The pandemic news continues to be encouraging, with the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths all declining. Nationally, new cases are at about 35,000 per day, (down from a peak of 800,000 per day) and the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has decreased by 75%. We’re not out of the woods yet, but there is certainly a great deal of hope on the horizon (especially with the official arrival of spring next week, which brings more options to socialize outdoors rather than inside).
Here at Grace Cottage, the pandemic has given us an opportunity to evaluate our priorities. We have always cared for our community, in sickness and in health, and the turbulence during the past two years required us to make tremendous and rapid changes so that we could provide all of the additional services needed to fight the various mutations of COVID-19, including:
- Construction of a drive-up COVID-19 testing facility behind the Heins Building;
- Renovation of Grace Cottage Family Health to include a special respiratory clinic (with a separate entrance) for patients with COVID-19 symptoms;
- Expansion of the number of rooms equipped with a negative-pressure system in the hospital to care for COVID-19 patients in an area separate from other inpatients;
- Reconfiguration of the Heins Building to facilitate rapid and efficient administration of thousands of vaccines and booster shots;
- Construction and renovation of all patient registration areas in order to increase safety for patients and employees;
- Reconfiguration of the cafeteria to facilitate single-serve portions and elimination of the self-serve buffet.
But not all of our improvements and renovations during the past two years were COVID-related. We made tremendous strides during the pandemic, including:
- Renovated and updated the Trauma Room in our Emergency Department, and added a new portable ultrasound, laryngoscopes, and ventilators.
- Installed a new 128-slice Philips CT scanner.
- Completed an extensive sidewalk facelift in front of Grace Cottage Family Health, including new entrance ramps and better lighting.
- Received Age-Friendly Certification, Patient-Centered Medical Home certification, applied for national recognition by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s National LGBTQ Health Equality Index; and were named Best Hospital, Best ER, Best Physical Therapy, Best Doctors, Best Pediatrician, Best Pharmacy, and Best Place to Work in the Brattleboro Reformer’s Reader’s Choice Awards in 2020 and 2021;
- Dr Jeremy Morrison, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Cynthia Howes, Family Nurse Practitioner Juliette Carr, and Dr. Jesper Brickley joined our Grace Cottage Family Health team, and Dr. Wyll Everett will begin seeing patients here in September. Physician Assistant Phil Schafer joined our ER staff;
- Completed our 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment, available for review here.
Now that the pandemic is winding down, this is an excellent time to ask ourselves the following questions:
What will keep our healthcare organization most relevant to you and others in the community that we serve?
How can we best continue to provide the accessible high-quality care for which we have developed an excellent reputation?
How can we maintain our high customer and employee satisfaction scores?
Looking toward the future, we are committed to the following:
- Continuing to recruit and hire high-quality medical providers in order to ensure your ease of access to healthcare;
- Maintaining our focus on health equity, assuring that everyone has the opportunity to attain their full health potential, and that no one is disadvantaged in achieving this potential because of their race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, ancestry, place of birth, age, or physical or mental condition;
- Designing and completing all of the regulatory processes required by the state of Vermont to build a new Grace Cottage Family Health clinic building over the next few years;
- Renovating the Emergency Department and hospital nurses’ station to increase efficiency and security this year.
Now we’re asking you to consider hitting the reset button. We’re all in the same first-time situation of learning how to exit a pandemic. You may have been ignoring your healthcare during the past two years, hesitant to visit your primary care provider, and perhaps putting off procedures such as a colonoscopy, mammogram, PAP smears, or other routine checkups. Please make an appointment now, for whatever you’ve missed during the past two years. We’re here for your primary care, and can refer you to specialists, if needed. Please take care of yourself – if you’ve been a couch potato while isolating, now is the time to exercise. If you’ve been eating junk food because it’s comforting, fresh fruits and vegetables are a great alternative. You’re the captain of your own ship, and if a course-correction is in order, there’s no better time than now!
In closing, I know that you join me in thinking about everyone who is impacted by the Ukraine-Russia War, holding them in our hearts.
Sincerely,
Doug DiVello, President & CEO
Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital
