The 80th Annual Meeting of the Incorporators of Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) was held January 15, 2015. The Incorporators and Board of Trustees met to swear in new members, conduct official business, and discuss issues and policies affecting the future of health care in Vermont.
The Board officially welcomed two new trustees, John Gilman and John Tansey, for three-year terms and re-elected Michael Newbold to an additional three-year term. In addition, two rooms to be included in the planned renovations at MAHHC were dedicated to Nancy S. Loux and Harold F. Pyke, two Trustees who have moved to Trustee Emeritus status. Loux served the Board from 1976 – 2014 as President, Vice President, and Secretary; and Pyke served from 1997 – 2014 as President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Chair of the Annual Fund. Hospital CEO Kevin W. Donovan thanked Loux and Pyke for their years of dedicated service, saying "They have been valued members of our Board, and we look forward to their continued service in their new roles."
The keynote speaker at the meeting was Jill Olson, Vice President of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS). Ms. Olson presented an overview of the key health care aspects of Governor Shumlin’s new budget proposal—in particular the plan to apply significant resources toward addressing the so-called “Medicaid cost shift.” She explained that under the current system, Vermonters who buy insurance on the market must pay higher rates in order to make up for shortfalls in the Medicaid program. VAHHS has welcomed the governor’s plan, calling it “a strong step toward making health care more affordable for Vermonters.”
Donovan commented, "The discussion at this year's Annual Meeting underscored our commitment to move toward a system where all Vermonters have access to affordable, high-quality health care. MAHHC and other providers in Vermont will continue to work with the state's Green Mountain Care Board to ensure that all policy changes directly benefit Vermont residents."
Founded in 1933, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is a not-for-profit community hospital network including the critical access-designated Mt. Ascutney Hospital in Windsor, Vermont, and Ottauquechee Health Center in Woodstock, Vermont. Affiliated with Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the Hospital provides people in communities across the Connecticut River Valley with primary care and a comprehensive suite of specialty services, along with 25 inpatient beds, a therapeutic pool and an acclaimed, 10-bed inpatient rehabilitation department. Mt. Ascutney Hospital is a recipient of the national Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service, one of the most prestigious awards in healthcare, and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), as well as the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) with Level 3 status, the highest level of medical home designation for delivering quality care.