Community Engagement

On July 18, 2018, UVM Larner College of Medicine clinical department chairs issued a letter to the community that was shared with local Vermont media outlets. The content of the letter is included, below.

As clinical department chairs at the UVM Larner College of Medicine, we have responsibility for fulfilling the education, research and patient care missions of the College and of our partner, The University of Vermont Medical Center. As physicians, each of us has taken an oath to serve our patients and our community, and we take that promise very seriously. We believe it is an honor and a privilege to care for people when they need us the most, armed not only with the tools of modern medicine but also with open hearts and listening minds. While the events over the last weeks involving the nursing union and strike have been difficult, we want to assure you that we, along with our health care teams across the institution, are fully committed to ensuring that our patients and their families continue to receive safe, effective, high quality, collaborative, compassionate care – no matter what. Our tenets that follow remain strong and reflect why each of us takes great pride in being able to work and live here.

We are a team. At the core of our clinical and academic mission is the care of our patients and their families, and this is a team effort. We support and appreciate every member of the patient care team, including not only the faculty physicians, nurses, social workers and technicians you may interact with, but also the pharmacists, schedulers, laboratory scientists, culinary workers, office managers, and hundreds of others who dedicate their workday to ensuring that our patients receive the care they need, when they need it.

We are teachers and scientists. Our medical center is a vibrant classroom for medical students, nursing students, pharmacy students, laboratory science students, residents, advanced practice nurses, fellows and more. Biomedical research is also thriving here, with many breakthrough discoveries and treatments that are making a difference in the lives of people we care for locally and in turn can then be shared around the world. Studies show patients benefit when receiving care at an academic medical center teaching hospital, from the strength of the health care team to having access to the latest treatments and clinical trials. 

We are your neighbors, colleagues, and friends. This is one of the nation’s best places to live, by many measures, and we share your commitment to living and raising our families here. As members of this community, each of us has a responsibility to serve it in the best way we can. For all of us involved in the health care mission, it is a privilege to care for you and your family as compassionately and effectively as we care for our own.

We will be here when you need us most. We are proud of the professionalism and commitment of our teams who care for our patients and their families. Every hour of every day, in every department throughout the hospital, and in every clinic across our community, we will continue to focus on caring for you and the members of our community who need us most. This is at the heart of our mission as an institution and in the heart of every person who has chosen this career.

Again, we are fully committed to ensuring that our patients and their families continue to receive safe, effective, high quality, collaborative compassionate care – no matter what. We promise to be vigilant in our efforts to support, encourage, and inspire our teams to keep patients at the center of all we do, as we honor and celebrate the commitment to service and the deeply personal connections that are the hallmark of our profession.

Sincerely,

The UVM Larner College of Medicine Clinical Department Chairs:

Ira M. Bernstein, M.D.
John Van Sicklen Maeck Professor and Chair of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences

Kristen K. DeStigter, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Radiology

Lewis R. First, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Pediatrics

Gregory L. Holmes, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Neurological Sciences

Debra G. B. Leonard, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Donald M. Mathews, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Anesthesiology

Claude E. Nichols, III, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation

Mitchell C. Norotsky, M.D.
Associate Professor and Stanley S. Fieber, M.D. Chair in Surgery

Polly E. Parsons, M.D.
E.L. Amidon Professor and Chair of Medicine

Thomas C. Peterson, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Family Medicine

Robert A. Pierattini, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Psychiatry