Alice Hyde Medical Center

Thank you to everyone who attended our community forum this week at the Malone Golf Club. It was great to see so many people in our area interested to learn about the work taking place to ensure you and your loved ones continue receiving the care you need. Thank you to Tucker Slingerland, MD, CEO of Hudson Headwaters Health Network, Vicki Rockhill, Owner of Northern Ambulance and Ramsey Herrington, MD, Interim Executive Vice President of University of Vermont Health Network Operations for providing important updates to the community at our forum. Among the topics discussed: expanding access to primary care in partnership with Hudson Headwaters, ensuring a seamless transition for emergency services and transportation when Vicki Rockhill retires from Northern Ambulance, and the announcement of a new general surgeon with critical care training coming to Alice Hyde. And thank you for all of your questions and comments throughout the evening.

Residents of Vermont and northern New York have been warned: Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) is in our area. The mosquito-borne illness has infected several people across New England. Local health experts recommend the following prevention measures to stay safe.

Join us on October 8 for "Building Solidarity: Sustainable Pathways towards Health Equity," a transformative event dedicated to advancing equity in health care. This FREE event is open to everyone committed to improving the health of our communities – employees, community leaders, advocates, learners and patients. In-person at the DoubleTree Hotel, South Burlington, VT, and online. Learn more and register at: https://lnkd.in/eNZvkBst Presented by The University of Vermont Health Network, The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at The University of Vermont, and University of Vermont College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Benjamin Smith, MD, the Medical Director of the CVMC emergency department, offers up some advice on how you can stay safe during this week's heat advisory.

Last Call for Presentation Ideas! Join the 2024 Health Equity Summit by the UVM Health Network and University of Vermont. We're looking for inspiring presenters and session leaders. Deadline: Friday, May 31! Learn more and submit your ideas at https://lnkd.in/e9XA_-Rb.

She’s known by many as “Chaos Coordinator,” and with good reason. Ashley Vermette, who’s actual title is Nursing Office Coordinator, wears many hats in her role with us. One of them is figuring out scheduling and filling in any holes that come up throughout the day. “It is a puzzle. It is just constantly thinking of different ways of what you can possibly get covered, safely for our staff and our patients,” Vermette explains. She also works closely with our Chief Nursing Officer, Becca Shutts, to make sure her schedule is running smoothly and has the support she needs to tackle issues that come up throughout the day. And she spends a lot of time talking to employees and trying to address any needs they have. Vermette started with us nearly 14 years ago as a nurse aide, working the midnight shift. She has also spent time in the OR, central scheduling and secretary for the medical floor. Vermette believes that’s a big help for her work now, because she can relate to different areas of the hospital and what employees may be experiencing. And while she admits that her days can be chaotic at times, Vermette is glad to be doing what she does, understanding that it helps the community in the long run. “At the end of the day, everybody in this hospital is here for the patients,” she states. “Whether it’s me doing scheduling, trying to make sure we have enough staff here to take care of our patients, or if I’m booking things for Becca to make sure she’s getting things done to make things better for our patients, it’s all helping the community. I might not be doing direct patient care, but I’m working to make sure it happens.” Hospital Week is an annual celebration that honors the hard work and dedication of health care professionals who serve their communities every day. This year, from May 12 to May 18, we will be featuring staff from across the UVM Health Network who play vital, and sometimes unseen roles in helping to keep our communities healthy.

“I love the patients here. If I had a job that took me away from them, I don’t think I would enjoy it nearly as much.” Sarah Mulverhill is one of the first people you see when you walk into our Orthopedics & Sports Medicine clinic. As a Patient Access Representative who has been with us for more than five years, she greets patients as they come in and makes sure they’re all set for their appointment. Mulverhill also spends a lot of time on the phone communicating with other clinics to coordinate a wide variety of services, including surgery, pain management and rehabilitation. And she’s also ready to advocate for patients if they run into any issues. “We see all kinds of patients here. We’ve got three-year-olds with broken bones that need casting to 93-year-olds suffering from chronic pain. I kind of help guide them and help them get where they need to be, or at least point them in the right direction,” Mulverhill explains. She says she always tries to keep in mind that the people coming in for appointments are not always feeling their best. “It can be something urgent, or you’ve just recently had surgery, maybe a knee replacement, or you’ve been dealing with shoulder pain for a while and are now trying to do something about it. So I like interacting with them to help them feel good about their visit and put them at ease as much as I can. I love that I’m patient facing and get to see and talk to people every day,” Mulverhill says. Hospital Week is an annual celebration that honors the hard work and dedication of health care professionals who serve their communities every day. This year, from May 12 to May 18, we will be featuring staff from across the UVM Health Network who play vital, and sometimes unseen roles in helping to keep our communities healthy.

“It’s really uplifting to have a positive impact on our residents and their families, especially when we’re able to have the residents be close to home.” Grace Monette is the Admissions Coordinator and one of our social workers at The Alice Center. She spends her days planning admissions of new residents and rehabilitation patients and helps prepare rehab patients to make sure they have what they need when they’re ready to go home. Monette also visits with our long-term residents daily to make sure their needs are being met. That time with the people in our care at The Alice Center is what she values the most. “I really love visiting with the residents and spending time getting to know them. They are all so different, and many of them have been alive a lot longer than I have. So they have a lot of insightful things to share about life. It’s really cool to learn their stories and just listen to what they have to say,” Monette offers. One of her favorite parts of her day is when she’s able to help get a resident closer to family members, even if it’s at another facility. Monette recalls one resident in particular recently. “It just really made that resident so excited and happy, and they gave me a hug and thanked me for everything we did here. It’s nice to see residents appreciate our staff and what we do. And while this resident said they were sad to leave us, they were so excited to be closer to family again,” she explains. Hospital Week is an annual celebration that honors the hard work and dedication of health care professionals who serve their communities every day. This year, from May 12 to May 18, we will be featuring staff from across the UVM Health Network who play vital, and sometimes unseen roles in helping to keep our communities healthy.

Patients in our region are benefitting from class leading surgical care close to home as Healthgrades has named University of Vermont Medical Center among the top 10% in the U.S. for outpatient orthopedic surgery and recognized the academic medical center with its prestigious Outpatient Joint Replacement Excellence Award for 2024. Claude Nichols, MD, the Network Department Chair of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation said, “This achievement highlights our deep commitment to our patients by providing the highest-level care and investing in the tools that help our talented team of caregivers best serve our patients across Vermont and northern New York.”

“I love everything about my job – caring for patients, helping my co-workers, being a charge nurse. I love the people I work with. I’m just so grateful and thankful for everything I have.” Amy Whipple, RN is a burst of positivity working nights as a Medical-Surgical nurse with us for the past six years. Before that, she was a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at The Alice Center. It was during her time as an LPN that she went through a very difficult moment in her life that ultimately inspired her to become the kind of registered nurse she is today. “I suffered a major loss and was cared for by many amazing nurses. But the one who stood out the most was Debbie Merrick. She showed me such comfort and compassion during this time that it really touched me,” Whipple remembers. She ended up joining the nursing program after that and had Merrick as an instructor. “It is nurses like her that leave an imprint in people’s lives, and she definitely left one in mine. Every day, I strive to be that nurse, the nurse who’s little acts of kindness and compassion leave a positive and memorable impact on others,” Whipple adds. That memory is what drove her to help out a young patient who was struggling with a mental health issue in the Emergency Department. Whipple heard the child was scared and was asking for a stuffed animal. Sometimes, the hospital has extra toys and books for young kids, but she could not find any stuffed animals. So with her supervisor’s approval, she ran home, just a few minutes away, and grabbed a couple of stuffed animals her children used to play with and brought them back for the patient. “To see that child be so comforted by something so simple, that was amazing.” Nurses Week is a week-long celebration that honors the contributions and hard work of nurses around the world. This year, from May 6 to May 12, we will be sharing stories from nurses across the UVM Health Network and taking the opportunity to thank and recognize the important role that nurses play in our health care system.