VTDigger: At hearing, mental health advocates, state employees criticize governor’s plan to decentralize care for acute psychiatric patients

January 25, 2012 - 4:39pm
Vermont Digger

01/25/12 - Andrew Nemethy
Full Story on VTDigger.org

MONTPELIER – Two distinct themes emerged in Vermont’s debate on how to rebuild the state’s shattered mental health system.

One is that Vermont’s effort to strengthen and broaden community mental health treatment and peer services is laudable, essential, workable and long overdue.

The other is that Vermont’s proposal for replacing the acute-care mental health beds lost when Tropical Storm Irene flooded the Vermont State Hospital is ill-advised, insufficient, inadequate for care, geographically unbalanced and will stress the entire system.

That, in general, is what emerged from morning legislative testimony in the House Human Services Committee and from an emotional, standing room only afternoon hearing that packed one of the largest rooms in the Vermont Statehouse with more than 80 people from around Vermont.

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