Southwestern Vermont Medical Center Launches Multispecialty Practice
BENNINGTON, VT—June 14, 2017—Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) has opened a Multispecialty Practice office, combining existing specialties together in one space for improved coordination and patient convenience. The specialties include gastroenterology, infectious disease, neurology, pulmonology, and rheumatology. The practice is located in suite 307 of the Medical Office Building at 140 Hospital Drive in Bennington.
“Sometimes patients with a single condition—like certain types of lung disease or gastrointestinal problems—may need to see several specialists,” said Trey Dobson, chief medical officer at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and medical director of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians. “By bringing this team of doctors together, we improve our providers’ ability to coordinate care and simplify care for patients.”
Patients will be able to schedule visits for multiple providers with a single call to the SVMC Multispecialty Practice. Whenever possible, the office staff will coordinate to allow adjacent appointments. The physicians in the office will also find it more convenient to communicate with each other about patients they share.
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center completely remodeled the space on the third floor of its Medical Office Building to improve the patient experience. Walls were reinsulated to improve sound proofing and privacy. Thoughtful colors, lighting, and furniture choices were selected to improve patient comfort and experience. In addition, a new spacious procedure room will enable the SVMC Multispecialty Practice physicians to perform procedures more conveniently for patients.
For more information about all of the physicians, the conditions they treat, and their contact details, visit svhealthcare.org/multispecialty.
Dr. Troy Dobson talks to “telespecialists” in Lebanon, N.H., on Wednesday morning at Southern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington. Photo by Holly Pelczynski/Bennington Banner
BENNINGTON — With telemedicine, the team concept of delivering health care has grown at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center to include practitioners who might never set foot in Bennington.
“The very first time we turned it on, the patient had a great experience,” said Dr. Trey Dobson, a specialist in emergency medicine and chief medical officer at SVMC.
On Wednesday, Dobson helped demonstrate the hospital’s new telemedicine system, which has been in operation in his department for the past month.
He and others at the local hospital are working with colleagues based at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Center for Connected Health in Lebanon, New Hampshire, employing high-definition, two-way video conferencing equipment that allows consultation and cooperative treatment of patients across the miles.
“As a physician, I can have a dialogue with the physician as we take care of a patient,” Dobson said. “Or they are just there observing. And they can zoom in on the patient — they can call out things if we are busy.”
The assistance goes beyond long-distance consultation, he said, adding, “They do things like they take notes; they document our medical records so our nurses don’t have to be typing on the computer; they can be at the bedside taking care of patients.”
When personnel leave the room, he said, the patient can ask the remote team questions or seek an explanation of the ongoing care. “They are really good at engaging with the patient,” Dobson said.
Beyond receiving input from board-certified, experienced physicians, Dobson said the telemedicine teams in New Hampshire can “investigate things for me,” or research questions that otherwise would take him away from a patient in the ER. They can make phone calls to arrange for a medical transfer to a larger hospital, schedule an X-ray at SVMC and help in documenting the treatment given, allowing the on-scene physicians and nurses to focus more on the patient.
The telemedicine option, one of several partnerships between the Bennington hospital and Dartmouth-Hitchcock, so far is available in the emergency department and for neurological patient consultations throughout the hospital.
But Thomas Dee, president and CEO of Southwestern Vermont Health Care, said the feature will be expanded to other departments and other SVHC facilities.
The neurology telemedicine equipment, which is portable and can be moved on a cart to any room at SVMC, went into use in April, Dobson said. It allows 24-hour access to a board-certified neurologist for stroke or other patients.
Dee said the Intensive Care Unit will be linked through the system to Dartmouth-Hitchcock by the fall, and a telemedicine link is planned for SVHC’s Northshire Medical Center in Manchester by late summer.
Telemedicine is a rapidly growing part of health care nationwide and will play a growing role over time in operations at the Bennington-based health system, Dee said. Telemedicine will be incorporated into plans for expanded emergency care and surgical facilities at the local hospital, he added.
The two-person Dartmouth-Hitchcock telemedicine teams are available during the daytime, Dobson said. At night the center operates in partnership with national telehealth leader Avera Health, which serves more than 600 emergency departments, or through Specialist on Call, which uses doctors in locations nationwide.
In the ER, Dobson said, the system initially is used primarily for patients in significant distress who might need resuscitation or other emergency procedures — representing about 5 percent of the ER patients the medical center sees annually.
He said those working on patients in Bennington are becoming accustomed to talking to the team on the screen above them, usually without looking to the screen as they did at first. And ER personnel have already reported an instance when someone in Lebanon was the first to notice a troubling reading on a monitor in Bennington, allowing for the fastest possible response.
Dee said telemedicine can be especially beneficial to a younger physician or nurse working at an outpatient facility, as they are able to treat patients alongside experienced doctors.
The system must be activated by personnel at the patient’s bedside, Dobson said, and the patient can decline the service if they choose. No recordings are made of the treatment, he said.
Participating on Wednesday from New Hampshire were Dr. Kevin Curtis, medical director of the Center for Telehealth at Dartmouth-Hitchcock; Dr. Victoria Martin, an emergency physician; and Katharine Moore, an emergency nurse.
They said all of the team members also work at least part time elsewhere at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, maintaining the direct care experience as well.
“It’s a whole new challenge to the job,” Martin said of participating in emergency treatment from a distance.
She said the experience also is enjoyable, “to be able to have a sort of bird’s eye view of the whole room and of the scene that’s going on, and being able to think through the whole thing when you are not tied up with procedure. … You have the opportunity to really look at the case in a broader sense.”
The Dartmouth-Hitchcock center is working remotely with a total of eight hospitals, Curtis said, adding that team members can learn from the collaboration as well as assist — being able to view treatment in a variety of hospitals and settings. “It is also educational for us,” he said.
Dee added, ““The future is here, and I think it’s a great advance.”
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center Announces Winners of SVMC Orthopedics Active Lifestyle Photo Contest
BENNINGTON, VT—June 28, 2017—Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) is proud to announce the winners of the SVMC Orthopedics Active Lifestyle Photo Contest. Awards were presented before a crowd of 100 attendees at an SVMC Orthopedics Open House the evening of Wednesday, June 22.
The contest drew nearly 70 entries between January and April. Participants’ photos were judged based on creativity, photographic quality, genuineness, connection to local community, and relation to an active life. Judges included Jonathan Cluett, MD, and a team from SVMC Orthopedics; local artist Rita Dee; and photographer Greg Nesbit. They selected nine winning photos.
Samantha Vosburgh from North Bennington, VT, won First Place and $150 for her photo Sunset Bliss, pictured above, which was taken at Gale Meadow Pond in Londonderry, VT. Virginia Haynes from Bennington, VT, and Jennifer Mardus from Shaftsbury, VT, took Second and Third Place, respectively.
Honorable Mentions were awarded to:
• Jessica Bachiochi from Arlington, VT
• Michael Beach from Shaftsbury, VT
• Silvia Cassano from Bennington, VT
• Bruce Squiers from Salem, NY
• Courtney Volski from Arlington, VT
• Andrea Wheeler from Bennington, VT
SVMC’s Facebook followers selected two winners for the People’s Choice Award. Allison Mazza from Wilmington, VT, won First Place and a prize of $300 in the category for her photo Hike with Mom taken on Cascades Trail, North Adams, MA. Lisa Hagadorn from Hoosick Falls, NY, won Second Place in the People’s Choice category for her photo Dare to Jump taken on Mt. Greylock, Adams, MA.
The photos are on display at the SVMC Orthopedics office at 332 Dewey Street, which has undergone a complete renovation. To view an album of winners’ photos, search #ActiveSVHC at facebook.com.
SVMC Orthopedics includes five board-certified physicians and two associate providers, all of whom are members of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians. The practice offers preventive and non-surgical treatments, minimally invasive surgery, and surgery for sports injuries, painful joints, and complicated fractures. Orthopedic surgeons with SVMC Orthopedics execute complete joint replacements, rotator cuff repair, and surgeries on hands, wrists, feet, and ankles. For more information and to schedule an appointment, call 802-442-6314 or visit svhealthcare.org/orthopedics.
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center Launches ExpressCare Service at Northshire Campus
BENNINGTON, VT—July 19, 2017—Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s (SVMC) Northshire Campus now features a convenient walk-in clinic called Northshire ExpressCare. The service will be available 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday – Thursday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Both SVMC Northshire and Northshire ExpressCare are located at 5957 Main Street, Route 7A, in Manchester Center.
“SVMC Northshire’s ExpressCare is here to provide same-day health services for people of all ages,” said Bob Schwartz, MD, medical director of SVMC Northshire Campus and associate medical director of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians, the group that provides medical services for SVMC. “Our team of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and support staff is dedicated to providing the care you need at the time you need it.”
The clinic will provide convenient, walk-in care to local patients and travelers with illnesses and injuries, including coughs, colds, and flu; eye and ear infections; pulled and strained muscles; cuts and scrapes; bites, stings, and rashes; stomach aches; and other conditions. Onsite X-ray is available.
“If you have a health-related problem and are unable to see your primary care provider and you do not require an Emergency Department visit, ExpressCare is here to help you,” Schwartz said.
The ExpressCare providers note that some conditions do warrant an Emergency Department visit. Those experiencing chest pains, serious injury, or illness should call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest Emergency Department right away.
The clinic’s association with the hospital allows its providers to make direct referrals to SVMC and to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians. Northshire ExpressCare providers will communicate with patients’ primary care physicians.
A second ExpressCare location, open 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily, is located on the SVMC Campus in Bennington. For more information, visit svhealthcare.org/expresscare.
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center Becomes 24-Hour Drug Take-Back Location
BENNINGTON, VT—July 27, 2017—With the installation of a specialized MedSafe collection box, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) has become a 24-hour drug take-back location. It is the first non-police department in the state to fulfill this role.
“We know that leftover and expired prescription drugs, when disposed of improperly, can be diverted or pollute the environment,” said Thomas A. Dee, FACHE. “We are proud to make safe disposal of unused medications more convenient for our community.”
The MedSafe collection receptacle is located in the lobby of SVMC at 100 Hospital Drive in Bennington. It looks like a mailbox, featuring a one-way medicine drop. It can be used to dispose of unused or expired controlled substances, non-controlled substances, and even over-the-counter medications. The lobby is open 24 hours a day.
Several features ensure security, including a double-locked front panel. Medications can be removed for disposal only when both a member of the Bennington Police Department and a member of the hospital staff are present. In addition, the box will be monitored by video.
Disposing of unused and expired medications at a drug take-back location prevents the drugs from being abused or sold. In the past, people often flushed medications down a toilet or drain, which can cause pharmaceutical contamination of the water supply.
“A secure drug take-back location, like this one and those at law enforcement agencies, is the only safe way to dispose of unused and expired medications,” Dee said.
The program was made possible through The Collaborative; Regional Prevention Partnership, a grant from the Vermont Department of Health; and cooperation from the Bennington Police Department, notably Chief of Police Paul J. Doucette and Lieutenant David Dutcher.
Maryann Morris—executive director of The Collaborative, a Londonderry, Vermont-based non-profit whose mission is to create a supportive, substance-free community for youth—obtained funding and provided technical assistance for the project through the Regional Prevention Partnership, a program of the Vermont Department of Health. She has worked for years with the community-based Bennington County Prescription Drug Task Force, a group that The Collaborative leads, to improve collection efforts.
Prescription drug collection totals for Bennington County, the third smallest county in the state, are regularly the third largest in the state, Morris noted. This is a good indication that the community is receptive to the idea and that additional collection sites are needed.
“The task force and I are really excited to see this project come to fruition,” Morris said. “We know that it will get harmful drugs off counters and out of medicine cabinets, away from those with drug-seeking behaviors and those who may be compelled to try the medications without a prescription.”
SVMC is the only small hospital in Vermont offering a drug take-back location and the only hospital in the state offering the service around the clock.
BENNINGTON, VT—August 14, 2017—Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s (SVHC) Centers for Living and Rehabilitation (CLR), a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Bennington, recently earned a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
“We always work very hard to ensure patients receive the highest quality of care,” said Suzanne Anair, the facility’s administrator. “Apart from the positive comments we hear from patients themselves, this affirmation from our most important regulatory organization is the most gratifying achievement.”
The CMS rating system is designed to assist the public in choosing care for themselves and their family members. Facilities are rated based on results of health inspections; levels of staffing, including the number of registered nurses providing care; and quality measures, including patient outcomes, infection rates, pressure ulcers, and falls.
“We are successful based on our consistent effort to improve, our commitment to staffing levels, and the development of processes that support excellent outcomes,” Anair said. “None of this can be achieved without the hard work of our teams. I am grateful for their dedication to providing the absolute best care possible.”
The number of facilities that can be given the highest rating is capped at 20 percent per state, so the rating is a reflection of both how well CLR is performing and how it compares to others in the state. To review ratings from area nursing homes, consumers can visit www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare.
Dr. John Brumsted, the CEO of the University of Vermont Medical Center, speaks about the all-payer model at a news conference in February. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDiggerThe chief executive officer of the largest hospital system in the state made more than $2 million in salary and benefits in 2015.
Dr. John Brumsted, the CEO of the University of Vermont Health Network and its flagship hospital, took in nearly $2.19 million in compensation that year.
Brumsted’s total compensation includes $979,064 in base pay and $492,000 in bonuses. The remainder includes contributions to a retirement account and health insurance, among other things.
VTDigger reviewed salary information for hospital CEOs and other administrators dating back to 2006. Brumsted’s pay in 2015 is the highest amount that any hospital administrator has made during that time.
Additionally, Brumsted was the highest-paid hospital executive in Vermont between 2012, when he became CEO, and 2015, the most recent year that numbers are available on the annual Form 990, which nonprofits such as hospitals submit to the Internal Revenue Service.
Eleven other executives at the UVM Health Network and the UVM Medical Center made more than $500,000 in salary and benefits in 2015. Many of them shared in the same bonuses that Brumsted received that year for meeting financial, quality and operational goals.
Their compensation packages do not include several private flights that the UVM Medical Center chartered for Brumsted and three others on the executive team, according to Michael Carrese, a spokesperson for the hospital.
“The purpose of the travel was to meet with hospitals in upstate New York as our network continues to evaluate future expansion and affiliation,” the hospital wrote in its Form 990.
Trends across Vermont hospitals
In 2015, the average pay and benefits for a CEO at a Vermont hospital, as well as Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, was $612,698. The median was $435,554.
The average pay and benefits for a Vermont hospital CEO represents an 11.9 percent increase over the year before, and the median pay and benefits represents a 4.7 percent increase over the year before.
Thomas Dee, CEO and president of Southwestern Vermont Health Care, speaks during the organization’s annual report to the public in May at the medical center. Photo by Jim Therrien/VTDigger
The average and median are both up because almost all CEOs saw an increase in their compensation — ranging from Brumsted, the highest paid CEO; Thomas Dee of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, the third-highest paid CEO; and Roger Albee, the lowest-paid CEO, who runs Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend.
There were 45 administrators making more than $500,000. Many of them were high-level administrators for the UVM Medical Center or Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. One was Todd Moore, the CEO of OneCare Vermont, a major health care reform company.
Two hospitals — Porter Medical Center in Middlebury and Copley Hospital in Morrisville — reported compensation for two different CEOs over the course of the year because of retirements.
The Green Mountain Care Board, which regulates hospital budgets and health insurance prices, does not track the pay for hospital administrators but is considering doing so.
The board has kept statistics going back more than a decade on the median pay and benefits for employees at hospitals other than Dartmouth-Hitchcock who are not doctors.
From 2014 to 2015, median pay for an employee at a hospital increased 3.3 percent to $80,704, from a starting figure of $78,162. The median pay for a CEO at a hospital, other than Dartmouth-Hitchcock, increased 8.9 percent to $426,747, from $392,017.
At the UVM Medical Center, trends from 2006 to 2015 show that CEO pay and benefits increased faster than pay and benefits for hospital employees who are not doctors.
Pay for the CEO roughly doubled, from $1.1 million to $2.2 million, while pay for employees went up 27 percent, from $66,166 to $84,327.
UVM Health Network compensation policies
Scottie Ginn is the chair of the compensation committee for UVM Medical Center, which works with a national consultant to set Brumsted’s pay. Brumsted then sets pay for the rest of the executive team.
The committee looks at the salary and bonus compensation of CEOs at comparable hospitals like the Mayo Clinic and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Ginn said. The committee then sets Brumsted’s base salary at the 50th percentile and bonuses at the 65th percentile.
In addition, the UVM Medical Center made contributions equivalent to 15 percent of Brumsted’s salary into a supplemental retirement account in 2015, according to the Form 990. In previous years, the hospital contributed 10 percent of his salary to a retirement account, according to a Form 990.
“It is a lot of money,” Ginn said. “I’m not going to argue it’s not, but it’s what we need to keep and attract the right leaders at our organization to help us do the right thing so we get the right health care for Vermonters and New Yorkers.”
Construction on the University of Vermont Miller building in July. Photo courtesy of the University of Vermont Medical Center
Ginn said the UVM Medical Center is “an incredibly complex organization” that is “very well led” by Brumsted and his team. She said the most important thing they do is provide quality health care to people in Vermont and upstate New York.
Ginn said the hospital did not increase Brumsted’s base pay from 2014 to 2015 because, after looking at what other similar CEOs were making, the compensation committee saw that Brumsted was already being paid in the 50th percentile.
Brumsted and his team received three bonuses. One was for achieving an internal goal for an operating margin — the difference between revenue and expenses, better known in the business world as profits.
That year, the UVM Medical Center recorded record profits of $75.6 million. That represented three-quarters of profits earned among Vermont’s regulated hospitals, while the UVM Medical Center took in just half of the total revenue that patients spent in Vermont hospitals that year.
The executive team received a second bonus for getting state approval for a $187 million inpatient building. The project allows the hospital to replace existing semi-private rooms with private rooms where family members can stay on pullout couches and keep their sick relatives comfortable. The building’s opening is scheduled for 2019.
The executive team received the third bonus for improving the quality of care at the hospital. Ginn said the team was able to improve quality based on internal metrics.
“We do believe that if we have good quality, good efficiency follows,” Ginn said. “These people have an incredibly complex job, and they have, they’re doing a good job of improving health care in this area.”
She pointed to the hospital’s supply chain savings. Since the UVM Medical Center and Central Vermont Medical Center joined forces in 2011 to create the UVM Health Network, the hospitals have turned their bargaining power into nearly $50 million in supply chain savings.
BENNINGTON, VT—August 21, 2017—Southwestern Vermont Medical Center is hosting an American Red Cross Blood drive 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Thursday, September 28, 2017 in its employee cafeteria.
To make an appointment to donate, visit www.redcrossblood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS, or text bloodapp to 90999 to download the app to your smartphone. As always, walk-ins will be accommodated as well. Those who are unfamiliar with the SVMC campus may stop at the information desk in the main lobby for directions to the drive.
Those who have questions about the drive may contact Susan Gallina at 802-447-5345.
News Release — Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging
Aug. 30, 2017
Contact:
Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging (SVCOA)
Kheya Ganguly
Development and Communications Coordinator
Phone: 802.786.5990
Email: kganguly@svcoa.net
Rutland and Bennington, VT – SVCOA will offer Powerful Tools for Caregivers, an evidence-based educational program designed to teach caregivers how to not only become more effective caregivers, but also, to learn methods to care for themselves. The offered classes are free and open to residents of Bennington and Rutland County.
The program lasts six weeks and helps caregivers develop a wealth of self-care tools. Participants learn how to reduce personal stress; change negative self-talk; communicate their needs to family members and healthcare or service providers; communicate more effectively in challenging situations; recognize the messages in their emotions, deal with difficult feelings; and make tough caregiving decisions. Class participants also receive a copy of The Caregiver Helpbook, developed specifically for the class.
This series of classes will be held in Manchester at the Manchester Community Library located on 138 Cemetery Avenue. The series will begin on Monday, September 25, 2017 from 5:00 to 6:30 pm. The classes will meet every Monday through October 30, 2017. Refreshments are included and transportation may be available. Reservations for the Workshop are required as space is limited. To sign up or get more information about the workshop, please call Aaron Brush at (802) 786-5990.
The Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging (SVCOA) is a private non-profit community based organization whose goal is to support elders 60 years of age and older in maintaining maximum independence. The Council seeks to be responsive to both individual elders who need assistance to remain independent and to the communities in our region who need our technical assistance and support to identify elder needs and create locally based solutions.
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and the Vermont Department of Health Present What You Need to Know about Tick-Borne Illness
BENNINGTON, VT—September 21, 2017—According to the Vermont Department of Health, tick-borne illnesses are on the rise in Vermont. Tick bites and tick-borne illnesses spike in the fall. In an effort to address the many tick-related questions from patients, clinicians from Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s (SVMC) and the Vermont Department of Health have partnered to offer a special presentation: What You Need to Know about Tick-Borne Illness: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions. The talk is scheduled for 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 10 at Historic Memorial Hall in Wilmington, VT.
Attendees will get expert answers to the most common tick-related questions, including:
· How do I prevent tick bites?
· What should I do if I find a tick on me or a member of my family?
· What are the tick-borne illnesses and how do I recognize them?
· What are the treatments available?
· What if I still don’t feel good after treatment?
Speakers include: Marie George, MD; infectious disease specialist at SVMC Infectious Disease, now part of SVMC Multispecialty Practice; Bradley Tompkins, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Vermont Department of Health; and Trey Dobson, MD, emergency medicine physician, chief medical officer at SVMC and medical director of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians.
In addition to his leadership roles, Dr. Dobson is an emergency medicine physician at SVMC. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics from The University of the South in Tennessee, a master’s degree in geology from the University of Wyoming and his medical degree from The University of Tennessee. He completed his residency in emergency medicine at the University of Virginia.
Dr. George studied at the University of Connecticut and received her medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. She completed her residency at St. Elizabth’s Medical Center and a fellowship at Tufts University, both in Massachusetts. She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Bradley Tompkins is an infectious disease epidemiologist at Vermont Department of Health in Burlington, where he leads the Enteric, Zoonotic & Vector-borne Disease programs. He received his master’s in epidemiology from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in 2009, a master’s in biology from Wake Forest University in 2003 and a bachelor’s in environmental biology from Millersville University of Pennsylvania in 1999.
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center Announces Recipe Makeover and Saturday Screening Mammography Events for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
BENNINGTON, VT—September 26, 2017—Medical studies indicate that eating healthfully helps women prevent breast cancer. It’s also reported that getting an annual mammogram after age 40 can help catch the disease when it is most treatable. In recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, observed each October, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) has scheduled two events designed to help area women lessen the effects of breast cancer on their lives.
“Breast cancer is serious and touches everyone,” said Rebecca Hewson-Steller, SVMC’s breast health navigator. “We have a remarkable group of women in our community who want to raise awareness but also have fun. That’s what these events are about.”
Recipe Makeover and Tasting Party
Cooking both healthfully and deliciously can be challenging. SVMC’s Executive Chef Laura LaCroix will demonstrate how she swaps the less healthy ingredients and cooking methods in favorite recipes for healthier ones. Attendees will learn how they can apply these changes at home, give a health makeover to their family favorites, and cook in ways that prevent breast cancer, other cancers, and many other diseases affected by diet.
“An event about making healthier cooking choices would not be complete without an opportunity to taste,” says Chef LaCroix. “So, of course, there will be samples to try.”
Representatives from SVMC’s OB/GYN, Women’s Imaging Center, and Cancer Center will be on hand to meet attendees and answer questions. In addition, local women fitness professionals, the Cancer Center Community Crusaders, and a representative from Ladies First, a Vermont Department of Health program that helps eligible women get breast, cervical and heart health screenings, will be there to share tips and resources. A door prize will be awarded.
The event will be held 6 – 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 24 in the Employee Cafeteria at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. (Signs will be posted to direct attendees to parking and the entrance.) The program is free and open to the public; however, seating is limited, and attendees must register online at svhealthcare.org/recipemakeover by October 20.
Saturday Screening Mammography Day
SVMC will offer screening mammograms 8 a.m. – noon on Saturday, October 28 at SVMC Women’s Imaging Center, suite 206 of the Medical Office Building located at 140 Hospital Drive in Bennington.
Although the day is open to any woman with a referral from her primary care provider or OB/GYN, the Women’s Imaging team would like to especially invite women who have never had a mammogram before. Women who are over 40 years old are encouraged to attend. Once patients obtain a referral, they may call 802-447-5541 ext. 2 to schedule.
Each patient will receive a free gift. Anyone needing financial assistance—including those who are uninsured or who have prohibitively high deductibles—may apply for funding though a Komen for the Cure VT-NH grant. For more information, call 802-440-4244. For more information about this event, visit svhealthcare.org/saturdaymammogram.
Aircast Foundation Supports Project with a $100,000 Grant
BENNINGTON, VT—October 6, 2017— Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) Orthopedics announced yesterday that it is now using the Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) data-gathering research program, called the GreenCare model, to improve care for patients. With a $100,000 grant from the Aircast Foundation, SVMC Orthopedics is the first practice outside D-H to implement it.
“Dartmouth-Hitchcock, with its GreenCare Model, is leading health care reform in a way that will improve the quality of care and patient outcomes while decreasing costs, starting with its orthopedic services,” said Jonathan Cluett, MD, medical director at SVMC Orthopedics. “Funds from the Aircast Foundation allow us to participate in this transformational project locally and ultimately provide even better care for our patients here.”
The GreenCare model uses data collected from patients through surveys at several points during care to predict outcomes for similar patients in the future. The surveys record patients’ perceptions regarding their own physical and mental well-being, their post-recovery goals, and the outcomes of their procedures. Doctors and patients with improved data are likely to choose the most effective treatments. Collectively, better treatment decisions are expected to drive improvements in outcomes and patient experience while decreasing health spending.
“Basically, we are looking more closely and scientifically at what works and what doesn’t for every patient receiving a joint replacement,” said Nicholas Paddock, director of orthopedics at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. “We hope to use that information to give doctors and patients a clearer picture of what they can expect in recovery and whether a joint replacement is right for them.”
“Most orthopedic procedures are performed at smaller centers like SVMC,” said Michael B. Sparks, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and the lead physician on GreenCare project within Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s orthopedics department. “In order for our data to reflect the reality of care, we need centers like SVMC to participate. We are happy to share our standard of care with SVMC and expand our already-successful partnership.”
The Aircast Foundation’s $100,000 contribution initiates the project, named the Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) Orthopedic Research and Education Endowment at Southwestern Vermont Health Care. The Southwestern Vermont Health Care Foundation and the fundraising arm of Dartmouth-Hitchcock will work to leverage Aircast’s investment to secure additional funding for the project. The aim is to grow the endowment to $3 million, which will provide a research fellow at D-H. A dedicated research fellow will use the data gathered from the orthopedic practice in Bennington and other places to develop and test patient-level predictive outcome models, refine predictive models and comparative performance datasets, and publish findings.
“Aircast has always been interested in learning more about why the most effective orthopedic treatments work for patients,” said Jack McVicker of the Aircast Foundation. “The Aircast Foundation is proud to fund this project and to let the powerful minds at D-H and SVMC uncover more about how orthopedic services can be improved in the future.”
Eventually, the work is anticipated to improve care and shared decision making processes and provide evidence-based and measured care for the area SVMC serves. Ultimately, the research is expected to inform national healthcare policy for other orthopedic procedures and beyond.
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s orthopedics facility is implementing a new patient data-gathering program in conjunction with Dartmouth-Hitchcock. From left: Dr. Nicholas Paddock, of Dartmouth-Hitchcock; Jack McVicker and Kimberly Moore, of the Aircast Foundation; Dr. Jonathan Cluett and Dr. Trey Dobson, of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center; and Dr. Michael Sparks, of Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Photo by Jim Therrien/VTDigger BENNINGTON — The newest medical collaboration for Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Southwestern Vermont medical centers is focusing on orthopedic patients facing arthritis-related joint replacement surgery.
The GreenCare model, a data-gathering research initiative at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, is being implemented for patients of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s orthopedics facility on Dewey Street. The program began locally in July and now involves about 55 patients.
Officials from the care organizations and from the Aircast Foundation, which is providing grant funding, said it could eventually serve as a model for other community hospitals around the nation, as similar programs typically are too expensive to develop outside a major regional medical center.
Dr. Jonathan Cluett, medical director at SVMC Orthopedics, said patients considering surgery are asked to first fill out standardized surveys about their lifestyle, level of pain and activity, goals for the procedure and similar topics. Patients then repeat the survey process during future appointments.
The responses will help create a database meant to better determine which patients — given age, activities, lifestyle and other factors — might benefit from a specific operation or might want to consider other treatment options.
Bringing the GreenCare initiative to Bennington shows how Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Southwestern Vermont Health Care “continue to partner on multiple initiatives,” said Dr. Trey Dobson, chief medical officer for SVMC.
Those joint efforts include formation of a multi-specialty medical group in 2012, he said, and subsequently shared medical services or initiatives through partnership agreements.
A $100,000 grant from the Aircast Foundation “allows our orthopedic patients to participate in Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s data-gathering program,” Dobson said, adding that SVHC “will be one of the first locations outside the Dartmouth-Hitchcock system to implement this model.”
“This is another example of why SVMC is affiliating with Dartmouth-Hitchcock,” said Thomas Dee, president and CEO of the Bennington care organization. “This a small community hospital partnering with a national academic medical center.”
Concerning the Aircast Foundation grant, he added, “A small hospital could not afford to make those kinds of investments on its own.”
The data is collected anonymously through volunteer surveys with questions that have been vetted nationally. The stated aims of the initiative are to increase health care quality and patient satisfaction while decreasing health care costs associated with unnecessary or unsatisfactory procedures.
Dr. Michael Sparks, an orthopedic surgeon at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, said collecting such data for analysis and comparison and sharing data on outcomes with patients has become an important component of health care at the New Hampshire-based center.
In the past, he said, physicians had to make recommendations primarily based on evaluations and testing, while patients had to make difficult decisions without such a database of the experiences of prior patients.
While the regional center now has that information available, “it is also important that it works in all places,” Sparks said, referring to the decision to implement a similar program in Bennington.
Dr. Nicholas Paddock, the director of orthopedics at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, said the center began surveying patients in 2011 and now has data on more than 4,000 who have gone through the process.
“What that has allowed us to do is begin to aggregate that data and begin to understand — OK, what is the experience of a patient,” he said. “So you could say to someone, let’s say, maybe 50, female, with certain health care characteristics; we can look at that population and say how that sector of the population experiences care as they tell us about their experiences. And that’s the key, from the patient’s perspective.”
The program can provide data on a given set within the patient population, he said, with information on their experiences and surgical or treatment outcomes.
“We are trying to add that data to the clinical data that we’ve got, to then do new quality improvement efforts in the future,” Paddock said.
He added that Dartmouth-Hitchcock is one of the few centers in the country that “has really adopted this as a standard of care.”
The effects on the overall cost of health care could be significant, Paddock said, because well over half of all surgical procedures are performed in community hospitals, and joint replacements make up a large percentage of all surgical procedures.
Sparks said the Bennington effort will include developing data collection methods that function across medical records systems that are different from the embedded survey format at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
Barbara Houle, a patient of the orthopedic group who had joint replacement surgery, said she had suffered a knee injury in 1950 when the typical surgery involved removal of cartilage. Afterward at times, she said, “the noise was worse than the pain” when she moved, prompting her to finally opt for joint replacement surgery in August.
Houle said she wished she had access in 1950 to information on other patient outcomes and best surgical practices. Filling out the survey was “relatively easy,” she said, and the process helped her decide to have the operation.
Jack McVicker, president of the Aircast Foundation, said the foundation and the Aircast company “have a particular affection for southern Vermont and New England, because the company really started with a ski injury.”
He said the business founder, the late Glenn Johnson, suffered a leg injury in 1972 skiing at Stratton Mountain. While in a plaster cast he began to think about what became the aircast design, allowing more rapid healing and mobility during recovery.
The foundation, established in 1996, has funded 76 medical research grants, McVicker said, totaling $4.68 million, and has worked with 31 academic institutions.
Leslie Keefe, vice president of corporate development at the SVHC Foundation, said foundations at the two hospitals hope to match by Dec. 31 the $100,000 from the Aircast Foundation through other grants and fundraising.
In addition, she said, a long-term goal is to raise money to endow a dedicated research fellow position and use the data to test patient-level predictive outcome models, refine predictive models and comparative performance data sets, and publish the findings.
Houston—October 13, 2017—Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) is proud to announce that it was presented with the 2017 American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Prize™ before an audience of more than 10,000 nurses and conference attendees at the ANCC Magnet Conference in Houston this week. The prize was given for SVMC’s Transitional Care Nursing Program, a part of the Accountable Community for Health Project. It is the highest honor that can be granted to a Magnet organization. Only one Magnet Prize™ is given worldwide each year.
In a message to staff on Thursday, President and CEO Thomas A. Dee, FACHE, wrote, “This project was not easy. It took an innovative approach, dedicated teamwork, and years of constant effort. And it was undertaken, not with the hope of winning an honor like this one, but out of steadfast devotion to our mission of exceptional care and comfort for the people we serve.” He continued, “With this award, our nursing and clinical team has placed SVMC—a small health system from a small town in a small state—among the best respected and most notable health care institutions in the world.”
SVMC was selected from among 60 applicants. Award criteria indicate that the project must be an extraordinary innovation to address the identified problem or need. It must transform nursing, patient care, or the nursing environment, and be seen as enduring and able to be replicated in other settings. The prize, which includes a $50,000 purse to support continued work on the project, is sponsored by Cerner, a global leader in health care technology.
Over the past three years, SVMC has developed and used the Transitional Care Nursing Program to help high-risk, chronically ill patients, behavioral health patients, and patients dealing with substance abuse understand their ability to make decisions about their care. Community collaboration, which forms the basis of the Accountable Community for Health Project, has led to improved knowledge of resources and a significant reduction in the number of emergency department visits and hospital admissions.
“The ANCC Magnet Prize™ represents the successful implementation of our nurse-driven initiative through the collaboration and partnership of multiple organizations with Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and our skilled nurses to deliver integrated care in our community,” stated Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s Chief Nursing Officer Carol Conroy, DNP, CENP. “SVMC is pleased to be recognized for our innovative nursing approach, as it represents a foundation for healthcare in the future.”
In 2002, SVMC was the first hospital in Vermont to earn the Magnet designation. The hospital has been redesignated four consecutive times. Only 43 hospitals worldwide and only three in New England have held the designation as long. In 2016, SVMC’s Barbara Richardson, RN, won the National Magnet Nurse of the Year for her work to establish the Transitional Care Nursing Program at SVMC.
“ANCC is proud to recognize Southwestern Vermont Medical Center for its extraordinary work through their innovative Accountable Community for Health Project,” said Jeff Doucette, DNP, vice president of the Magnet Recognition Program® & Pathway to Excellence® Program. “It is always exciting to see nurses leading the way and working in such a collaborative manner to improve delivery of care for their patients.”
(This story by Greg Sukiennik was published in the Bennington Banner on Oct. 17, 2017.)
BENNINGTON — Southwestern Vermont Medical Center‘s efforts to help high-risk, chronically ill patients make better decisions about their care and avoid hospitalization have been honored with one of a national nursing organization’s most prestigious honors.
The hospital received the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Prize for its Accountable Communities for Health program at the group’s conference last week in Houston. It’s the highest honor that the organization gives yearly to its Magnet-designated hospitals such as SVMC.
According to the ANCC, the award is given yearly to an organization “whose proposed project best describes cutting-edge research, practices, services, technologies, programs, or other exemplary innovations designed to increase the knowledge base of support for patient care and nursing excellence and to demonstrate positive outcomes.”
The criteria include that the project be initiated by the nursing staff; that it be “transformative of nursing, patient care, or the nursing environment;” that it can be replicated in other settings; and that it has the potential for positive outcomes. SVMC was one of 60 hospitals vying for the Magnet Prize.
Thomas Dee, CEO and president of Southwestern Vermont Health Care, speaks during the organization’s annual report to the public in May at the medical center. Photo by Jim Therrien/VTDigger
Hospital president and CEO Thomas Dee hailed SVMC’s nursing team for the initiative, which he described as requiring “an innovative approach, dedicated teamwork, and years of constant effort” and reflecting “steadfast devotion to our mission of exceptional care and comfort for the people we serve.”
“With this award, our nursing and clinical team has placed SVMC — a small health system from a small town in a small state — among the best respected and most notable health care institutions in the world,” Dee said.
Carol Conroy, the hospital’s chief nursing officer, said the award “represents the successful implementation of our nurse-driven initiative through the collaboration and partnership of multiple organizations with Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and our skilled nurses to deliver integrated care in our community.”
“SVMC is pleased to be recognized for our innovative nursing approach, as it represents a foundation for health care in the future,” she said.
Over the past three years, SVMC has developed and applied Accountable Communities for Health to help high-risk, chronically ill patients, behavioral health patients, and patients dealing with substance abuse, understand their ability to make decisions about their care. By collaborating with local human services agencies and providers, the project has led to patients knowing more about the resources available to them — and significantly reduced the number of emergency department visits and hospital admissions.
As part of the award, SVMC will present the outcomes resulting from its initiative at next year’s ANCC National Magnet Conference.
The Magnet Prize is the second major award given by ANCC in connection with the Accountable Communities for Health program. In 2016, SVMC nurse Barbara Richardson won the National Magnet Nurse of the Year for her work to establish the program.
SVMC was the first Vermont hospital to earn ANCC’s Magnet designation, in 2002, and is among only 43 hospitals that have continually passed the rigorous review process for that honor, hospital spokeswoman Ashley Jowett said.
Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center Present The Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance
BENNINGTON, VT—October 20, 2017—Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) and Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning (GMALL) will partner to present a “Medicine Today” lecture about antibiotic resistance.
The talk, The Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance, will be co-presented by Dr. Michael Calderwood, a specialist in infectious disease at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and Dr. Marie George, a specialist in infectious disease with SVMC Infectious Disease, which is now a part of the SVMC Multispecialty Practice.
The talk will be held 5:30 – 7 p.m. Monday, November 13, 2017, at Equinox Village, at 49 Maple Street in Manchester Center, VT. The event is free, but advanced registration is required. Visit the science section of the programs tab at www.greenmtnacademy.org to register.
The use of antibiotics to fight bacterial infections was a major medical advance of the 20th Century; however—due to microbiologic, economic, and even geopolitical factors—our antibiotics are losing ground. The bugs are getting tougher and the number of effective antibiotics is diminishing. This presents a great risk to public health and everyday management of even the most common infections. In this talk, we will cover the evolution of these challenges; the current efforts among researchers, infectious disease physicians, and patients; and what work remains to ensure we have means to fight the infections of the future.
Dr. Michael Calderwood obtained his medical degree from the University of Chicago, followed by an internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, infectious diseases fellowship training in the combined program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, and a MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Following his training, he was a faculty member at Brigham and Women’s Hospital where he served as the Associate Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship and the Assistant Hospital Epidemiologist, along with being a research investigator in the Therapeutic Research and Infectious Disease Epidemiology group in the Harvard Medical School Department of Population Medicine.
He began a new role at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in July 2016 where he is the Regional Hospital Epidemiologist, a hospital staff physician in the Section of Infectious Disease and International Health, and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.
Dr. Marie George is an infectious disease specialist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) Infectious Disease and the chair of Antibiotic Stewardship at SVMC. She received her medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, and attended University of Connecticut as an undergraduate. She completed her residency at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center and a fellowship at Tufts University/New England Medical Center, both in Boston. Dr. George is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
BENNINGTON, VT—October 30, 2017—Good control of diabetes significantly reduces the risk of developing serious complications—like nerve damage, heart disease, and blindness—and prevents complications from getting worse. But many people who have diabetes don’t even know it.
That is why Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) and The Lions Club have come together to host an “Info Café” all about diabetes. The event is scheduled 1 – 4 p.m. Saturday, November 18, 2017 at SVMC, 100 Hospital Dr. in Bennington. It is open to all, both those who have diabetes and those who want to learn more.
“Getting the health information you need can be fun. That’s the idea behind this event,” said Paula Haytko, a certified diabetes educator at SVMC. “We want to inspire people to live healthier lives and prevent diabetes and its complications.”
In addition to screenings, several speakers will share information related to their specialty, including Dr. Niemi of Advanced Eye Care, SVMC Diabetes Educator Paula Haytko, and Health Coach Andrea Malinowski. Registered Dietitian Kristopher Tuna will teach attendees how to make the healthiest choices at a buffet, and a cooking demonstration by SVMC’s Executive Chef Laura LaCroix will teach attendees how to make Thanksgiving dinner healthier. Local organizations Meals on Wheels, Norshaft Lions, Ladies First and others will also share information.
“The Lions Club’s primary focus is preventing blindness, and diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among working-age adults,” said Carrie Houlihan, the Norshaft Lions president. “We are grateful to the clinicians at SVMC and our community organizations for helping us host this preventive event.”
The event is free and open to all. Refreshments and healthy recipe tastings. A door prize will be awarded. For more information and to register, visit svhealthcare.org/diabetesinfo.
Thomas Dee, CEO and president of Southwestern Vermont Health Care, speaks during the organization’s annual report to the public in May at the medical center. Photo by Jim Therrien/VTDigger
BENNINGTON — Putnam Memorial Hospital, now known as Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, opened to patients on June 10, 1918. A century later, that 30-bed community hospital has grown significantly and is part of one of New England’s leading rural health care systems.
Built with money donated by Henry W. Putnam and Henry W. Putnam Jr., the original structure cost $85,000 to construct. Putnam Hospital became Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in 1984.
To celebrate the centennial year, the corporate parent, Southwestern Vermont Health Care, has announced a schedule of events for the whole community throughout 2018.
“A hundred years of caring for generation after generation in Bennington County and beyond is certainly a milestone worth celebrating,” said Thomas A. Dee, SVHC’s president and CEO. “Equally worthy of celebration is what SVHC is today — one of the best and most innovative community health care systems in the region — and how we are growing our services to meet the needs of the future.”
In February 2018, SVHC will release “A Century of Caring,” a commemorative book covering 100 years of hospital history, and open a historical exhibit in cooperation with The Bennington Museum.
The public is welcomed to view the exhibit and others at the Bennington Museum free of charge on Saturday, Feb. 3.
“All year we will be honoring our past but also turning our attention to the future,” Dee said. “We’ve inherited a tremendous legacy, and it’s our responsibility to extend it by achieving an even higher standard of excellence for many years to come.”
A Centennial Gala is scheduled for June 9 — on the eve of the hospital’s 100th anniversary — at the Hubbell Homestead at Colgate Park in Bennington.
Centennial Community Day will be a free event for all ages on June 10. The event will feature 1918-inspired games, activities for children, entertainment and a road race. The day will also include annual events like the Heart Hike, Cancer Survivors Day and the Cancer Center Community Crusaders Day of Celebration.
In October, clinical leaders from around the country will be invited to a telemedicine conference called Telemedicine Reverse Innovation. The conference will be hosted by Southwestern Vermont Health Care and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health Care.
In addition, each of the SVHC Foundation’s annual events — Masters in the Mountains and The Jingle Bell — will be enhanced for the centennial.
In a release, Dee noted several recent achievements of the institution:
• Southwestern Vermont Medical Center has been designated four consecutive times as a Magnet Center for Nursing Excellence.
• SVMC’s transitional care nurse, Barbara Richardson, RN, was named the 2016 Magnet Nurse of the Year, and in 2017, the hospital won the Magnet Prize — given to only one hospital worldwide each year — for its Transitional Care Nursing program.
• SVHC is accredited by the Joint Commission and recognized as a top performer on key quality measures.
• The health system received workplace honors from both Vermont Business Magazine and Becker’s Hospital Review. This fall the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation earned the prestigious five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services.
BENNINGTON, VT—December 15, 2017—Last week Southwestern Vermont Medical Center hosted leaders from a dozen local social services agencies for a lunch in celebration of the 3rd anniversary of the Community Care Team. Those in attendance represented Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), United Counseling Services (UCS), Bayada, Support and Services at Home (SASH), Shires Housing, the Vermont Department of Human Services, and others. Many shared heartfelt success stories as a part of the event’s program.
The Community Care Team is an innovative program that helps social service providers coordinate their work for the clients and patients they share. The program improves the lives of patients and clients by meeting their needs more efficiently. The change has related to a 44 percent decrease in Emergency Department visits among the participants.
Addressing the group, Thomas A. Dee, FACHE, Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s president and CEO, thanked participants for working to transform the community. He indicated that the Community Care Team is a contributor to the success of the health system.
The program usually meets participants for the first time in the SVMC Emergency Department. While they may have a medical issue, the participants are discovered to have other barriers preventing them from staying well: addiction, behavioral health conditions, or housing and food needs. At that point, they are asked if they would like to participate in the Community Care Team program. Their agreement gives a health promotion advocate stationed in the Emergency Department permission to discuss their needs with community organizations that could help them.
Together, the health promotion advocate and community partners create integrated care plans that meet the needs of patients,” said Billie Lynn Allard, the administrative director of Care Management, Transitional Care, and Ambulatory Services, who leads the project. “This program is strengthening partnerships, yielding results, and most importantly, improving people’s lives.”
The Community Care Team program is a part of the Accountable Communities for Health project, which gained national recognition as the Magnet Prize ™ recipient at the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet ™ Conference in Houston in October.
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center staff. File photo by Edward Damon/Bennington BannerEditor’s note: This story by Ed Damon first appeared in the Bennington Banner on Friday, Jan. 5.
BENNINGTON — With a five-star rating from the federal government under its belt, the local hospital is now in the top tier of hospitals across the country.
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center has earned a five-star rating for Overall Hospital Quality in 2017 from the federal agency that runs the Medicare program; it is the only hospital in the state and one of only 6 percent across the U.S. to do so.
The recognition comes, in part, from a culture of patient-centered care the hospital has built, according to Thomas Dee, president and CEO of Southwestern Vermont Health Care.
“It doesn’t come from just one area, but a total team approach,” Dee said Thursday. “From the medical staff and nursing team, to housekeepers, and technology and support services. It comes from putting the quality of patient care first.”
The rating comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The center rolled out the expanded program last year. The overall rating represents 57 “quality measures” on the center’s Hospital Compare website.
The ratings, according to CMS, help consumers make decisions about where they receive health care, and “encourages hospitals to improve the quality of care they provide.”
The 99-bed campus in Bennington receives a substantial amount of payments through Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease. Dee said medicare recipients make up over 65-percent of SVMC’s patients.
The patient’s experience score is calculated from a voluntary survey, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. The survey covers topics such as how well doctors and nurses communicate with patients, how responsive hospital staff are to patient needs, how clean and quiet hospital environments are, and how well patients are prepared for post-hospital settings. The system also evaluates clinical measures in the areas of patient safety, mortality, readmissions, effectiveness of care, timeliness of care, and efficient use of medical imaging to assign the star rating. SVMC earned four stars in 2016.
The 2017 questionnaire results show that 81 percent of SVMC patients reported that doctors “always” communicated well, while 83 percent reported the same for nurses (above the national average of 80 percent). And 89 percent reported in the affirmative that they were given information about what to do during their recovery at home.
Of the 4,579 hospitals nationwide eligible to receive a Star Rating, only 260 received the top rating, according to CMS.
Ratings earned by other hospitals in the greater region: Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and Rutland Regional Medical Center each earned four stars, Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Mass. earned three stars, and Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center Hospital earned two stars.
Ed Damon can be reached at edamon@benningtonbanner.com, at @edamon_banner on Twitter and 802-447-7567, ext. 111.
