Flashback: Our Top 10 Feel-Good Stories of 2021
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Flashback: Our Top 10 Feel-Good Stories of 2021

What a year we have had. While it has been admittedly difficult at times, we have so much to celebrate. Here are our top 10 feel-good stories of the past year.

10. Asking for Patient Views
More than ever, we have been reaching out to patients for their feedback. We asked about what would make
colon cancer screening easier, what you would want to do with the Southern Vermont College property, and what health needs you see in the community. We also set up a new Patient and Family Advisory Council, which continues to seek members. 

9. Offering Health Learning Opportunities
We didn’t let the pandemic and precautions about meeting in person keep us from expanding educational opportunities for patients. We moved our new-parent classes online and
added a few. We also offered a cancer survivors’ cooking party, a women’s health series, a colon cancer awareness talk, and classes about joint replacements and hand pain. 

8. Widening Availability of Vaccines
All year we watched how vaccines became more and more available. While initially available only to healthcare workers and the oldest adults, vaccine availability soon widened to younger adults. The more people got vaccinated the clearer the safety and efficacy of the vaccines became. Now, everyone over the age of 5 can be protected, and that is a tremendous relief. 

7. Faster Test Results
We are so proud of the steps we took early in the pandemic to get advanced testing equipment on site in the SVMC lab. That makes turn-around times for our tests faster than those in many other parts of the state and the country. Our information systems team also developed
groundbreaking results-delivery applications, so patients could get their results quickly, easily, and securely.

6. Our Heroic Staff
Our staff is always inspiring. The way they have cared for COVID patients and others, with unwavering dedication and incredible skill, over this past year is truly incredible. This year, we are also celebrating the stories of two amazing staff members for the difference they were able to make while off duty.
Patricia Johnson helped more BIPOC Vermonters get vaccinated, while Patrick Deedy participated in a life-saving wilderness rescue.

5. Advances at SVMC Orthopedics
In the fall of 2020, SVMC Orthopedics launched
the region’s only same-day total joint replacement surgery program for hips and knees. In 2021, dozens of patients used the program to begin their recovery immediately and at home. And in 2021, the practice's hand specialist, David R. Veltre, MD, M.Eng., began offering some hand procedures quickly and conveniently at the SVMC Orthopedics practice in Bennington, rather than in the hospital's operating room. Advanced care is easier than ever. 

4. The Former Southern Vermont College Campus and The Grateful Bennington Fund
We were absolutely astounded with
the response we received when community members led an effort to offset the expenses of SVHC’s purchase of the former Southern Vermont College campus. The campus has gone on to be integral in the health system’s COVID-19 response.

3. Medical Matters Weekly
In February 2021, we launched an ambitious project to present a
weekly video podcast. Throughout the last year, we have met so many interesting professionals and uncovered important insights about physical health, mental health, social needs, and racial inequality in healthcare among others. We look forward to season two, which starts January 5.

2. National Recognitions
We are honored that two important national organizations reviewed our hard work over the past several years and honored us with prestigious designations. We were designated as a Magnet Center for Nursing Excellence
for the 5th time in a row. Only 28 organizations worldwide can make that claim. We also received the year’s only Rural Healthcare Leadership Award given by the American Hospital Association.

1. Emergency Department Expansion and Renovation
From the fun and festive Groundbreaking Celebrations to the solemn but exciting Lodge Demolition, we had a great time looking toward the future of providing
cutting-edge emergency care in a new space.

Stay tuned for more good news on these projects and others in 2022! Happy New Year!

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A Note from SVMC Dentistry

Unlike many other types of health care, most dental procedures require that a patient be present in the office with their mouth uncovered and wide open. In addition, many dental procedures, produce a lot of spray or aerosolized particles that could spread infection. For these reasons, reopening dental offices while COVID-19 circulates requires many strict precautions to ensure safety for patients and staff.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Vermont Department of Health have issued the requirements necessary to reopen our office for patient care. For the next few months, the changes lessen by half the number of patients we are able to see per day and dramatically change the care experience.

Here are some of the changes we've made:

  • We are screening and testing our staff, and all staff are wearing more protective equipment than ever, including treatment gowns and gloves, head coverings, facemasks (such as surgical masks, N95 masks, or respirators), and face-shields, as required during treatment procedures.
  • Patients can use the "virtual" waiting room to lessen the number of people in our waiting room and observe social distancing. We ask that only one person accompany a patient to a dental appointment and only if the patient needs assistance.
  • We screen patients at the Medical Office Building entrance to ensure they have no symptoms and that they are wearing a facemask. Patients must wear their facemask at all times, except during the actual treatment.
  • Some preventive care and treatments carry a higher risk for producing airborne oral droplets. These procedures may be modified to ensure that care is safe.
  • Most dramatically, depending on the dental treatment, a room must remain idle for 15 minutes - 1 hour to allow droplets to settle before disinfection. This limits the number of patients that we can treat each day.

While it is very disappointing to us—after all, we became dentists and hygienists because we like to provide dental care—all existing appointments will be suspended and a new schedule will be created, based on the time it takes for a room to be disinfected. We understand that this is frustrating for patients who must wait longer than usual for an appointment, but it is also necessary to make care safe for all.

Major changes to the ventilation systems—the installation of HEPA filtration and negative-pressure in our treatment rooms—will eliminate airborne droplets more quickly and enable us to see more patients per day. This change is expected to be complete later this summer.

In the meantime, we appreciate your patience as we meet your needs as best we can. We encourage you to continue vigilant home care and reach out to us with your questions. Most of all, we look forward to returning to a more normal time when we can deliver all of the dental care our community needs safely and efficiently.

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