Dear EditorBaby boomers are sure to recall Joni Mitchell’s poignant refrain: “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?”But in this case, it isn’t paradise that is about to be paved over. Instead, the psychiatric unit at Central Vermont Medical Center is slated to be shuttered.Are you aware? Do you know that the University of Vermont Health Network brought down the axe without the support of the Green Mountain Care Board, or the unions of nurses and support staff on the unit?This decision is certain to have deleterious consequences for some of our most fragile citizens (and their families) in central Vermont. For far too long, patients in the throes of mental health crises have been waiting (often for long periods) in emergency rooms throughout Vermont while a bed (any bed, in any hospital) is found.READ MORE UVM Health Network announces widespread service cuts by Peter D'Auria November 14, 2024, 1:01 pmNovember 14, 2024, 5:37 pm This decision to close an essential service will only compound the problem, as well as negatively impact CVMC ER staff and patients without psychiatric issues who require attention there.Where is the public outcry about this travesty? Please make your voice heard now before what you might take for granted is “paved over” and our local citizens are shipped to Rutland or Lebanon to receive care and support. Rebecca Hill, R.N., M.S.East Montpelier  Read the story on VTDigger here: Rebecca Hill: The decision to shut down the Central Vermont Medical Center psychiatric unit is a travesty.