Director of Turning Point Center to Appear on Medical Matters Weekly
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Director of Turning Point Center to Appear on Medical Matters Weekly

BENNINGTON—April 23, 2021—Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s (SVHC) Medical Matters Weekly with Dr. Trey Dobson, a weekly interactive, multiplatform medical-themed talk show, will feature Tom Haley, director of Bennington’s Turning Point Center, as a guest on its April 28 show. The two will discuss local substance abuse recovery efforts. 
 
The show is produced with cooperation from Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV) and airs at 12 p.m. on Wednesdays. Viewers can see Medical Matters Weekly on Facebook at facebook.com/svmedicalcenter and facebook.com/CATTVBennington. 
 
Haley is a Bennington native. He first worked with Turning Point as a volunteer and as a member of the Board of Directors, including as Board President. He is a certified recovery coach and part of the Peer Recovery Emergency Department Program.
 
After the program, the video will be available on area public access television stations. On CAT-TV, viewers will find the show on channel 1075 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 1:30 p.m. Monday, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 a.m. Friday, and 7 p.m. Saturday. GNAT-TV's Comcast channel 1074 airs the program at 8 a.m. Monday, 9 p.m. Wednesday, and 1 p.m. Saturday. Videos and podcasts are on svhealthcare.org/MedicalMatters, as well as YouTube and on many podcast-hosting platforms, respectively.
 
To contribute questions in advance of each week’s show, please e-mail 
wellness@svhealthcare.org or post to Facebook with #SVHCMedicalMattersWeekly.
 
About SVHC Medical Matters Weekly:
Medical Matters Weekly is an interactive, multiplatform guest-driven talk show hosted by Dr. Trey Dobson. It provides a behind-the-scenes perspective on health care, including topics like behavioral health, food insecurity, equitable care, and the opioid crisis. The show is produced in partnership with Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV) and is broadcast on CAT-TV, Greater Northshire Access Television, Facebook Live, YouTube, and podcast platforms. 
 
About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, healthcare 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. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.
 
SVMC has earned several prominent distinctions. Most recently, SVMC received the American Hospital Association’s Rural Healthcare Leadership Award for transformational change in efforts toward healthcare reform and its fifth consecutive designation within the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®. It ranked fourth in the nation for healthcare value by the Lown Institute Hospitals Index in 2020 and is one of Vermont’s Best Places to Work. SVMC earned an ‘A’ for hospital safety from the Leapfrog Group for two years in a row. During the pandemic, SVMC and both its skilled nursing facilities, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation in Bennington, and the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation at Hoosick Falls, earned perfect scores on a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services evaluation meant to determine the ability to prevent transmission of COVID-19 and other infections.
 
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center 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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Moving Forward Safely

One of the most frustrating and anxiety-producing traits of our COVID –19 pandemic is how much uncertainty is involved in all aspects of this disease. Symptoms caused by the Coronavirus, age groups affected, the usefulness of medications, anticipated death rate, and the timeline for development of a vaccine are examples of information that sometimes change on a weekly basis.

Vermonters have done a great job of limiting the spread of the virus and protecting our most vulnerable neighbors by following the Governor's "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order over the past few months. 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. Thanks to these efforts—along with distancing, handwashing, and other factors—Vermont is among the states with the fewest number of infections. Continuing each of these important infection-prevention strategies is crucial to returning to a more normal way of life.

As we open up and begin to re-connect, we fully expect to see a rise in COVID –19 cases in Vermont. Thankfully, we have had time to prepare for this increase. We also have adequate PPE, and increased testing will help us gather crucial information for stemming the spread with less disruption to our normal lives.

More than ever, I find it helpful to focus on what we have learned and how it can help us move forward safely. Here is some of what we have learned so far: Most large hospitals, often treating over 1000 COVID patients daily, effectively protected their workers by obsessively following the rules of screening, hygiene, distancing, and masking. Each of these components is designed to work together; Each alone has its inherent limits.

  • Absent quick testing at the workplace, the best screening is asking employees if they have COVID-like symptoms (fever, chills, new cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss of taste or smell) and to stay home if they do.
  • Washing our hands (or using sanitizer) after touching well-handled items or visiting populated areas. Washing your hands 10 times daily is not too often.
  • Though an uncovered sneeze or cough can travel farther, 6 feet distancing continues to be the sweet spot for safety.
  • Masks (double layer cotton and surgical) are effective to prevent spreading of large and some small droplets containing virus. They also seem to give some minimal protection to those wearing a mask. Since possibly 40 percent of transmission happens when we do not have symptoms, we wear our masks to protect others and to suppress overall infection rate. They also help many people (not all) to avoid touching their face. The downside is a warm chin; the upside is you may be protecting someone from a significant illness. Masks are not a symbol of government intrusion. Masks are simply a tool to protect others and show empathy.

It is difficult to predict how many COVID-19 infections will occur in our communities in the coming months. What I am certain of is that our choices, on where we go and what we do, often affect the safety of those around us. As we learn to live with this virus in our community, following the recommendation above will help us all.

Marie George, MD, is SVMC’s infectious disease specialist.

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