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VSH Canteen Closure Sparks Debate

Montpelier, Vermont - November 6, 2009

Controversy continues over budget cuts in state government. Friday a group gathered at the Statehouse to express their dismay over a decision to close the canteen at the Vermont State Hospital.

On the surface the decision to close the canteen doesn't seem to be a big deal since it serves no more than a couple dozen people each day. But it highlights the growing tension in state government as services are eliminated to try and balance the budget.

"Hey, hey, what do you say? Don't take our canteen away!" demonstrators chanted.

Their demonstration sums up the fear many have about state government.

Another service cut -- as the state tries to avoid a deficit.

"The canteen is the last straw," said Sarah Lunderville, of the Vt. Center for Independent Living. "By closing the canteen patients are restricted to confined areas and are not taught skills to help live outside a confined ward."

"For me it was really the only place I could go to feel like I wasn't a patient," said Malcolm Sawyer, a former patient. "I didn't feel so much stigma. I was able to socialize and be with people and listen to music on the juke box."

It's estimated the closure will save the state about $150,000.

And while critics are outraged, Vermont's mental health commissioner Michael Hartman says it beats the alternative: cutting staff positions directly connected to patient care.

"If we had gone the other direction we would have had as many as 12 reductions," Hartman said.

"I understand it's a difficult position, but the state is facing massive budget shortfalls," Vt. Human Service Secretary Rob Hofmann said. "We're not the federal government. We can't print money."

The hospital is one of the few areas of state government that has been spared from significant budget cuts despite its poor track record. A series of problems were detected at the hospital five years ago and the hospital lost its federal certification. The state has been working to rectify those problems. Hofmann is hopeful the facility will be recertified this spring, which will bring back federal funding.

The hospital is currently funded solely with money from the state's general fund.

"We have squeezed almost any kind of excess that doesn't impact people out of almost all our budgets across the departments," Hofmann said.

But back at the Statehouse-- the demonstrators aren't satisfied.

"This is a population that has virtually nothing," said Jack McCullough, a mental health advocate. "We shouldn't be in the business of cutting services from them."

But few offered alternatives on where else to cut.

And Commissioner Hartman predicts the department of mental health will be forced to come up with as much as $20 million in cuts next year. The department has an operating budget of $160 million.

The department conducted a survey a few weeks ago to try to determine how many people actually utilize the canteen at the hospital. Of the 52 patients in the hospital-- 28 weren't allowed to visit the canteen at all due to security issues. Only three were allowed to visit the canteen without supervision, but staff members do visit the canteen as well.

Keagan Harsha - WCAX News