A new substance abuse treatment facility is up and running in Vergennes.
Valley Vista, which operates a 72-bed facility in Bradford, began taking patients at the new 19-bed residential treatment location in late April.
The opening of the new facility was streamlined after Underhill’s Maple Leaf Treatment Center abruptly ceased operations in February, sharply curbing the number of residential treatment slots available in the state.
Valley Vista already owned the former nursing home in Vergennes but launched into the process of setting it up to take patients after Maple Leaf’s closure.
“Opening this facility was the right thing to do,” Rick DiStefano, Valley Vista chief operating officer, said Monday.
The Vergennes facility is open to women over the age of 18. By the end of this week, DiStefano expects there will be 12 patients there.
According to a news release, Department of Health officials say the new facility in addition to new treatment beds in Rutland’s Recovery House network will bring the state to the residential treatment capacity it had before Maple Leaf closed.
