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Message from our Vice President of Medical Affairs

Greetings from Retreat Healthcare. As the Vice President for Medical Affairs, I would like to take the opportunity to share with you some of Retreat Healthcare’s successes over the past year that I am particularly proud of. In particular, I would like to highlight successful clinical innovations that have led to significant improvements in the quality of care provided to our patients.

As described in previous mailings, we are incorporating a Trauma-Informed Recovery and Resiliency (TIRRM) model of care on all of our inpatient and residential units. This model of care focuses on the strengths and life goals of our clients, whether they are children, adolescents or adults. Our focus is to build on these strengths in order to improve lives. This new model of care teaches skills, supports families and respects the right of patients to fully participate in their treatment. On our child and adolescent services, the TIRRM model stresses a process that encourages children to better manage their own emotions, think before they act and learn ways to make good decisions. TIRRM approaches create a caring and humane environment in which people can choose to change. The Brattleboro Retreat is the only child psychiatry inpatient facility in Vermont. Therefore, we provide care for the state’s most vulnerable children and adolescents. It is with the TIRRM initiative that we plan to take our commitment to humane and holistic efforts forward. Some of the benefits of the TIRRM initiative were recently cited in the summer 2006 issue of “The Vermont Bar Journal”:

‘Retreat Healthcare has taken the lead in moving towards a seclusion and restraint-free facility by initiating TIRRM…by moving the overall treatment philosophy towards one that supports patients retaining power and control of their treatment choices.’

In addition to eliminating restraining forms of treatment, we are receiving consistently higher reports of satisfaction from our patients and their families. 95% of patients and family members would recommend the Retreat to someone else. This is a number we are very proud of and gives evidence to our belief that caring for people is what we are all about.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in this community for the support and the fine welcome I have received. The Brattleboro Retreat community is built on foundations of living together humanely, and I am proud to be a part of it.

Warmest Regards,
Gregory A. Miller, MD

Quotes from our alumni and families

The following are a few testimonials from our alumni and their families speaking to the work we do and our success:

It is not an exaggeration to say that the fine people at this fine institution saved a life and a family.
Brattleboro Retreat staff saved me – celebrated my second anniversary in Alcoholics Anonymous. Thank you – all!
Four years ago our fifteen-year old daughter was diagnosed with depression with psychotic features. You were the first healthcare institution to give us hope that she would someday lead a normal life. Today she is in her second year of college.
The Starting Now program responded to my son’s need. I appreciate it.
(My daughter) spent twenty-eight days in the Retreat and has been clean ever since. She’s now married with three children. Forever grateful.
I hope my son … goes back to you soon.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me my daughter back.
(My son) is very well and I am very grateful!
The very short time (our daughter) spent in your care had some effect on the way she developed later on in life, for this we are forever grateful.
I am a success story, and would happily share it with anyone who would listen. Nothing else worked...ECT did!