Grace Hallenbeck, DNP, FNP, Joins SVMC Pownal Campus and SVMC Cardiology
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/ Categories: NEWS, 2022

Grace Hallenbeck, DNP, FNP, Joins SVMC Pownal Campus and SVMC Cardiology

BENNINGTON, VT—November 23, 2022— Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), is pleased to welcome Grace Hallenbeck, DNP, FNP, a family nurse practitioner, to the SVMC Pownal Campus, SVMC Cardiology, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians. Hallenbeck will divide time between the Cardiology practice and the Pownal practice.

Hallenbeck completed her undergraduate studies at the University of New Hampshire and her graduate studies at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Maryland. She has worked as a nurse in the SVMC Emergency Department since 2019 and previously in the Pediatric Emergency Department and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Other clinical experiences include nursing in the Pediatric Emergency Department and in the Transplant Surgical Care Unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee.

SVMC Pownal Campus offers comprehensive medical care for the whole family. Its services include care for children and adults, obstetrics, health promotion and wellness programs, and on-site blood draw and x-ray services. The office is located at 7237 Route 7 in Pownal. The practice is not accepting new patients at this time.

SVMC Cardiology’s patient-centered approach to care helps patients maximize their quality of life. Services provided by the practice and its physicians include cardiac consultation and education; tests including echocardiogram, transesophageal echocardiogram, stress testing, carotid ultrasound, and calcium scoring; Holter and event monitoring; and cardiac rehabilitation. The office is located in suite 211 of the Medical Office Building at 140 Hospital Drive in Bennington.

About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, healthcare system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care is among the most lauded small rural health systems in the nation. It is the recipient of the American Hospital Association’s 2020 Rural Hospital Leadership Award. In addition, SVMC ranked fourth nationwide for the value of care it provides by the Lown Institute Hospital Index in 2020 and is a five-time recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. The health system is fortunate to have the support of platinum-level corporate sponsor Mack, a leading supplier of contract manufacturing services and injection molded plastic parts based in Arlington, VT.

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559. 

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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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