SVMC Offers Tool for Sending Meals to Front-Line Staff

BENNINGTON, VT—April 14, 2020—Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), has deployed an online tool to facilitate community members sending meals to front-line staff during the COVID-19 crisis. Community members can visit https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/v1w8yz and volunteer to purchase a meal for as few as two staff members or as many as 25.

“This program grew out of a desire to make supporting our staff easier for the community and the need to support our local businesses, too,” said Leslie Keefe, vice president for Corporate Development.

The hospital partnered with the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce to identify restaurants to participate. Visitors to the Meal Train website volunteer to purchase a meal electronically and call the restaurant to order. Once claimed, the department is considered covered. Future visitors to the site are encouraged to volunteer for a different department. This keeps one department from receiving two lunches, for instance, while another department doesn’t receive any.

All restaurants will make no-contact deliveries to SVMC in Bennington, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation in Bennington, and the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Hoosick Falls, NY. A designated staff member will come outside to receive the delivery, so no restaurant personnel need enter the building.

“This is a really useful way to give our dedicated staff a much-needed boost during long, stressful hours of work,” Keefe said. “It’s a great way to show healthcare professionals that we appreciate them, while also supporting our local economy.”

Community members are encouraged to contribute to the COVID-19 Relief Fund at svhealthcare.org/give-now and, if possible, to donate personal protective equipment (PPE) by calling 802-447-5600 or e-mailing Catherine.Hagadorn@svhealthcare.org.

“Our medical team and essential staff are extremely grateful to the community for every contribution,” Keefe said. “We are using the extraordinary support we receive to provide exceptional care and save lives during this crisis.”

About SVHC:
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.

A COVID-19 information hotline is available for community members. The number, 802-440-8844, is answered 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on weekdays. A recorded message provides the most frequently requested information. Telephone numbers and other COVID-19 information, including frequently asked questions and helpful resources, are available at svhealthcare.org/covid-19.

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.