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Construction has been halted on two projects meant to add psychiatric beds and reduce strain on the state’s mental health system.
The University of Vermont Health Network has paused construction on a 25-bed inpatient psychiatric facility in Berlin at Central Vermont Medical Center, and the Brattleboro Retreat has stopped work on 12 new beds. Both actions are due to the Covid-19 crisis.
“This pandemic is requiring the work of absolutely everyone at this time,” UVMHN President John Brumsted wrote in an email to Green Mountain Care Board Chair Kevin Mullin on Monday.
State officials pointed to the need to prioritize Covid-19 response, even as they affirmed the ongoing need for more mental health beds.
“I do think that our statewide efforts have to be focused right now, to really ensure the safety and well-being of Vermonters during this unprecedented time,” said Sarah Squirrell, commissioner of the Department of Mental Health. The projects would ultimately be completed, she promised. Increasing inpatient capacity for psychiatric patients “still remains an urgent and important priority for all of us across the health care system, and we look forward to picking that work back up.”
The two projects combined would represent the largest increase in the state’s mental health treatment capacity in years.
The Brattleboro project, which will serve patients who need the highest level of care, was being built at the behest of state legislators. It was on track to open this summer.
The general contractor at Brattleboro Retreat made the decision to pause construction after Gov. Phil Scott’s “stay home, stay safe” order on March 24. Work will resume when the order is lifted, or “as soon as it’s safe to do so,” according to Retreat spokesperson Konstantin von Krusenstiern.
Delays on the 25-bed unit at Central Vermont Medical Center will further postpone completion on a project that has already suffered setbacks.
In February, a $150 million cost estimate sent planners back to the drawing board. The completion date was pushed back to 2024, nearly two years after the original target. Noonan said she didn’t know how long the coronavirus pause will set back the project.
Brumsted announced the decision Monday, and had notified the Green Mountain Care Board and other committees involved in the planning process. Brumsted also asked that the board exempt the network from filing its next quarterly report on the project, a request which Mullin granted.
“It’s troubling, but we have to recognize what we’re dealing with,” said Mullin. “I can tell you that my hope is that these beds still get built. We have a need in the state of Vermont that’s not going to go away,” he said of the state’s mental health capacity.
The psychiatric facility was meant to relieve pressure on the state’s strained mental health system. When UVM Medical Center raked in more revenue than expected in 2017, it vowed to allocate $21 million of that total toward the creation of new inpatient psychiatric beds. There was no formal contract for that pledge, which was approved by the Green Mountain Care Board.
The hospital settled on Central Vermont Medical Center, one of its network hospitals, as the best location for those beds and started a lengthy planning process. Such psychiatric construction projects typically cost about $1 million a bed, Mental Health Deputy Commissioner Mourning Fox told VTDigger in February.
Hospital officials had made progress in reducing the price tag, according to Anna Tempesta Noonan. Noonan said she planned to build the facility, but couldn’t offer a timeline for completion. “We are committed to continuing our work,” she said. For now, “really focusing our efforts on Covid-19 response has to be our top priority.”
Mental health advocate Ken Libertoff, a member of an advisory board for the project, lamented the delays. “It’s a tremendous setback in mental health planning” for Vermont, he said. At the moment, there are few other alternatives than to pause, he acknowledged. “One has to say with everything that’s going on, it’s understandable,” he said.
