MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) A proposed overhaul of Vermont's mental health care system is running into opposition. The Vermont State Employees Union says a plan being pushed by the University of Vermont Medical Center isn't best for patients, and that it could mean significantly fewer state workers.
The state could see a shake-up of its mental health system, sending 25 in-patient mental health beds from the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital to a non-profit hospital. That could mean fewer state jobs. There are 177 employees at the state hospital in Berlin and 31 at a temporary facility in Middlesex.
"You won't need as many employees as you did for two facilities -- that is true," said Agency of Human Services Secretary Al Gobeille.
The Green Mountain Care Board has green-lighted a University of Vermont Health Network plan to use $21 million in surplus funds to expand mental health treatment at Central Vermont Medical Center. "It's clinically the most appropriate place because physical health and mental health should all be treated the same," Gobeille said.
He says the state hospital would become a 16-bed secure residential facility for patients with lower needs than its current level 1 patients. A secure residential facility in Middlesex -- already overdue for closure -- would close. Those patients would be moved to Berlin. Gobeille says the plan also saves money. Long-standing federal regulations don't allow stand alone mental health facilities to have more than 16-beds. The state begins losing federal money for its 25-bed hospital in 2021. "We lose the ability to fund a lot of our beds once we lose our current waiver," he said. "That's a big deal when it comes to the dollars necessary to take care of Vermonters."
The state employees union has a different view. Executive Director Steve Howard says hospitals not run by the government have found medical reasons to refuse care to the sickest patients. "The other hospitals, UVM included, have sent the sickest patients to the Vermont State Hospital," he said. That's why the union wants to move forward with UVM's plan, but keep 16 beds at the state hospital. "We do the UVM plan, but the state maintains 16 level 1 beds at the current state hospital and build a separate 16-bed secure residential facility."
The union has pitched its idea to lawmakers who will ultimately decide the future of Vermont's mental health system.
