A nonprofit agency in northeastern Vermont wants to partner with the state to build a proposed mental health care facility.
The Northeast Kingdom Human Services wants to build and operate a 16-bed residential facility in Essex County, possibly near Bloomfield.
Vermont Public Radio reports that Executive director DW Bouchard says it costs about a million dollars per bed each year for the state to operate the new Berlin Hospital, but he believes the Essex County unit could serve similar patients at half that cost.
Bouchard says the new facility would free up beds at the hospital, which could accommodate mental health patients at community hospitals.
Essex County State's Attorney Vince Illuzzi says it would be a "mistake" to house mental health patients together in a remote corner of the state.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.