Kathryn Czaplinski
/ Categories: NEWS, 2024

SVMC to offer expanded vascular services, starting in February

Bennington, VT—January 29, 2025— The Heart and Vascular Center at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) is expanding services to Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s (SVMC) Cardiology department in Bennington. This expansion will allow patients to stay closer to home for consultations, relevant testing, and follow-up care.

Starting Wednesday, February 12, SVMC, a Dartmouth Health member, will provide vascular services two days per month, with plans to expand in the future. DHMC vascular surgeons Matthew J. Alef, MD, and Philip P. Goodney, MD, will see patients in the SVMC Cardiology office twice a month, and perform procedures on the second Wednesday of each month.

“Our collaboration with the Heart and Vascular Center will be incredibly beneficial to patients,” said Scott W. Rogge, MD, SVMC Cardiology medical director. “This is an exciting and necessary expansion of services, to keep patients closer to home, which is not only more convenient but also leads to better outcomes.”

Under the new program, Alef and Goodney will perform procedures like vein ligation, phlebectomy, and ablation at SVMC, with more complex procedures managed at DHMC.  

“We are very excited to see patients in Bennington at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center” said Goodney, section chief of vascular surgery at Dartmouth Health. “Patients with vascular disease often have difficulty traveling, and expanding the services we can provide locally will be an important next step. We look forward to providing vein care in Bennington, and also seeing patients for dialysis access, treatment for leg artery blockages, carotid artery blockages, and abdominal aortic aneurysms. We are pleased to continue to build our outreach pathways to include on-site services in Bennington.”

Trey Dobson, MD, SVMC’s chief medical officer and vice president of clinical services, said the vascular collaboration is a benefit of being part of the Dartmouth Health system.

“Bringing the expertise of these accomplished vascular surgeons to SVMC helps us meet an important need in our community hospital,” said Dobson. “Our skilled team at SVMC Cardiology will work closely with the DHMC team to provide the highest quality of care, and we hope to grow this program in the future.”

Physician referrals for vascular services are now being accepted by calling SVMC Cardiology at 802-442-0800. Find more information about SVMC Cardiology by clicking here

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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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