A new staff-secure residential program housed on Retreat property at 330 Linden Street is slated to accept its first six residents before the New Year. Known as Meadowview, this project is the result of a joint venture between the Brattleboro Retreat and Health Care Rehabilitation Services of southeastern Vermont (HCRS). Together, the two organizations will operate under the umbrella name New Perspectives for Care.
“This project is part of the Vermont Futures Project, which entails closing the state hospital in Waterbury and developing alternative resources for people who no longer require hospital-level care,” said Peter Albert, director of Government Affairs. “The Retreat is extremely pleased to be partnering with HCRS to offer one of many solutions that will ultimately make the Futures Project successful.”
Meadowview will be home to six men and women, each with an anticipated length of stay of about one year. The goal is to help them step down to other less intensive residential programs, halfway houses and residences within their home communities.
On December 10th, Vermont Commissioner of Mental Health Michael A. Hartman toured the facility and remarked on the project. “For folks coming out of the old hospital this is excellent,” he said. “Meadowview is one the first steps short of doing the inpatient [relocation] project for Vermont Futures, and I’m encouraged that we’re almost ready to open up.”
During their stay at Meadowview, residents will benefit from programming to teach psychosocial skills, activities of daily living, learning to cook, balance a checkbook, and develop contacts and connections in the community. They will also be provided with appropriate medication monitoring.
“The emphasis is on each client having a recovery plan that maximizes their ability to live as art of a community,” explained Albert. “We are looking to support that part of each resident that reminds them that they are still the best source of their own recovery.”
Preparation of the physical space has been moving forward since the summer. Renovations and updates include a new front porch and second floor dormer, a sensory integration room, an expanded kitchen space, a basement-level activity room and outdoor landscaping.
“We’re very happy about reaching this milestone for Vermont mental health and to partner with the Retreat,” said Judith P. Hayward, chief executive officer of HCRS. “Meadowview gives an opportunity for 6 people to reestablish themselves in the community—people who up until now have been in an institutional setting. We hope this is the beginning of many future partnerships with the Retreat.”
Under the New Perspectives for Care partnership, HCRS employees will provide staffing at the Meadowview residence. The Retreat will provide facilities, housekeeping, and pharmacy services along with occasional clinical back-up and access to the Medical Clinic.
“We have assembled a dedicated and enthusiastic staff,” said Juli Turner, RN, program director. “And this will be a real home for some people who have not had a home for a long time.”
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