Green Mountain Care Board talks hospital sustainability amid Vt. health care system struggles
WCAX
Time is running out to keep Vermont hospitals afloat. That’s according to research presented in a community hospital transformation meeting in Middlebury on Tuesday.
Since Springfield Hospital declared bankruptcy in 2019, the Green Mountain Care Board has been looking into hospital sustainability. Now, with nine of Vermont’s 14 hospitals in the red, there’s even more concern.
“I do not think it is an exaggeration to say we are at a true inflection point,” said Owen Foster, the chair of the Green Mountain Care Board.
Community members were squeezing in to make room for their neighbors in the Isley Library in Middlebury. Everyone was there for an answer to how Vermont will save its impoverished hospital system.
“Their reserves are reaching levels that are alarmingly low,” said Dr. Bruce Hamory, a health care reform consultant.
It was one of 14 community meetings that took place this summer throughout the state. They derive from a 2022 law attempting to find a way to reform Vermont’s health care system. Residents listened to a presentation and offered their own suggestions and concerns.