Town Plan
Section 13: Health and Human Services
Rutland Regional Medical Center
Medical, Chiropractic, and Dental Services
Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice (RAVNAH)
Rutland Mental Health Services (RMHS)
Other Health and Human Services
A
variety of health and human service facilities are available to residents.
Some are located within the town; but many are provided by regional
organizations. These include
Rutland Area Visiting Nurses, Rutland Area Community Services (formerly Rutland
Mental Health), Rutland Regional Medical Center, the Southwestern Vermont Area
Agency on Aging, the Vermont Department of Health Services, the Lenny Burke Farm
and Serenity House.
Rutland Regional Medical Center
The
Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) located in Rutland City provides acute
medical care services to Wallingford residents. It is the second largest
hospital in Vermont with 188 beds and over 100 attending physicians.
Specialized services available to Wallingford residents at the Medical
Center include emergency care, an out-patient/ambulatory care unit, a birthing
center, a pediatrics unit, and a community cancer center which offers surgery,
chemotherapy, and radiation treatments as well as cancer prevention program and
patient/family support services. The
Medical Center also provides an X-ray and diagnostic imaging unit able to
provide mammograms, ultrasound scans and angiography as well as rehabilitation
services to treat both patients and out-patients after an illness or injury.
In
addition to these direct medical care services, the RRMC offers a wide range of
other health-related community services to the residents of Wallingford
including Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, a diabetes support group, a support
group for the recently bereaved, a multiple sclerosis support group, and
Overeaters Anonymous meetings. The RRMC also offers The HealthWise education program, a
series of free or low-cost workshops, seminars, discussion groups and courses
which cover a wide range of health-related topics.
Medical, Chiropractic and Dental Services
Medical,
chiropractic, and dental services are provided by a variety of physicians,
dentists, and chiropractors most of which are located in Rutland City.
A dental office is located in an historic building in the village area of
Wallingford.
Rutland
Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice (RAVNAH)
Rutland
Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice is a non-profit voluntary
organization certified as a Home Health Agency under the Medicare Program.
The Nurse Association offers many types of services to Wallingford
residents, including home nursing care for acute/chronic illness under the
direction of a physician, physical therapy, speech therapy, elderly homemaker
support, home health aid services, medical social services, and hospice services
for the terminally ill and their families.
These services are paid for by various sources, including Medicare,
Medicaid, other types of health insurance, town funds voted annually, state
grants, private contributions and the United Way.
The
Association also offers occupational health services to businesses designed to
improve employee health/safety practices such as screening for high blood
pressure, diabetes, or cancer, health education courses, CPR training, and flu
vaccination clinics. Costs for
occupational health programs are based on staff travel and service time.
Other community-based programs provided by the Visiting Nurses are
publication of a newsletter, school nursing services, pre-natal classes and
various clinics.
In
2003, RAVNAH provided 4,267 visits to 105 individuals.
Rutland
Mental Health Services (RMHS)
Rutland Mental
Health Services, Inc. (An
affiliate of community Care Network) provides behavioral health services such
as:
-
Access Center - the point of entry and referral for all children, family, mental health, substance abuse and
developmental services. -
Evergreen Center which offers a spectrum of services such as alcohol and drug assessment and treatment,
family recovery services, psychiatric evaluation and adult/child outpatient counseling. -
Emergency Services which provides immediate assistance in the event of a crisis.
-
Carriage Club House which offers community rehabilitation treatment to the severe and persistently mentally ill.
-
Children’s Services including school-based programs, parent education and respite services.
-
Rutland Mental Health Services also partners with RRMC in offering services such as medical detoxification
and a crisis stabilization program at the Rutland Regional Medical Center.
-
Rutland Mental Health Services also partners with RRMC in offering services such as medical detoxification and a crisis stabilization program at the Rutland Regional Medical Center.
Other Health and Human Services
The
Lenny Burke Farm is a 7-acre residential health care facility for
head-injured individuals. Established
in 1987, it has offices in Rutland City. The
original farmhouse at the Farm is 130 years old, but is in good condition.
The facilities provide care for a maximum of 5 individuals.
Serenity House is located on Church Street in Wallingford. It provides a residential alcohol/drug dependency rehabilitation program for Vermont residents over the age of 18. Residency varies from 15 to a maximum of 24 individuals. The current building was acquired by Serenity House in 1972. It has 30 rooms, including beds, kitchen facilities, several bathrooms and office space. The facilities are maintained by an in-house custodial staff. Support equipment includes a van, computers, lawn care equipment, and a storage shed. A new addition was built in 1989-90, and the main building was resided.
Emma’s
Place, located on Main Street in the village, is a supervised
residential apartment facility for residents with head injuries, providing three
apartments for independent living, with
monitoring and supervision of the residents provided by the staff of the Lenny
Burke Farm.
Elder Services
Southwestern Vermont Area Agency on Aging
(SVAAA)
provides meals to
senior citizens either on site or through the Meals on Wheels Program.
A senior advocate program helps elders fill out application forms and
works to resolve any problems related to receipt of benefit programs or other
assistance. Guidance is also
provided to persons having questions or problems related to health insurance
claims or medical service payments. Advocates
also help elders file Vermont tax rebate claims and provide assistance with
program applications.
Other
services available to elders are:
·
Long Term Care Ombudsman: This
individual is available to provide assistance to residents of nursing and
residential care homes in our region. The Ombudsman helps elders, or if appropriate, family members
to understand information concerning financial assistance and other concerns
related to long term care.
·
Information
and Referral: SVAAA maintains an up-to-date listing of programs and services
available to elders. Older persons
are able to get this information by either calling SVAAA or visiting the SVAAA
office.
·
Legal
Service Attorney for Elders: Funding is provided by SVAAA to help pay for the
services of an attorney whose role is to focus on legal issues of concern to
older persons. This attorney works
out of the Vermont Legal Aid Office in Rutland.
·
Essential
Transportation: Through SVAAA arrangements, a limited number of elders are
provided with transportation to medical appointments or for essential shopping.
Volunteer drivers receive reimbursement from SVAAA for mileage costs
incurred in providing this transportation.
SVAAA also provides a limited amount of funding to the One-2-One Program
to help provide this important service.
Rutland
Community Programs (an affiliate of Community Care Network) offers services to
elders in the community, such as:
·
RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer
Program) that offers an opportunity to use their skills and life experiences to
serve their community through volunteering, from a few hours up to 20 hours a
week.
·
Green
Mountain Foster Grandparent Program focuses on one to one continuing
relationships between low-income seniors and special needs children and youth in
schools, day care centers and other settings.
·
One-To-One
Program provides essential transportation, regular telephone contact and
friendly home visiting to elders residing in Rutland County.
Vermont Department of Health
The
Vermont Department of Health provides various services to Wallingford residents
including the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Education Program,
Child Development Clinics, Well Baby Clinics, Care for Pregnant Teens, Partners
in Health, Special Needs Clinics and other programs, such as AIDS education
seminars, epidemiology and communicable disease follow-up services, a staff
sanitarian who inspects restaurants and food service outlets, and Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome (SIDS) counseling/education for bereaved families and to local
police officials.