2 of every 3 beds empty as state psychiatric hospital tackles doctor transitions, staffing costs
VTDigger
The Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital in Berlin stopped admitting new patients during parts of June and July, leading to the lowest numbers of patients in residence since the hospital opened in the summer of 2014.
Patient counts dropped in the latter part of June, which marked the end of a fiscal year during which the Vermont Department of Mental Health spent more than $19.5 million on contract and temporary staffing at the hospital, according to a state database of vendor payments. That is an increase of around $15 million over the average annual costs prior to the Covid-19 pandemic staffing shortage.
An average of eight patients were at the hospital each day during July, the department’s spokesperson, Alex Frantz, told VTDigger in an email. That is less than one-third of the total licensed capacity of 25.