Kathryn Czaplinski
/ Categories: NEWS, 2024

Manchester resident takes on new leadership role with Southwestern Vermont Medical Center

BENNINGTON, VT—November 5, 2024—Manchester resident Kathy Fisher has joined the Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) Foundation Board of Directors, the governing body of volunteers who oversee all philanthropic efforts in support of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC). 

Fisher has been an active volunteer leader within SVMC, a member of Dartmouth Health, for nearly a decade. In September she finished her term as chair of the organization’s Board of Trustees, where she was instrumental in many crucial initiatives, including the integration of SVMC with Dartmouth Health in July 2023.

Her new role with the SVHC Foundation will specifically focus on philanthropy and fundraising activities that enhance SVMC’s patient care at the hospital and its practice sites.

“Kathy has a deep understanding of the importance of community philanthropy and will be an incredible asset to our board,” said Keith Michl, MD, Chair of the Foundation Board of Directors. “She has firsthand knowledge of the work that SVMC is doing to provide exceptional care and comfort to our community, so we couldn’t ask for a better representative and advocate for our fundraising initiatives.”

Fisher and her husband, Rocco Maggiotto, have long been supporters of the Foundation’s efforts, including, most notably, Vision 2020, A Decade of Transformation capital campaign.

“Living in a rural community and having access to the excellent and nationally-recognized care that SVMC provides is rare,” Fisher said. “That’s why it’s important for me to support the Foundation’s philanthropic work, so SVMC can continue to meet the needs of our communities and our future generations.”

In addition to local volunteer work, Fisher had a four-decade career in the financial services industry. In 2020, she retired from Alliance Bernstein as National Managing Director and Head of Wealth and Investment Strategies for Bernstein Private Wealth Management.

The SVHC Foundation Board of Directors consists of 10 members. Directors are nominated by members of the board. The SVHC Foundation’s mission is to engage in development and fundraising activities exclusively for the support of SVMC.

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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Six Questions with General Surgeon Gina Diaz, MD

Both outpatient surgical procedures and those requiring an overnight stay are once again being offered at SVMC. General Surgeon Gina Diaz, MD, answers six questions about resuming surgical procedures safely.

1. How does it feel to be able to, once again, offer all of the procedures you had in the past?

As a surgeon, I like to do surgeries. So, to be honest, it feels wonderful get back to the work I enjoy. From late March through the beginning of May, we were still performing emergency surgeries, so everyone who needed a surgery was able to receive one during that time. But it's good to be back to a mix of scheduled and emergency procedures.

 

2. What types of procedures you perform?

My mentor during training sub-specialized in colon and rectal surgeries, and he passed that expertise and interest on to me. But I decided not to sub-specialize, because I also enjoy doing gall bladders, ulcer surgery, hernias, and the removal of skin lesions, cysts, and melanomas. Dr. Charles Salem and I work as a team on breast cancer surgeries. As a group, we provide thyroid and parathyroid and endocrine surgeries. And I provide colonoscopies. I grew up playing video games, which have a lot in common with colonoscopies, I think.

 

3. What do you like most about your job?

Surgery allows you to fix a problem for a patient right then and there. You don't have to wait 6 months for the problem to get better. You can make a problem go away. It’s very rewarding in that way.

 

4. In general, what additional precautions have been put in place to ensure that care is safe?

As surgeons, our precautionary measures have always been among the most advanced. We have always washed and sanitized many, many times a day. We were accustomed to wearing masks and shields, long before COVID-19. We implemented all of the recommendations from our industry, state, and national health institutions and review them consistently.

The whole team takes and reports their temperature daily. If patients are at risk of COVID-19, we wear N95 masks and can convert the operating room into a negative-pressure room. All of these precautions ensure that we don’t transmit infections to patients and they don't transmit them to us. I feel really good about the precautions that we have put in place.

 

5. What would you like to share with people who postponed care because of COVID-19?

I would share that it is safe to come to the hospital, see your providers, and have surgeries done. Adequate precautions are in place, and they are not going anywhere. We, as a group, feel it's safe. We encourage patients who are apprehensive to ask a lot of questions. We want them to be as comfortable as we are about having their procedure done.

 

6. How do you feel about providing care during this time?

I feel comfortable and safe providing care at this time. The new precautions we have put in place really protect both patients and staff, and the quality of care we provide is as high as ever. 

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