Are 14 hospitals too many for Vermont?
An influential writer in the Green Mountain State who’s lived there since the 1940s is calling for the culling of its hospital network.
Writing in the online outlet VTDigger, Bill Schubart, a past chair of the Vermont Journalism Trust, suggests 14 hospitals are too many to sustain across the second least-populous state—especially in a post-COVID world.
“Providing affordable healthcare to all Vermonters going forward will necessitate redeployment of our existing healthcare institutions,” he writes. “This can be done fairly and in a cost-efficient manner—evenly distributed across population density. In this new healthcare environment, reducing inpatient beds doesn’t and shouldn’t mean any loss of emergency/urgent care capacity but will focus us on real ‘health care’ as opposed to ‘illness care.’”
The opinion piece has sparked a spirited combox discussion.
“OK, but now tell me which hospitals you suggest we close,” comments one reader. “It’s all very easy to say that Vermont needs to ‘right-size’ everything [and] quite another to be upfront about whose ox should be gored.”
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Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.