Human services chief promises review of mental health system

The secretary of the Agency of Human Services said his staff and other stakeholders will do a “deep dive” into systemic issues in how Vermont delivers mental health treatment.

Al Gobeille told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Feb. 9 that he and his staff would begin working with others this week to look at how to improve treatment.

Gobeille has scheduled a meeting Friday with hospitals, mental health providers, independent doctors and others with a stake in the system. He will divide the work into four categories — flow, workforce, facilities and funding — and ask groups to report back with potential solutions.

Gobeille said the meeting will require all stakeholders to get in a room and agree on what problems are plaguing mental health care before they solve them. He said the full review will need to be complete within a few weeks, but he warned there is no “silver bullet” to fix mental health care.

Read more: https://vtdigger.org/2017/02/16/human-services-chief-promises-review-mental-health-system/