Kathryn Czaplinski
/ Categories: NEWS, 2024

SVMC marks completion of major construction and renovation projects

BENNINGTON, VT—August 29, 2024—On Thursday, August 29, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), a member of Dartmouth Health, celebrated the completion of a three-year renovation and construction project that modernized its emergency department, front entrance and other public areas in the hospital.

Part of Vision 2020, A Decade of Transformation capital campaign, the $31 million project was primarily funded through philanthropic giving. The project included expanding and renovating the emergency department to create the new Kendall Emergency Department (ED), construction of a new front entrance, including the Richard and Pamela Ader Foundation Lobby, the Jackie and Tony Marro Café and the Stout Thomson Waiting Area and Outpatient Registration,  The renovated and new spaces were named in honor of major supporters of the campaign, many of whom attended the official SVMC Ribbon Cutting ceremony on Thursday, along with ED staff, local leaders and dignitaries.

“This transformation of our Emergency Department, key patient areas and front lobby will have a profound impact on this community and the care we provide for many years to come,” said SVMC CEO and President Thomas A. Dee, FACHE.

Dee thanked and recognized all of the major donors and friends who supported the Vision 2020 Campaign thus far and SVMC’s volunteer leaders, including Kathy Fisher, Chair of the Board of Trustees. He also thanked the ED physicians, providers, nurses and clinical staff, in addition to the engineering and vendor teams that brought the plan renderings into reality.

“This project was a massive team effort, made possible by many talented and resourceful people,” Dee said.

Dartmouth Health’s CEO and President Joanne M Conroy, MD also marked this special celebration on Thursday, noting the partnership that began with SVMC in 2012, before the integration last July.

“The transformation of the SVMC ED and other key spaces on the campus will enhance the care experience for patients and continue the legacy of SVMC and Dartmouth Health responding to the needs our communities,” Conroy said. “And, this is just the start. It will be exciting to see what the future brings.”

 The Kendall ED was completed recently and includes a number of modernizations to enhance care and the patient and family experience, including private rooms with hands-free wave action access doors to reduce infection control risks and negative pressure capability to help keep patients and staff safe during airborne infection outbreaks. SVMC’s ED serves about 25,000 patients a year. The ED also includes a new Emergency Crisis Area (ECA) for patients in psychiatric crisis. This is a 5-room area, fitted with de-escalation tools.

U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) congratulated SVMC on the completed projects, which he said will enhance healthcare delivery in the state.  He highlighted the commitment to community shown by donors, staff, community members and volunteer leaders at SVMC.

“All of you have made the impossible achievable with this extraordinary improvement of the emergency department facilities,” Sen. Welch said.

SVMC’s new Stout Thomson Waiting Area and Outpatient Registration opens to the public on Thursday, Sept. 5.

The Vision 2020 campaign is an ongoing effort that will include construction of a new cancer center on the campus. Following regulatory approvals, SVMC plans to start construction of that new facility next spring.

Photo Caption: Southwestern Vermont Medical Center celebrated the completion of its emergency department and front entrance renovation and construction project with donors, staff and state leaders on Thursday. Pictured from left to right are: Dartmouth Health CEO and President Joanne Conroy, MD, U.S. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), SVMC President and CEO Thomas A. Dee, Don and Nancy Kendall, SVMC Board of Trustees Chair Kathy Fisher, Jackie and Tony Marro, Susan Hunter, Consie West and Cindy Thomson.

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About SVMC:

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), a member of Dartmouth Health, is a comprehensive, preeminent, health care 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. SVMC includes the Dartmouth Cancer Center at SVMC, the SVHC Foundation, as well as 25 primary and specialty care practices. Southwestern Vermont Medical Center 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 is a five-time recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. SVMC 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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How to Maintain a Healthy Immune System

There are so many things that we have little control over. We can't control what genes we get, how old we are, or what viruses are circulating in our environment, but there is a lot we can do to prevent illness. Remarkably, many of the same habits that protect you from diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease also help your immune system fight infections.

Most viruses can't hurt you until they get inside your body. So, we can help our immune system if we avoid viruses and cut off the ways they travel. Viruses can spread through the air, but not usually for very far. Keep your distance—at least 6 feet—from others, and be a good neighbor by wearing a mask in all public areas.

Viruses that cause the most common illnesses—respiratory infections, including the common cold, flu, and the new COVID-19—travel into the body through your mouth, nose, and eyes and make their way to the areas they infect, like the lungs. The best way to break this chain is to clean your hands frequently, and don't touch your face with hands that have touched anything else. In addition, you can reduce the number of viruses in your environment by cleaning frequently touched objects with a bleach- or alcohol-based cleaner.

Vaccinations are your next line of defense. Immunizations, like the flu shot, introduce a small and harmless part of a virus or bacteria. The vaccine gives your immune system an opportunity to make antibodies against the virus. A vaccinated immune system responds more quickly and effectively when illnesses are introduced. What's more, when we all get vaccinated, we decrease the likelihood that anyone will get sick. If you are unsure about whether you or your children are up to date on their vaccinations, call your primary care provider’s office.

Your third line of defense is living a healthy lifestyle. It is clear that the same things that help the rest of our bodies function also improve the strength of our immune response. Likewise, things that hinder our bodies' ability to function compromise the immune system.

Regular exercise might be the most powerful way to maintain a healthy immune system. By increasing heart rate and blood flow, we allow the cells and substances of the immune system to move through the body freely and do their job efficiently. Similarly, things that slow the movement of cells and substances, like smoking or drinking alcohol in excess, may decrease the body’s ability to function and decreases the immune response, as well.

Getting adequate sleep may also positively affect the immune response. Chronic sleep deprivation has been shown to decrease the beneficial boost in immunity from vaccinations.

Our emotional state, too—whether we are stressed, lonely, or depressed, for instance—affects our immune response so much that a relatively new specialty called psychoneuroimmunology now studies the connection. One pioneering study, conducted in the early 1980s, found that college students operating within a stressful 3-day exam period had fewer of the cells that fight tumors and viral infections. In simple terms, the students almost stopped producing immunity boosters and infection fighters.

Finally, physicians have concluded that eating a mostly plant-based diet—including fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, and lean protein—supports overall health and may also support immunity. Nutritious foods include important vitamins that the immune system needs to function, such as beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc. Note, however, that supplements that claim to improve immune function have not yet been shown to do so to the extent necessary to protect against infection and disease. It is better to eat whole foods that are rich in vitamins rather than take supplements.

Always consult with your provider before making changes to your exercise plan or trying a new supplement and if you have any medical concerns. Physicians and the other professionals working in their offices also provide help for developing a plan for a healthier life. Call your primary care office or 802-447-5007 to find a primary care provider.

Healthy habits, like those that protect your body from disease and infection, are not always easy to adopt or maintain. Perhaps knowing just how important they are to maintaining a healthy immune response will provide the extra motivation necessary to make them a priority.

Kim Fodor, MD, is an internal medicine physician at SVMC Internal Medicine.

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