UVM Health Network releases plan for $18M in mental health upgrades
WCAX
After years of back and forth with Vermont health care regulators, The University of Vermont Health Network now says it has a plan to spend $18 million earmarked for mental health care.
The network this week filed a proposal with the Green Mountain Care Board that outlines multiple initiatives. They include: a mental health urgent care clinic for Chittenden County; improvements to the psychiatric inpatient unit at Central Vermont Medical Center; resources for eating disorders; transgender care clinics for youth; expanded hours for ambulance transport; and expanded access to innovative treatments for patients with severe depression.
Back in 2018, the GMCB ordered the health network to set aside $21 million in surplus funds specifically to bring more adult mental health beds online in Vermont. The two parties agreed to build a $158 million adult inpatient psych facility at Central Vermont Medical Center, but the network scrapped the project last April.