Discharge totals from Vermont psychiatric inpatient facilities show how the overflow from an already strained statewide mental health care system fell on emergency departments.
Backus, the state’s director of health care reform, is moving to Sen. Peter Welch’s office. Chen, the interim commissioner of the Department for Children and Families, plans to leave the role next month.
Two health provider groups brought disturbing anecdotes and statistics to the House Committee on Health Care this week, causing one new lawmaker to compare the state’s health care system to a village on fire.
Vermont’s largest provider of inpatient mental health services plans to return to pre-pandemic inpatient numbers and is starting a new dedicated EMS transport service.
The company, which staffed high-volume testing and vaccination sites in northwestern Vermont, announced Tuesday it plans to end all of its operations.
The Scott administration requested fast-tracked funding for a new inpatient adolescent psychiatry unit at the Bennington hospital, a project still in the planning stage.
The new proposal, which would give the auditor’s office explicit authority to obtain records from private companies that have contracts with the state, is in direct response to a Vermont Supreme Court decision last year.
The Journey to Recovery Community Center quietly launched a peer-supported overnight “social detox” service over the holidays. The program is already having an impact in Orleans County and is drawing attention statewide.
Described as collaborative and empathetic, the health network’s new leader says he wants to be a regular presence on the ground.
The early focus in Vermont’s upcoming legislative session will be on evaluating pandemic-era investments and policies to guide next steps, plus educating newly elected members, leaders say.
