I spent Monday and Tuesday of this week visiting Kevin Robinson and his marketing team at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC). What a great trip. To start with, Kevin and I have known each other for a couple of years; we first met at one of the Customer Based Marketing Strategies (CBM) conferences in Phoenix where we were both presenters. Kevin attended my session on echo branding. After my presentation we had a chance to talk and discovered that we had Vermont in common. I grew up in the little town of Essex Junction and he runs the marketing communications operation for a health system based in the small town of Bennington. We’ve kept in touch and have run into each other a few times at industry conferences. He’s one of the truly good people in the healthcare marketing businesses. I have a lot of respect for him.
If you’ve never been to the Southwestern corner of Vermont, I’ll let you know that the best option is to fly in through Albany. The airport in Burlington, Vermont is not a great option given you’ll then have a 2.5 hour drive south. And the Albany airport is one of those small airports that I love. It makes traveling easy – at least relatively speaking. I believe there are only 11 gates at the airport, and it is modern and clean. If you rent a car, you simply pick it up in the parking garage right on the property. No need for a shuttle bus. And no standing around waiting for a shuttle bus!
One of the things I had forgotten about Vermont is how nice and laid back the people are. Southwestern Vermont Medical Center is perched up on a hill in a residential part of Bennington. It used to be Putnam Memorial Hospital before it became a modern medical center. Early Tuesday morning I sat in the registration area waiting to meet with Kevin and his colleagues. As I sat there, I watched as employees arrived for work and exchanged greetings. I honestly couldn’t tell the physicians from the rank and file employees. Everyone was friendly and greeted each other warmly. It definitely felt like small town America, in the best possible way.
Kevin and one of his colleagues took me for the grand tour. For a 99-bed community hospital, SVMC has some amazing technology, a terrific Women’s Imaging Center, and a state-of-the-art regional cancer center. Patients have access to leading edge linear accelerator and a complete digital radiology system that includes PET/CT, and MRI fusion capability. They offer both radiation oncology and medical oncology within the center, in one convenient location. Cancer patients also have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials.
What kind of physicians work in rural southwestern Vermont? One of the amazing things about Vermont is that it attracts the most eclectic mix of people. In my experience, a lot of brilliant people have chosen to live in Vermont and raise their families there because of the quality of life. It’s just a different kind of place. It may be a state of mind, but I feel better when I’m there. The air has a different quality and everything is so green. I’ve read studies about the impact that spending time in “green” or natural settings has on your health and your ability to think clearly. There seems to be a correlation. My point is that a lot of the physicians at SVMC are Ivy League trained and did their training at major academic medical centers like Mass General. These are physicians who have chosen quality of life over a life of conspicuous consumption. The good news is that they are working at SVMC because that’s where they want to be. And they still have the opportunity to practice medicine on a very high level, even continue to research and publish.
Like many community hospital in America, SVMC has been going through a tough time over the last year and a half. Not only have they had to face some very harsh financial realities and lay off a significant number of employees, but they also have gone through a regime change at the highest level. The revelation of a significant financial shortfall (under the old regime) caught employees and the community off guard. In part because of this, trust has eroded. It is the challenge of the new CEO and his team to rebuild that trust within the hospital and within the community. And like most of us dealing with the recession, they are not out of the woods yet. We’ll all be feeling the impact of this global financial crisis for years. Long after the media announce a recovery, companies will still be making hard choices.
I had a chance to meet with SVMC’s new CEO, Thomas Dee, during my visit. He was gracious to meet with me. I like him immediately. He seems like a straight shooter. He came into this situation with his eyes wide open, understanding the challenges that are ahead of him. After a day and half immersing myself in the market and meeting with Mr. Dee and his team, I am confident that SVMC will get through this rough time. This is an amazing little gem of a hospital that has a bright future. And I will be following their progress with great interest. After all, I’m a Vermonter!
Post by Dan Dunlop, The Healthcare Marketer
If you’ve never been to the Southwestern corner of Vermont, I’ll let you know that the best option is to fly in through Albany. The airport in Burlington, Vermont is not a great option given you’ll then have a 2.5 hour drive south. And the Albany airport is one of those small airports that I love. It makes traveling easy – at least relatively speaking. I believe there are only 11 gates at the airport, and it is modern and clean. If you rent a car, you simply pick it up in the parking garage right on the property. No need for a shuttle bus. And no standing around waiting for a shuttle bus!
One of the things I had forgotten about Vermont is how nice and laid back the people are. Southwestern Vermont Medical Center is perched up on a hill in a residential part of Bennington. It used to be Putnam Memorial Hospital before it became a modern medical center. Early Tuesday morning I sat in the registration area waiting to meet with Kevin and his colleagues. As I sat there, I watched as employees arrived for work and exchanged greetings. I honestly couldn’t tell the physicians from the rank and file employees. Everyone was friendly and greeted each other warmly. It definitely felt like small town America, in the best possible way.
Kevin and one of his colleagues took me for the grand tour. For a 99-bed community hospital, SVMC has some amazing technology, a terrific Women’s Imaging Center, and a state-of-the-art regional cancer center. Patients have access to leading edge linear accelerator and a complete digital radiology system that includes PET/CT, and MRI fusion capability. They offer both radiation oncology and medical oncology within the center, in one convenient location. Cancer patients also have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials.
What kind of physicians work in rural southwestern Vermont? One of the amazing things about Vermont is that it attracts the most eclectic mix of people. In my experience, a lot of brilliant people have chosen to live in Vermont and raise their families there because of the quality of life. It’s just a different kind of place. It may be a state of mind, but I feel better when I’m there. The air has a different quality and everything is so green. I’ve read studies about the impact that spending time in “green” or natural settings has on your health and your ability to think clearly. There seems to be a correlation. My point is that a lot of the physicians at SVMC are Ivy League trained and did their training at major academic medical centers like Mass General. These are physicians who have chosen quality of life over a life of conspicuous consumption. The good news is that they are working at SVMC because that’s where they want to be. And they still have the opportunity to practice medicine on a very high level, even continue to research and publish.
Like many community hospital in America, SVMC has been going through a tough time over the last year and a half. Not only have they had to face some very harsh financial realities and lay off a significant number of employees, but they also have gone through a regime change at the highest level. The revelation of a significant financial shortfall (under the old regime) caught employees and the community off guard. In part because of this, trust has eroded. It is the challenge of the new CEO and his team to rebuild that trust within the hospital and within the community. And like most of us dealing with the recession, they are not out of the woods yet. We’ll all be feeling the impact of this global financial crisis for years. Long after the media announce a recovery, companies will still be making hard choices.
I had a chance to meet with SVMC’s new CEO, Thomas Dee, during my visit. He was gracious to meet with me. I like him immediately. He seems like a straight shooter. He came into this situation with his eyes wide open, understanding the challenges that are ahead of him. After a day and half immersing myself in the market and meeting with Mr. Dee and his team, I am confident that SVMC will get through this rough time. This is an amazing little gem of a hospital that has a bright future. And I will be following their progress with great interest. After all, I’m a Vermonter!
Post by Dan Dunlop, The Healthcare Marketer