SVHC Foundation Renames Community Service Award in Honor of Past Trustee

BENNINGTON, VT—April 29, 2019—Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) Foundation has renamed its annual Vision Award for Distinguished Community Service for Sean Casey, a member of the SVHC Board of Trustees, who passed away suddenly last month.

“Sean’s passing came as a tremendous shock to all of us and to the community,” said SVHC’s President and CEO Thomas A. Dee, FACHE. “We miss his intellect, his sense of humor, and his generosity of spirit. In fact, Sean is exactly the type of person that we acknowledge for distinguished community service.” 

Tommy Harmon, the chair of the Board of Trustees added, “When one of our board members recommended we change the name of the award to reflect Sean’s legacy, everyone agreed. We will all take pride in calling it the Sean L. Casey Distinguished Community Service Award.” 

The change of the name of the community service award coincides with the announcement of the 2019 Vision Awards Honorees. This year, SVHC names two Vision Award honorees, a physician and a group, for their efforts to advance the health system’s vision of healthier communities. SVHC’s 2019 Health Care Leadership Award honoree is Nancy Scattergood, MD. The SVHC Auxiliary is the recipient of SVHC’s 2019 Sean L. Casey Distinguished Community Service Award.

“The positive impact Dr. Scattergood and the Auxiliary have made on our health system and in our communities cannot be overstated,” said Thomas A. Dee, president and CEO of SVHC. “It is through their generous support and their dedicated service that we fulfill our mission of exceptional care and comfort and achieve our vision as a preeminent, rural health care system.”

Nancy Scattergood, MD, is the 2019 Health Care Leadership Honoree. Dr. Scattergood earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania. For her medical degree, she attended the College of Medicine and Dentistry at Rutgers in New Jersey and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. She completed an internship and her residency at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has been a member of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s medical staff since 1983. She was president of the medical staff in 1996. 

The SVHC Auxiliary was founded one year after the hospital itself. It celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2019. Through a century of volunteer fundraising efforts, the Auxiliary has contributed more than $1 million to the hospital and community health programs.

“It is a pleasure to acknowledge this year’s Vision Awards honorees for their extraordinary contributions,” said Tommy Harmon, chair of the SVHC Board of Trustees. “They have improved countless lives through their gifts of service and generosity.”

Both Scattergood and the Auxiliary will be honored at The Summer Gala, which will take place Saturday, June 8, 2019, at the 1768 Hubbell Homestead at Colgate Park in Bennington. All proceeds will benefit the health system. For tickets or more information, contact the foundation office at (802) 447-5017.

About:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) 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. 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. For more information, visit svhealthcare.org.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.