Slated to open in Chittenden County to relieve pressure on hospital ERs

By Guy Page

The State of Vermont has received a grant from a national mental health organization to support a planned mental health urgent care clinic in Chittenden County. 

The clinic is billed as an alternative to going to Vermont hospital emergency rooms, where a crush of people in mental health crisis have overwhelmed staff and services, leading to ‘wait times’ of hours and in some cases days. In recent years, ER staff have faced heightened levels of violence from mentally-ill and drug-impaired patients.

The Mental Health Care Urgent Care Clinic, a cooperative effort of UVMMC, the Howard Center, and Community Health Center, is proposed to open this year. 

The Vermont Senate Journal for Thursday, January 25 reports the receipt of $250,000 by the Vermont Department of Mental Health from the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. These funds will increase rapid access to behavioral health care by supporting the peer service component of the mental health urgent care clinic being established in Chittenden County. This clinic will offer an alternative to seeking mental health care in emergency departments. 

Most of the cost will be carried by UVMMC and the State of Vermont. Total cost for Year One is projected at $3.6 million. The project will “focus on building an alternative to the Emergency Department for individuals in need of mental health care, specifically the approximately two thirds of individuals seeking mental health treatment in the ED who do not need inpatient-level care,” a March, 2023 proposal submitted to the Green Mountain Care Board states. “The Mental Health Urgent Care Clinic would be a seven day a week, 12 hour-per-day program where individuals are assessed in a timely manner, with supportive follow-up services and access to immediate peer support and other supportive counseling.”