By Healthcare Facilities Today

Vermont’s Brattleboro Retreat was the first facility for the mentally ill in Vermont, and one of the first 10 psychiatric hospitals in the United States. Founded in 1834, Brattleboro Retreat’s treatment center consists of 58 buildings and sites, and treats children, adolescents and adults in their recovery from mental illness, psychological trauma and addiction.

To better serve its patients, the Retreat is undergoing broad expansion and renovations across its entire 1,000-acre campus. The upgrades are part of nearly $12 million dollars in improvements slated to take place throughout the facility during the next two years. The remodel of the Children’s Inpatient Program located in the Retreat’s Osgood Building is among the most recent projects.


Improvements to the Children’s Inpatient Program area include colorful walls, curving architectural lines, built-in seating, a four-season porch, a centrally located nurses station, single patient bedrooms, plus an activities and play area. The facility's existing double-hung windows were deemed unsafe and were retrofitted with psychiatric-grade windows from Wausau Window and Wall Systems.

A total of 54 Wausau 4000i-DT Series windows were installed on the first and third floors of the Osgood Building. They were manufactured with applied muntin grids to mimic double-hung units. The company also provided the panning and trim to highlight the historic styling.

The psychiatric-grade windows are “drop tested” for interior human impacts up to 2,000 foot/pounds, which is the equivalent of the shoulder impact of a 200-pound person moving at 25 feet per second, per the company.

The insulated windows also feature integral between-glass blinds and aluminum frames with a minimum average 70 percent recycled content.

For more information, visit www.wausauwindow.com.