(Host) 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.
VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports:
(Kinzel) In the space of 24 hours, tropical storm Irene did something that a group of mental health advocates have been trying to do for years -that’s close down the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury.
Many of these advocates complained that the State Hospital was a run down and outdated facility that didn’t properly serve the needs of the roughly 50 patients who were housed there.
House Human Services chairperson Ann Pugh says the fight over the State Hospital predates her election to the House in 1992.
(Pugh) "We’ve been talking about how to transform our mental health system in Vermont ever since I’ve been a legislator and probably before then as well. And we now have an unprecedented opportunity growing out of the crisis that Irene gave us in terms of the need to evacuate the Vermont State Hospital."
(Kinzel) Since the State Hospital was closed down in late August, the Shumlin Administration has scrambled to relocate patients in several parts of the state.
To help deal with this situation, the bill creates 14 acute care beds at the Brattleboro Retreat, 6 beds at the Rutland Hospital and 3 residential recovery facilities to help patients transition to an independent living setting.
The legislation also calls for the construction of a new 25 bed building in central Vermont. The Governor proposed a 16 bed facility, but Pugh says her committee felt the larger plan was better.
(Pugh) "And provides in patient care where and when it is needed so that Vermonters get the treatment and security and safety they need and communities get the outcomes that they need."
(Kinzel) The governor says he’ll try to get the Senate to support his plan for a smaller facility because he’s worried that the federal government won’t provide matching funds for a larger building.
(Shumlin) "It would cost Vermonters about $9 million a year if they rejected our federal match, which over 20 years is $180 million. As someone who is very concerned about Vermont taxpayers being able to pay the bill in tough times when they’re struggling, I personally think that would be fiscally irresponsible."
(Kinzel) The legislation also gives former State Hospital employees the ability to file for reemployment rights to work at the proposed new acute care facility.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier