UVMMC: Project Will Improve Access, Reduce Wait Times and Meet Future Patient Needs
Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Medical Center has received a Certificate of Need from the Green Mountain Care Board to relocate and consolidate its existing outpatient Dermatology and Ophthalmology practices at its Tilley Drive campus in South Burlington. The project, estimated to cost $35 million, will allow UVM Medical Center to address longstanding access challenges to these services, based on historical demand and highlighted by the State of Vermont’s assessment in 2021.
“We are excited to be able to move this project forward and will be proud to welcome patients to the facility,” said Stephen Leffler, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer of UVM Medical Center. “This facility will allow us to make progress on keeping pace with current patient demand, meet the growing need due to our region’s aging population, and free up space on our hospital’s main campus for other vital needs.”
The plan brings together four existing Dermatology and Ophthalmology sites, two of the busiest specialty practices on the hospital’s main campus, which currently have limited physical space and cannot expand to meet demand. The new facility will make more efficient use of space and resources, and offer patients a location easily reached by car or public transportation, including the free shuttle operated by SSTA, which brings patients from the downtown Burlington transportation hub to all of the clinical sites at Tilley Drive.
In the new facility, Dermatology will add 14 additional clinical spaces, including exam rooms, spaces for Mohs procedures, phototherapy, laser treatment, and suture removal. Ophthalmology will add 5 additional spaces, including exam and testing rooms. The UVM Medical Center’s Ophthalmology Department will retain the use of two exam rooms and one procedure room on the main campus in Burlington for use in treating hospital inpatients, emergency cases, and patients who must be seen outside of the 350 Tilley Drive outpatient clinic’s business hours.
All Dermatology and Ophthalmology providers and support staff will transition to the new facility. The plan includes recruiting additional staff, including new providers for both Dermatology and Ophthalmology, as well as 2 Medical Assistants, and 1 Patient Support Specialist.
350 Tilley Drive has been identified since 2018 as a critically needed major capital project in the UVM Medical Center’s hospital budget submissions. The organization is not increasing rates to fund the project. “We are reviewing every project based on financial feasibility and patient need. While we will see financial losses early on with this facility, we are taking it on because we know how vital it is to improve access for our patients now and into the future,” Leffler said.
UVM Medical Center filed a Certificate of Need application for the project in January 2022. In February 2022, the Green Mountain Care Board granted UVM Medical Center’s request for expedited review, and requested additional information throughout 2022. With the Certificate of Need approval, the planning team will finalize the financial details needed to move the project forward.
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. Together with our partners at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, we are Vermont’s academic medical center. The University of Vermont Medical Center also serves as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle counties.
The University of Vermont Medical Center is a member of The University of Vermont Health Network, an integrated system established to deliver high-quality academic medicine to every community we serve.
For more information visit www.UVMHealth.org/MedCenter or visit our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blog sites at www.UVMHealth.org/MedCenterSocialMedia.
3.14.2023. Burlington, Vt. – University of Vermont Medical Center
