
were there to hear Vermont Mental Health Commissioner Patrick Flood talk about
a plan to put up to 16 beds at the regional mental health facility.
After
the Vermont State Hospital was closed by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene, Governor Peter Shumlin
proposed decentralizing the facility, and moving some patients to treatment centers like the one in Morristown.
By
a vote of 123 to 3, the House has given its approval to legislation that makes
important changes to the state’s mental health system. The
bill strengthens community based programs and it calls for a new 25 bed acute
care facility to be built in central Vermont.