Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital has earned a 5-star rating in the 4th Quarter of 2025 by the National Rural Rating System (NRRS), a program through the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) that recognizes excellence in rural healthcare.

We moved up from our 4-star rating in 2024 and early 2025, a testament to our dedicated staff’s efforts to improve our patients’ experience. We are the only hospital in New England to receive this distinction.

The National Rural Honor Roll was created to honor rural hospitals and clinics that consistently deliver exceptional patient-centered care. Rural hospitals on the National Rural Honor Roll have met the highest standards for patient experience, as measured by cumulative ratings from patient surveys. This recognition highlights Grace Cottage’s continued commitment to providing outstanding medical service.

Thanks to a Nonprofit Security Grant from the Vermont Department of Homeland Security (VDHS), work has begun to implement essential upgrades that will make our hospital as safe as possible for our patients and staff. Improvements to our doors and windows, expanding our security camera coverage, and upgrading our alert system are underway.
The VDHS grant will cover much of the cost of necessary security upgrades, but not all. We also need your help to accomplish several other security upgrades, including:

• Additional security cameras in key areas
• Shatterproof, impact-resistant glass and doors
• Stronger lockdown mechanisms for rapid response

We hope you will consider participating in our 2025 Giving Tuesday Campaign, which is focused on this vital project.

Giving Tuesday falls on December 2 this year (the Tuesday after Thanksgiving), and we’re asking for your help to make Grace Cottage’s Emergency Department safer for everyone—our patients, visitors, and the nurses and providers ready to care for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We are proud of our reputation at Grace Cottage for compassionate, personal care. These improvements will not change the warm and welcoming atmosphere you expect at Grace Cottage—but they will ensure greater protection for those who depend on us in their most vulnerable moments, and for the staff who dedicate their lives to helping our community.

Our Giving Tuesday goal is $25,000, which will bridge the gap between what the VDHS grant (see above) covers and our costs. Any donations we receive beyond the project costs will go directly into the Emergency Department’s other expenses. Together, we can create an ER that is both caring and secure.

Donations may be made on our website here, or checks payable to Grace Cottage with “Giving Tuesday” on the memo line may be sent to PO Box 1, Townshend, VT 05353. For more information, call 802-365-9109. Thanks to everyone who has already contributed!

Fiscal year 2024 was a tough one for Grace Cottage, but our hard work in FY2025 has produced significant improvements. While we will still end FY2025 in the red, we have shown considerable improvement in expense reduction and in the efficiency of the care we provide, without compromising quality. We’re proud to tell you that the Green Mountain Care Board, which oversees hospital budgets in Vermont, accepted our FY2026 budget as written and waived a budget hearing. We are proud of our work and will continue to be responsible stewards of healthcare dollars in Vermont.

We are also actively participating in the Agency of Health Services transformation and regionalization work. The goal of this work is to maximize teamwork, efficiency, and collaboration between hospitals in southeastern Vermont, a goal which we enthusiastically support! We are acutely aware of the healthcare affordability crisis in Vermont, and we will do everything in our power to continue providing essential care in the most affordable way possible.

The season of giving is well underway, and we truly appreciate your generous support! Grace Cottage counts on community generosity, which has seen us through all 75 years of our existence.

Most donations we receive are by check or an online credit card gift, but Grace Cottage can also accept gifts of appreciated stock and gifts from donor-advised funds, both of which may help with your taxes. If you would like more information, call Charma in the Foundation at 802-365-9109.