Progress report
Increasing capacity to reduce patient backlog
Here are some highlights of the progress we’ve made to improve how, where and when we provide care. This list will be updated as further initiatives are implemented.
Through additional equipment and scheduling adjustments, we’ve significantly improved access to radiology scans, serving nearly 2,000 patients from across the region since the effort began.
MRI wait times have declined to three weeks from a high of eight weeks, due in part to the new MRI at one of our service locations.
Adding weekend appointments for PET and CT scans has helped drop wait times from eight weeks to two weeks.
Wait times for ultrasounds have dropped from a month to about one week.
We are working with state agencies in Vermont and New York, while partnering with community-based organizations, to improve access to mental health. We are working to:
UVM Health Network operating rooms serve more than 20,000 patients per year across Vermont and northern New York.
In the past 12 months, our hospitals increased access to much-needed surgical procedures through new efficiencies and by dynamically adjusting our operating room schedules—and in some cases, expanding their hours—to accommodate services with the most significant patient backlogs.
We have also accelerated access to our Network’s second daVinci surgical robot, which has helped to reduce wait times for robot-supported surgery in general surgery, gynecology, otolaryngology, thoracic surgery, and urology.
Since launching in 2021, eConsults have quickly become an essential tool for helping our patients to access timely specialty care. Our clinicians initiated more than 1,000 eConsults during the past 12 months across 20 specialties in Vermont and New York.
We submitted a certificate of need to the Green Mountain Care Board to approve an outpatient, multi-specialty surgery center at our Tilley Drive campus in Vermont, expanding capacity and providing high-quality care effectively and efficiently.
We anticipate approximately 8,000 outpatient surgeries per year being performed at the center, directly addressing the growing local and regional demand for these services.