Upgrades, testing and monitoring ensure safety for patients, employees
Vermont Business Magazine After extensive investigation, modifications, and ongoing coordination with an advisory group of employees, the UVM Medical Center has begun working toward a phased re-opening of its operating rooms at the Fanny Allen campus in Colchester the week of January 27. While testing and monitoring did not determine a root cause of the two incidents that caused employees to seek medical attention late last year, input gathered from internal and external air quality consultants, the state of Vermont and an outside occupational health expert have confirmed that the area is safe for use. The space will be reopened with additional upgrades, monitoring, and detailed event response plans to ensure the safety of employees and patients should there be any indication of another possible event.
“Based on everything we’ve learned and everything we’ve done, we feel very confident that the Fanny Allen operating rooms are safe,” said Dr. Stephen Leffler, President and Chief Operating Officer of the UVM Medical Center. “The time is right to begin working toward reopening them.”
To prepare, the UVM Medical Center is deploying comprehensive air monitoring systems, including hard-wired and personal badge carbon monoxide monitors, and air sampling canisters that are extremely sensitive to any type of substance that can be found in the air. A detailed event response plan has been developed that includes a dedicated on-scene Event Response Specialist to ensure readiness and response should there be any indication of another possible event. This work was guided by an advisory group of staff and providers, some of whom were directly affected by the original events, in collaboration with senior leaders.
Dr. Leffler acknowledged that the situation has been difficult for those who were directly impacted by the two incidents, and frustrating for patients whose appointments were moved. “I’m so grateful for the hard work, flexibility and patience of all our teams,” he said. “We have seen such great collaboration between our staff at Fanny Allen, main campus, Central Vermont Medical Center and Porter Medical Center. Even when we are back up and running in the operating rooms at Fanny Allen, this has created a real opportunity to keep working together in new ways – both with our affiliate hospitals and our community partners – to get all of our patients high-quality, timely care.”
To accommodate patients who had been scheduled for surgical procedures at the Fanny Allen campus, staff at the UVM Medical Center’s main campus operating rooms have been working later into the night and on Saturdays. UVM Medical Center surgeons have also completed surgeries at network affiliate hospitals CVMC in Berlin and Porter in Middlebury.
In coming months, the UVM Medical Center will continue to make a number of improvements to several building systems, including:
- Upgrading the kitchen exhaust system;
- Installing carbon filters on the operating room air intake; and
- Monitoring a newly installed roof-mounted weather station to assist with diagnosing any future events.
*Note: The UVM Medical Center will display installed monitoring upgrades and make hospital officials available for interviews on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, as timing permits.
To arrange a visit, contact Annie Mackin by replying to this email or calling 802-782-1589.
About the University of Vermont Medical Center
The University of Vermont Medical Center is a 499-bed tertiary care regional referral center providing advanced care to approximately 1 million residents in Vermont and northern New York.