News

Weekly Men’s Coffee Club Starts January 8th

Men of all ages are invited to Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital for coffee and a series of casual lectures on Tuesday mornings, Jan. 8 to March 26. Each week’s gathering will have a health-related theme, with presentations, short videos, and time for discussion and friendly banter. Coffee provided. The program is free. Participants […]

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Have a Healthy Holiday Table

By Elizabeth Harrison and Cheryl Shaw, Health Coaches, Grace Cottage Community Health Team

Healthy, holiday, and delicious – can these words go together? Most definitely!

Enjoying a holiday meal doesn’t have to wreck your diet – if you start with wholesome ingredients and cook them in a health-conscious way. We are the Health Coaches at Grace Cottage Family Health in Townshend, and we love to take classic holiday recipes and give them a healthy spin. Here are a few of our holiday favorites. These side dishes and desserts can be served with your favorite entrée for a delicious, nutritious, and pretty meal.

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Giving Tuesday Campaign Goal Met. New ER Equipment on Order.

Great News! Thanks to the generosity of a very supportive community, we have reached our goal of $76,000 to purchase a new Cardiac Monitoring System. 89 Grace Cottage supporters from 13 different states contributed to the Giving Tuesday appeal, for a total raised of $24,467!  When added to donations from 11 other supporters that had […]

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Free Blood Pressure Clinic at Grace Cottage on Thurs., Dec 13th

On Thursday, December 13th, Grace Cottage Family Health will host a free blood pressure clinic, run by Community Health Team member Bill Monahan, RN. Those over 50 who have been told they have high blood pressure, or who do not know their blood pressure are encouraged to attend. Participants will learn about hypertension, the ‘silent […]

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When it Comes to Hospice Care, It’s All About How You Live

By Dr. Anne Brewer, Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital        

I have been privileged to work with hospice and palliative care teams for the past 25 years. Despite growing public awareness, there are still many questions about exactly what hospice is, and how it differs from palliative care.

Patients and families will ask: Why choose hospice? When is it appropriate? How is it different from palliative care? When is palliative care an option? And, where can someone receive hospice or palliative care for themselves or a loved one? Does choosing hospice mean giving up?

Palliative care may be used for anyone with a severe chronic disease, regardless of their prognosis.

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‘Giving Tuesday’ to Raise Funds for New Cardiac Monitoring System

After Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes Giving Tuesday, a worldwide day of philanthropy during the season of gratitude. Grace Cottage Hospital asks its friends and neighbors to participate in its Giving Tuesday campaign on November 27th and help fund a new cardiac monitoring system for its hospital patients. The price of the desired multi-unit […]

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Community Health Teams and Their Maturing Impact on Chronic Illness

By Bill Monahan, RN, Grace Cottage Outreach Coordinator

Blueprint for Health? Community Health Team (CHT)?

What are these, and how can they help you for free?

The Vermont Blueprint for Health was conceived in 2003 during Governor Douglas’s administration and implemented in 2010. The goal of Blueprint is better coordination of patient care for individuals, better health for the whole community, and reduced health care costs.

This nationally recognized, multi-faceted program includes a system of Community Health Teams (CHTs). There are fourteen CHTs in the state of Vermont, all subsidized by private insurers, Medicare, and grants, so that their services are offered to the community free of charge. Each team adapts its services to the needs of its particular service area.

When a primary care provider identifies that a patients needs additional support, beyond what can be provided during an office visit, that provider can refer the patient to the CHT, thus connecting patients to additional resources.

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Hospital Staff Enjoys National Recognition for Patient Satisfaction

In early October, Grace Cottage Hospital Nurse Manager Rebecca Lapointe returned from the National Rural Health Association’s annual Critical Access Hospital conference in Kansas City carrying a prestigious award. For the second year in a row, Grace Cottage Hospital achieved national recognition as a “Top 20 Critical Access Hospital (CAH) for Best Practice – Patient […]

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Dr. Ron Vallario Joins Grace Cottage Family Health

Dr. Ronald Vallario is now seeing patients at Grace Cottage Family Health three days a week. A native of New Jersey, Dr. Vallario is a graduate of Rutgers University (B.A. in Psychology), University of South Carolina (Masters of Social Work), and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; he completed his family medicine residency at North Carolina […]

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