SVMC Cardiac Rehab Service Recertified by National Program

BENNINGTON, VT—October 11, 2021—Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), a part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), is proud to announce the recertification of its cardiac rehabilitation program by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR). SVMC was first recognized in 2018 and continues its commitment to improving the quality of life by enhancing standards of care.

“Patients who participate in cardiac rehabilitation programs live longer and healthier lives,” said Scott Rogge, MD, medical director of SVMC’s Cardiac Rehab program. “This certification is an assurance that we are meeting the highest standard of care and giving our patients the greatest possible chance to experience those benefits.”

Cardiac rehabilitation programs are designed to help people with cardiovascular problems—including heart attacks, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, congestive heart failure, valve replacement, peripheral vascular disease, and coronary stent placement—recover faster and improve their quality of life. The program includes exercise, education, counseling, and support for patients and their families.

The SVMC’s cardiac rehabilitation program participated in an application process that requires extensive documentation of the program’s practices. AACVPR Program Certification is the only peer-review accreditation process designed to review individual programs for adherence to standards and guidelines developed and published by AACVPR and other professional societies. Each program is reviewed by the AACVPR Program Certification Committee and Certification is awarded by the AACVPR Board of Directors.

AACVPR-certified programs are recognized as leaders in the field of cardiac rehabilitation because they offer the most advanced practices available. AACVPR Program Certification is valid for three years.

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.

About AACVPR:

Founded in 1985, the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the mission of reducing morbidity, mortality and disability from cardiovascular and pulmonary disease through education, prevention, rehabilitation, research and disease management. Central to the core mission is improvement in quality of life for patients and their families.