Dear Community Leader,
I am writing to share a message I sent to all UVM Medical Center employees today (September 18, 2019) regarding the recent action taken by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, Conscience and Religious Freedom Division.
This is a follow-up to the message I shared with you two weeks ago on this subject.
Please reach out if you have questions or concerns about this.
Sincerely,
Steve
Stephen Leffler, MD
Interim President
UVM Medical Center
Letter to Staff
Good Afternoon,
In the weeks that have passed since I shared with you my perspective on HHS’ notice of violation to UVM Medical Center, I’ve had the great opportunity to hear from many of you. As expected with a team as large as ours, thoughts and opinions varied, but I have to say, I was impressed with every response I received and every conversation I had. Because regardless of the point of view, to a person, you expressed it with respect and acknowledged the tension that can exist between our personal beliefs and the obligation we have to our patients as caregivers. Above all else, those conversations reaffirmed my belief in how strong we are as a group of professionals who make up this organization. So I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you.
I also want to provide you with an update as to the steps we’ve taken so far in this matter.
Earlier today, UVM Medical Center sent an official letter to HHS that continues to respectfully, but firmly disagree with many of the allegations and conclusions made in their notice of violation. It also informs them that in an effort to better serve both our patients and our employees, we’ll be taking steps to strengthen our policies and operations surrounding abortion procedures.
Let me walk you through what we’re planning.
Starting soon, we’ll create regular, designated times for scheduled pregnancy termination procedures and staff those blocks of time with providers who have agreed to participate. By doing this, our goal is to eliminate the already rare instances when a conflict can arise. But as I’ve said before, in spite of all of our best laid plans, it’s impossible for us to anticipate every situation. That’s why we’re also working to modify our policy to provide clearer direction on how those rare conflicts are to be managed. We’re still working on the language, but we’re hoping to engage HHS and members of our own UVM Medical Center community in a constructive conversation before it’s finalized.
The last time I shared my thoughts with you on this issue, I expressed our commitment as an organization to respect the beliefs of our people, while protecting access to safe, legal treatment for our patients. I believe this situation has given us the chance to strengthen that commitment by making these modifications.
Creating policies that govern difficult situations is challenging and the countless, wide-ranging patient interactions that happen every day only complicate that challenge further. But as long as we stay true to our mission as an institution, continue to have respectful conversations, and come together to truly care for one another, we can overcome those challenges. In the end, that’s how we provide our patients and their families with the level of care they expect, and depend on, from us.
Thank you for what you do each and every day. I’ll keep you posted.
Steve
Stephen Leffler, MD
Interim President
UVM Medical Center