A Vermont hospital wants to spend up to $4 million to prevent patient suicides.
Staff at the Rutland Medical Center say while there haven't been any suicides in recent memory, they hope to stay on top of new regulatory requirements on suicide prevention.
The Rutland Herald reports Jeffrey McKee, the hospital's vice president of community and behavioral health, says the hospital hired a consultant for a hospital-wide assessment and then created an improvement plan based on the consultant's report.
McKee said one of the major issues has to do with the layout of the psychiatric unit, in which the nurses' station lacks a line of sight down two hallways.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
