The recent notification to the Brattleboro Retreat that we have fully and successfully met all Conditions of Participation for our recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) survey provides a moment in time to reflect on how far we have come as an organization and as a state.
Mental illness and addiction can threaten human life just as heart disease and cancer do. Those of us at the Retreat who have chosen this work have done so out of a belief that people who have the courage to seek care deserve our ongoing commitment to always challenge ourselves to be better and continuously improve our practice.
When Tropical Storm Irene forced the closing of the state hospital in Waterbury more than two years ago, it set in motion a chain of events that changed the way mental health and addiction care is delivered in Vermont.
The time to act had arrived, and complicated decisions had to be made. Gov. Peter Shumlin moved quickly.