Former assisted-living facility in Brattleboro to house health care workers

Due to staffing shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Retreat, a not-for-profit inpatient and outpatient mental health facility, has been dealing with lower inpatient capacities, according to Retreat spokesman Erik Rosenbauer.

By bringing in more health care professionals, he said the facility is hoping to regain its pre-pandemic staffing levels, with a goal of getting back to 100 inpatient beds by June 2023.

“As the provider of inpatient psychiatric services for children and adolescents, we want to have as much capacity and space available as is needed,” Rosenbauer said.

However, access to housing has been one of the challenges clinicians face when deciding whether to accept the job.

“When we’re trying to get people to come to our organization and be a part of our mission and what we do, and to face a housing barrier as the item that prevents them from joining us, it is a very challenging situation,” Rosenbauer said.

The Holton Home project aims to offer a solution.

Employing a co-housing model, the house offers 35 units, each including a private bed and bath. The common area will include a dining and living space that tenants will share, as well as a cleaning service that will come daily.

“When M&S came to us with this great idea of making the space available, we took advantage of the great opportunity that was afforded to us. So, we’re very excited about the project,” Rosenbauer said.

He added that the project is set to be completed by the first quarter of 2023.

Skye Morse, investment director at M&S Development, said in an email that “fortunately, the property is in excellent condition.” Renovations, he noted, include re-carpeting and painting the residence, as well as fully furnishing all 35 units and the common space. The commercial kitchen will also be converted to a shared kitchen space for residents.

The updates and conversion effort will cost in excess of half a million dollars, according to Morse. Those funds will be covered collaboratively through M&S’ own investment, contributions from M&S partners and a private donor. M&S is also applying for a grant from the state of Vermont.

The Windham and Windsor Housing Trust also made contributions toward Garden Path earlier this year, when looking into the possibility of converting the building.

As far as the cost for health care workers to live there, Rosenbauer said they are still working out the details as they finalize contracts. The rooms will be leased to those who need accommodation for a minimum of three months.

Garden Path Elder Living — which previously held two locations, including the Holton Home and Bradley House near downtown Brattleboro — decided earlier this year on a consolidation plan, which entailed moving all the Holton Home residents into the Bradley House. The decision was made as a result of fewer people looking to live in elder-care homes during the pandemic. The Holton Home had 35 total units and was housing 13 residents.

“In order to meet fixed costs, including significant mortgage debt, Garden Path Elder Living needs to have a minimum number of residents at both Holton Home and Bradley House. The pandemic severely impacted that occupancy,” Garden Path’s website states.

With the development underway, Rosenbauer said the Retreat is confident that this new project will greatly help the organization move forward.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the Retreat to better serve our area and to better serve Vermont and Southern New Hampshire … ,” Rosenbauer said. “We’re excited to get more beds on the line so that we can contribute to cutting the wait times down in emergency departments that all hospitals are experiencing right now.”