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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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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