Open letter to the Vermont Senate Health and Welfare Committee from Curtis Sinclair, a former employee of the canteen at the Vermont State Hospital.
I am writing to ask for your support of bill S.220 which would require the Vermont State Hospital to operate a canteen. I ran the hospital’s canteen between 2002 and 2009 when it was closed. After I took over the running of the Canteen in 2002 I was able to cut costs and increase revenues to the point where it broke even. That is important to know. The canteen can be a totally self-sustaining operation that does not cost the taxpayers of Vermont any money while providing a valuable service to the patients at VSH. I have attached a copy of figures from the 2005-2006 fiscal year that show the canteen operating at a $1036 profit.
The canteen could have kept running in the black, but for some reason the VSH administration decided that it was not necessary. In the following years I was denied permission to raise prices as costs increased. My figures were showing a $30,000 deficit for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, partly because of low prices and partly because of reduced patronage due to the recession. At a time when they should have been looking to reduce costs and staff, VSH administration added another staff person to the canteen against my wishes. This added $64,000 to my projected 2009-2010 deficit, putting it at $95,000. I continued to protest against the situation and was put on paid administrative leave. After being on leave for 3 months I was told the canteen was being shut down to save money. I argued with Commissioner Hartman and Secretary Hofmann to restructure the operation rather than shut it down, but they would not allow it. I am appalled that they chose to punish the patients because the VSH administration acted irresponsibly.
The patients at VSH have lost their library and gym over the years. They also lost another area they called the “hideaway” where they could meet in the evening to socialize and even play pool. Then last year they lost their canteen. Even the Corrections facilities, where convicted criminals are housed, have canteens and cafeterias for their inmates. It’s not right to treat sick people worse than convicted criminals. I speak from my own personal experience with being a patient at VSH. Time spent in the Canteen felt like freedom. It was the last place a patient could go and not feel like he was locked up in a restrictive psychiatric facility.
The canteen was also a vocational rehabilitation and occupational therapy tool, especially for those who were patients in VSH for a long period. I was in that situation years ago, fighting for my right not to be medicated. I was allowed to work in the canteen as a patient for most of my two year incarceration. That did more to help me that anything else. It also allowed me to prove that I could function without being medicated. In the end I was able to win that battle and get discharged without being drugged against my will. If it had not been for the canteen program I might be on disability. We had other VSH patients over the years who benefited greatly from working at the canteen. Please vote to restore this this program so that future patients can benefit from it also.
Sincerely,
Curtis Sinclair
former canteen coordinator and former VSH patient
