The SVHC Foundation Welcomes Tommy Harmon to its Leadership

BENNINGTON, VT—October 26, 2021—Tommy Harmon of Manchester, VT, has joined the Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) Foundation Board of Directors. He is the immediate past chair of the SVHC Board of Trustees.

“Tommy’s service to SVHC over the past several years has been exemplary,” said Bob Van Degna, the chair of the SVHC Foundation Board of Directors. “We are pleased that organization will continue to benefit from his dedication and expertise through his new role on the Foundation Board.”

Harmon served on the SVHC Board of Trustees for 13 years, including 5 years as chair. He retired as president and CEO of Sonnax Industries in Bellows Falls, a firm that provides components for rebuilding automatic transmissions to the worldwide market. He acquired the company in 2005 and sold it to its employees in 2011. With more than 40 years’ experience in the financial management of manufacturing firms and their operations, Harmon served as chief financial officer and controller for international manufacturers, including CFO for North America AGIE AG, a Swiss-based machine tool manufacturer. He is an active volunteer in the community and has served on the Vermont Business Roundtable Board of Trustees, the Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center Advisory Board, and the Manchester Vermont School Board. Harmon holds a bachelor’s degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“As the chair of the SVHC Board of Trustees, I have seen the difference the SVHC Foundation has made for the health system’s innovative and important projects,” Harmon said. “I am eager to contribute to the continued success of this remarkable organization and all they do for the health of our communities.”

The SVHC Foundation Board of Directors consists of 20 members. Directors are nominated by members of the board. The SVHC Foundation’s mission is to engage in development and fundraising activities exclusively for the support of the Southwestern Vermont Health Care Corporation.

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.