Submitted by SVHC
Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s (SVHC) Foundation Board President Bob Van Degna has announced that $24 million has been quietly raised over the last four years toward the goal of $25 million for the Vision 2020, a Decade of Transformation Capital Campaign. The multi-phased project will renovate and expand the Emergency Department and front entrance to the hospital, and construct a new Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center on the health system’s main campus.
Nearly 300 gifts have been received during the quiet phase of the campaign, including several large donations and community foundations grants.
“Today, we are asking the members of our community to lend their support to invest in a new generation of care. The goal is $1 million, and we hope to raise this amount in 6 months,” said David Newell, co-chair of the Vision 2020 Public Phase Committee. “We’re on the cusp of a new and exciting future for the hospital and everyone in the tri-state area who turns to SVHC for care.”
Co-chair Andrew King elaborated. “Our region depends on the Emergency Department and Regional Cancer Center services, so every dollar makes a difference. No donation is too small. The most important thing is to do what you can to help us build a hospital that keeps pace with the care needs of everyone—growing families, aging adults, our sickest, our most vulnerable, all of us.”
The Emergency Department is the oldest emergency facility in Vermont. It was designed to see half as many patients as come through its doors each year. Diagnosis and care for emergencies have significantly advanced over the past decade. Dramatic upgrades to the new Kendall Emergency Department will double its square footage, reduce wait times, increase access to mental health services, enhance telemedicine connectivity with Dartmouth Health, and improve patient privacy and infection prevention. The new Hoyt-Hunter Regional Cancer Center will have double the number of exam and infusion rooms. The design focuses on patient comfort in addition to clinical excellence.
Community members interested in more details regarding the project and donating to the campaign should visit svhealthcare.org/Vision2020.
