Message From the CEO

This weekend’s epic snow, just as spring officially “arrives,” feels about par for the course for this year so far. Doesn’t it just feel like everything is a bit “off”? Although I am happy to see the snow, I have to say it feels like it is coming at the wrong time. We get through these dark, long Vermont winters by having enough snow to make skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and just being outdoors enjoyable and that really did not happen this year. We live in such a beautiful place, and I hope everyone was able to get out and enjoy the snow, because especially this time of year, we can all use some fresh air and hope for spring sunshine and renewal.

I don’t think I’m alone in thinking these days have been particularly hard. When we look at the issues facing our state there are no simple solutions or easy answers. I feel this way when I think about our health care work and the major challenges we face. Vermonters are older and sicker. That means they need more care and sometimes more expensive interventions. More care increases costs and puts more pressures on Vermonters who are already struggling with day-to-day expenses. Not only does this demand for care increase expenses, but as our hospital staff is asked to do more with less, it puts them under increased stress leading to moral injury and burnout. The personal/personnel expense is most concerning to us all. This cycle is not unique to health care; it exists in our education, infrastructure, environmental and social services sectors too.

So, how do we keep forward momentum going when the head winds we face are so strong? The best medicine for this negative cycle is collaboration and teamwork. Our hospitals are just one piece of the health care puzzle and one piece of Vermont’s economic fabric. When we work together to serve our state, we are able to improve care, keep Vermonters healthier and operate more efficiently, which is better for all Vermonters. Collaboration is not new to our hospitals. For example, University of Vermont Children’s Hospital in Burlington partners with North Country Hospital in Newport to provide NICU telemedicine. Copley Hospital in Morrisville and Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans share a cardiologist. Hospitals also work with organizations outside of health care, like Vermont State University and CCV, to educate and train more health care providers and with Rescue, Inc. in Windham County on patient transports. We need to encourage more of this, so we leverage the skills and resources we do have to the greatest extent possible.

As we think about what’s next in health care reform in particular, we have to focus equally on the ways we can work together to better serve our patients and build our communities as we do on the intricacies of how we pay for care. If we don’t, we run the risk of missing out on the creative opportunities to improve our delivery system. In the end it’s all about keeping care local and building vibrant communities.

Even as I watch the snow fall on this wintery spring afternoon, I’m optimistic that we can make progress on our most intractable issues—as optimistic as I am that spring weather will come….eventually.

Have a great week.