(cross-posted from Beyond VSH blog, here)

*Updated*

Food for thought:

“The key to change… is to let go of fear.”

                               — Rosanne Cash

It is high time for change! And, we are it (i.e., the very change we seek), if only we let go of our fears and move ahead together.

A glimpse back, albeit brief, concerning Vermont’s mental health system in order to help in envisioning just how much progress or rather lack thereof has been made thus far:

Week of February 23, 2007

Vermont Guardian

[former statewide weekly newspaper; since retired]

Editorial

Full-time focus

[emphasis mine]

[…]

It’s time for less talk about titles, and glossy blueprints, and more about ways to provide the right care at the right time, and put the patient, not policy, first.

Read the editorial in full and, make certain to note the date or rather year it was originally published (i.e., February 23, 2007), here.

With that duly noted, listen to Vermont Public Radio (VPR) Vermont Edition at noontime today (Tuesday, May 12, 2009) when the show features the following focus at the top of their show after the news (here):

For the second time in a year, the federal government has denied certification to the Vermont State Hospital.  We look into the continuing issues of patient care and building upkeep at the state-run mental health facility.  The continued failure to meet federal guidelines is costing the state close to$10 million a year in lost federal revenue. We check in on the state’s reaction, and on plans for alternatives to the Waterbury hospital.  Our guests include Vermont’s Mental Health Commissioner, Michael Hartman, and Republican State Representative and longtime mental health advocate, Anne Donahue.

One can listen to the show live either locally via radio or online using the VPR audio player or, otherwise, listen after the show has aired and it is posted online afterwards (click onto “listen” within right-hand sidebar on episode page), here.

(episode page includes related informational links at bottom of page)

*Update* Join live blog coverage during the VPR VT Edition broadcast concerning Vermont State Hospital (VSH), here (via Beyond VSH blog; using CoverItLive live blog tool).

*Note*: added link to live blog tool; added change quote & comments; last updated on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 4:54 AM (ET).