As Central Vermont Medical Center participates in the Green Mountain Care Board’s annual process to review our budget for the coming fiscal year, I want to let our Central Vermont communities know that our submission reflects a transparent accounting of what is required to provide health care for our community. Our submission exceeds the growth target set by the Board, which would have effectively capped statewide growth at just 0.1%. As a leadership team, in collaboration with our UVM Health Network partners, we chose to submit the budget required to meet the health care needs of those we serve in our growing and aging population.

Our budget works to ensure that CVMC provides the health care you and your neighbors need, when you need it.

CVMC is steadfastly committed to this community. We need only to look a few weeks back, to the devastating flooding in Central Vermont, to be reminded of our dedication to meeting the essential needs of our patients, families and neighbors. When it became clear that our area was in trouble, many members of our team worked beyond their scheduled shifts, some staying on site overnight to ensure we provided necessary health care services to our community when their colleagues faced impassable, washed-out roads and dangerously high waters. Our Pharmacy team provided emergency refills to those who were unable to access their regular pharmacies for life-saving medication. Our Emergency Department treated 93 patients in a single day, including patients who came to us worried that their oxygen supplies might run out. When the rain stopped, we headed down the hill and into the devastated and flood-ravaged streets to offer medical assistance, muck out basements and deliver meals. Health care institutions like CVMC play an indispensable role in our communities, particularly in times of crisis.

I am so proud of our staff for their response to the flooding emergency, and I am proud of the work they do every single day to provide high quality care.

The flood is just one of the numerous challenges we have faced in the past few years. Like all health care providers, we navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, taking every necessary step to protect our community’s health and wellbeing. We continue grappling with the effects of inflation and a nationwide staffing shortage, as well as reimbursement rate reductions from Medicare and private insurers. Last year, every hospital in the state operated at a loss.

As a nonprofit, CVMC exists not to serve shareholders, but to provide services to our community. Every dollar that does not go toward direct operating costs are carefully and thoughtfully reinvested in CVMC. We must have a positive margin to keep pace with the changing health care needs of our patients.

CVMC is the largest employer in the area, contributing significantly to the local economy and the stability of hundreds of families whose livelihoods are intertwined with our operations. The health of CVMC impacts not just our patients and Woodridge residents, but also the economic vitality of the region.

The budget we put together for the next fiscal year is a reflection of CVMC’s commitment to providing the best possible care to everyone, ensuring that we maintain our readiness to respond to crises, and continuing to serve our community for generations to come. Our budget reflects the care we continue to provide in the midst of the ongoing challenges I mentioned above, as well as increased costs of pharmaceuticals and supplies. We hope that the Board, in its review process, will fully recognize the breadth and depth of these considerations and their impact on CVMC, our patients and our community.

Anna Tempesta Noonan, RN, BSN, MS

President and Chief Operating Officer
Central Vermont Medical Center