Message From the CEO

Mike Del Trecco,

President and CEO of VAHHS

If you’ve read my columns over the past several months, you know that we at VAHHS have committed ourselves to reducing the rising tide of violence we’re seeing in Vermont’s health care workplaces—particularly in our emergency departments. We strongly support S.36, which attempts to enact measures to support our colleagues in health care, who are increasingly subject to physical and verbal abuse as they care for us and our neighbors.

To put a human face on the problem of violence in Vermont’s health care settings, we convened a Workplace Violence Summit at the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier. There, legislators and others committed to our health care workforce confronted the issue of workplace violence. After comments and an introduction from Mari Cordes, a nurse and a representative to our legislature, we heard from three nurses who recounted stories of unimaginable violence they’ve suffered while at work. The stories were not easy to hear, but I believe sharing details of their painful experiences and asserting the extent of harm and fear we’ve allowed these dedicated health care professionals to bear is essential to change.

Please take a few minutes to watch the video from our Workplace Violence Summit. I hope that you are moved to support S.36, now under consideration in the Vermont House, which is an important first step toward making this unacceptable violence stop.