The Johnson campus at Northern Vermont University. NVU, which employs 700 faculty and staff at its Johnson and Lyndon locations, is a significant economic driver in both communities. Provided photo.
by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine Two major economic drivers of almost any local economy are hospitals and higher education. Both have large budgets, employ hundreds of people, and spend locally which has a multiplier effect.
In Lamoille County, that means Copley Hospital and the Johnson campus of Northern Vermont University.
Joe Woodin is happy to be back in Vermont taking up the challenge of running one of the state’s small hospitals, Copley in Morrisville.
Photo: Joe Woodin is the CEO of Copley Hospital in Morrisville. Provided photo.
Woodin knows the state’s health care scene with executive experience at the University of Vermont Medical Center, Central Vermont Medical Center, and Gifford Medical Center. He’s also seen duty in Alaska and Cape Cod.
In taking over several months ago as CEO of Copley Hospital, Woodin was presented with the challenge of turning the financially struggling hospital around.
In 2019, the hospital ran a $2.3 million deficit, up from the previous year when the deficit was $2.2 million.
“Unfortunately, we have lost money four out of the last five years,” Woodin said.
As CEO, Woodin is setting his sights on billing, cutting expenses, managing productivity.
“I’ve done that before in other places and so that’s what we’re working on,” he said. “Financially we’re trying to make sure that we strive for at least a break even operating margin this year.”
Copley’s fiscal 2020 budget of $72,658,362 was approved by the Green Mountain Care Board. The board also approved an average rate increase not to exceed 9.8 percent.
Woodin said small critical access hospitals across the country are challenged by their very size.
“When you’re that small, if you have a swing in numbers or even if you have a few providers that retire or unexpectedly leave, it can really impact your bottom line and your margins,” Woodin said.
Hospitals like Copley are important to the community not only because of the health care they provide but also they are very often the largest employer. That’s the case with Copley which has 525 employees.
As the area’s largest employer, Woodin said the hospital makes an effort “to buy local as much as possible … even if it’s a little bit of a premium.”
Photo: Copley Hospital has 525 employees. Despite its financial struggles, CEO Joe Woodin says he will not resort to layoffs to cut expenses. Courtesy photo.
One cost saving measure Copley has signed up for is group purchasing through the New England Alliance for Health, which is part of the Dartmouth system.
Labor is a major expense for any employer and especially for hospitals which are faced with a nationwide nursing shortage. Hiring temporary nurses or what’s referred to as traveling nurses is a more expensive option but one that’s become necessary for many hospitals.
“We’re looking at some international nurses in trying to recruit,” Woodin said.
He also said the hospital is working with the nursing schools as much as possible.
One option to cut costs the hospital is not considering is layoffs.
“In my entire career having worked in six hospitals, I do not believe in layoffs,” he said. “I have not done that.”
Although Woodin is keeping an eye on the bottom line, the hospital is looking toward the future.
“We’re going to be starting a master facility planning process to make sure we’re looking at the campus, the needs for both equipment and buildings etc,” he said.
Over the next several months, the hospital will be implementing a sleep lab.
Woodin said the hospital is also stepping up efforts to deal with drug addiction issues so people can be treated as quickly as possible.
Woodin also weighed in on the financial troubles of the Brattleboro Retreat. He said closure of the private psychiatric hospital would have a devastating ripple effect on the health care system throughout the state.
“So we’re hopeful folks can figure this out,” he said.
NVU
Schools of higher education are also significant economic drivers. That holds true for Northern Vermont University, created two years ago with the consolidation of Johnson State College and Lyndon State College.
NVU operates two campuses in Johnson and Lyndonville. The combined NVU budget for both campuses is $58.5 million.
“Considering what the university spends on services, supplies, and utilities locally, along with salaries and benefits, with a conservative 2.5 multiplier, NVU's total economic impact on its local region (Johnson and Lyndonville) is $113 million,” said Sylvia Plumb, NVU director of marketing and communications. “Additionally, the university helps bring in tens of thousands of dollars more for the local economy by attracting nearly 18,000 visitors each year.”
Those numbers include more than 1,200 prospective students and families who visit the campuses as well as more than 16,000 people who attend performances and events, conferences and camps.
Overall enrollment, both residential and online, as of October 2019 was 2,365 students.
Plumb said on-campus enrollment is 70.3 percent in-state and 29.7 percent out-of-state.
Total employment at NVU is 700 faculty and staff.
NVU has announced a 100 percent online Master of Arts in education with digital media instruction with Discovery Education.
Plumb also said at the undergraduate level, NVU will be offering a new data science degree this fall, including a climate change science degree. There’s also an integrated performing arts degree – performance, arts and technology.
Bruce Edwards is a freelance writer from Southern Vermont.