Stronger Together: Dartmouth Health Boosts the Power of Giving at SVMC (and beyond)
Courtney Carter
/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

Stronger Together: Dartmouth Health Boosts the Power of Giving at SVMC (and beyond)

Celebrated annually on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Giving Tuesday is a global movement that encourages people to support causes that have an impact in their communities. 

This year’s Giving Tuesday (December 3rd) is especially important to SVMC for two reasons:

     1. This year, the Dartmouth Health Board of Trustees will be matching donations across the system for all gifts up to $40,000 allowing donors to increase the impact of their gift for their member hospital.

     2. This increased giving power creates the perfect opportunity to help SVMC reach its goal of $2 million to advance the future of TeleHealth services at SVMC.

For supporters of SVMC, there is no better time to give. All donations received on or before December 3rd will be matched by Dartmouth Health Board of Trustees. Your generous giving will go further than ever to help us sustain and support our state-of-the-art TeleHealth program that gives patients access to critical care and time-sensitive specialty services when they need it most.

SVMC TeleHealth includes:

  • TeleICU: provides 24/7 access to critical care physicians and nurses to assist in medical decision making, ordering, and documentation for critical care patients in the ICU.

  • TeleEmergency: provides 24/7 access to critical care physicians and nurses to assist in medical decision making, ordering, and documentation for critical care patients in the emergency department.

  • TeleNeurology: provides 24/7 support from neurologists to assist in medical decision making for patients in the emergency department or hospital with acute neurologic disease.

  • TelePsychiatry: provides 24/7 support from psychiatrists to assist in medical decision making for patients in the emergency department with mental health crises, medication needs, and to determine decision-making capacity.

  • TeleGenetics: provides outpatient service line to limit the long drives patient's face to see a geneticist; increasingly necessary for patients receiving treatment for cancer.

  • TelePharmacy: provides off-hours support for inpatient medication monitoring and revisions.

 

Another critical reason to give now!

Currently, the TeleHealth Endowment campaign has raised nearly $1.5 million, just $500,000 short of its $2 million goal.

When SVMC achieves its $2 million dollar goal, an anonymous donor will give an additional $2 million, fully establishing the TeleHealth Endowment Fund at $4 million.

Make your donation go further by giving on or before December 3rd

Now is the perfect time to support the critical TeleHealth program at SVMC – you’ll maximize your gift with the Dartmouth GivingTuesday match and your gift will help sustain the future of TeleHealth at SVMC.

Click Here to give today and make a difference for many years to come.

 

DONATE NOW

 

Carly Brewster is the major gifts officer at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, a member of Dartmouth Health.

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How to Become a Mask Wearer

Long before COVID-19, online chat groups for people with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) were filled with posts about how uncomfortable it is to wear a mask in public: not physically uncomfortable, a fact that was barely mentioned, but psychologically uncomfortable. For people with this condition or the lung transplant used to cure it, catching a cold or the flu could be deadly. They need to wear masks in public to help protect themselves from getting ill.

The participants discussed how awkward it is riding the bus in a mask, going to the grocery store in a mask, or boarding a plane while wearing one. They were mostly self-conscious that others would think they were ill or weak. Many would rather suffer the risk of getting fatally sick than put a mask on in a department store.

Now, we've all been directed to wear masks in public. Both Bennington and Wilmington's Select Boards have passed local mandates requiring masks in public places. This—along with distancing and handwashing—are crucial parts of returning to a more normal way of life. Suddenly, we are all feeling the psychological discomfort PF patients have felt for many years.

People usually have an interest in blending in. And, just like doing anything out of the ordinary, wearing a mask for the first time definitely feels like putting yourself out there. If we want to return to a somewhat normal way of life, masks are crucially important, along with frequent, thorough handwashing and keeping a distance from others.

Here are a few tips for making the leap from being someone nervous about wearing a mask to being a person who wears one regularly.

Do it for others. We know that people can spread COVID-19 as many as a few days before they get sick. Even if you feel fine, you could have COVID-19 right now without knowing it. At the same time, masks are far better at keeping sick people from spreading germs than they are at keeping people from getting sick. So wearing a mask isn't a sign of weakness; it's a sign of altruism. It's like saying, "I am not certain that I am not sick, so I want to pay those around me the consideration of limiting the likelihood I will infect them." Think of it as a badge of kindness.

Get a mask that fits. We know that masks are not completely comfortable physically. Getting the right fit makes a big difference in their "wearability." Cloth masks are readily available online and from local groups. The Green Mountain Mask Makers have excellent information and resources. If you can, purchase a few types in a few sizes to see which you like best. Buy enough of that type to allow washing between trips out in public.

Get a mask that you like. Once you have found a mask source and as long as you have a choice, pick one that you like. You can choose colors that match your wardrobe or that represent your interests, like camouflage. There are even masks that look like fashionable scarves when they hang around your neck. The sooner we start thinking of masks as part of our outfits, as essential and unremarkable as shoes or a belt, the healthier we will all be.

Try to quit caring about what others think. This one is hard. But one wise PF patient wrote, "I just don't give a darn!" Essentially, he shared that if people want to judge him for wearing a mask, so be it. Their opinions don't have a single thing to do with him. Many in the chat group applauded his confidence and vowed to adopt his attitude.

If we all do our best, soon the cultural scale will tip. Wearing a mask or not wearing one will cease to be a political statement. It will be normal. And thankfully, if wearing a mask in public, handwashing and sanitizing, and keeping our distance are all normal, going out into public again can be safe and normal too.

Donna Barron, RN, is the infection preventionist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

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