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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Resuming Regular Care

So many important medical appointments were booked for March and April and canceled during the height of the pandemic. Now we are beginning to refocus on the fact that skipping appointments, even if you are feeling well now, could become harmful.

One important group of patients that we are eager to see are those with serious chronic conditions. These diseases require patients to see their primary care provider or a specialist at least once a year and sometimes far more frequently than that. Those with heart failure, kidney disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, for instance, all require regular contact with your provider.

Another group of patients we'd like to see are those with new medical concerns. We know that new medical concerns don't stop during a pandemic. Some conditions, like depression and anxiety, are far more prevalent during a pandemic than before. In many cases, new conditions are easiest to treat when patients first notice symptoms, and delaying care for these conditions can be dangerous.

Even regular care for those who are healthy is as important as ever. Other diseases—cancer in particular—haven't gone away. So, if you would normally be getting a screening such as a colonoscopy or mammogram, it's time to schedule an appointment. Many cancers can be detected and treated early with better outcomes. We can only expect those good results, if people are screened.

For children, regular vaccines are very important. If a big portion of the population neglects to get important childhood vaccines on schedule, we may be susceptible to outbreaks of measles or whooping cough.

There are many steps we have taken to improve safety for those seeking medical care. The first one is the availability of telemedicine. If the condition you are seeking treatment for does not require diagnostics or a physical exam, your provider can meet you virtually using any Internet-enabled device or over the phone. See details here.

If you do need to come to the office, you will notice check-ins at entrances, where staff check patients and visitors for respiratory symptoms and ensure that all are masked. You'll also notice efforts to space the waiting rooms to improve social distancing.

So how do you get the care you need?

  • If you have a primary care provider, call in to see what you may have missed during the pandemic. Did you miss an appointment to manage a chronic condition? Also share any new health concerns you have and check that you and your family members are up to date on all of your screenings and vaccinations.
  • If you don’t have a regular doctor, it makes sense to get one now. Locally, call the find-a-provider line at 802-447-5007 for a directory of practices that are accepting new patients.
  • Those with time-sensitive medical needs can use ExpressCare, a walk-in clinic, on the hospital campus in Bennington. Be sure to call ahead to 802-440-4077 if you have respiratory symptoms.
  • For Emergency Care, always come directly to the SVMC Emergency Department.

Most off all, we want our patients to know that we are here for them. There is no longer a need to delay medical care, whether for known conditions, new concerns, or preventive care. In every step we take, we are protecting patients against COVID-19 and helping patients with all of their other medical needs, too.

Bob Schwartz, MD, is associate medical director of Dartmouth- Hitchcock Putnam Physicians at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington and a family medicine physician at SVMC Northshire Campus in Manchester.

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