Dear Editor,
As 2020 draws to a close, we have much to be thankful for, in spite of the Covid-19 challenges.
All the hard work and collaborative efforts by many over the past two years has brought us to the point of being able to say we are successfully exiting Chapter 11 Reorganization! We are very proud of what has been accomplished on behalf of SMCS and Springfield Hospital. While we will now be two legally independent organizations, we want to assure the communities we serve of our commitment to work together for the health and wellbeing of all patients. That has been our practice throughout the years, and the same commitment will continue for many years to come.
Second, we are thankful to be receiving and administering vaccines to our frontline healthcare workers and local EMS teams. As Covid-19 numbers continue to spike, we are grateful to have received and given 159 vaccinations to date. Throughout this week and next, we will be vaccinating SMCS staff from the clinic locations and other community partner agencies and expect to triple that number! We are continuing to coordinate our vaccination efforts in accordance with state of Vermont and Centers of Disease Control guidelines and will make every attempt to keep our communities informed as designated groups are identified for vaccine eligibility.
We also want to express our sincere appreciation to the board members and especially to our staff who have shown great determination and perseverance throughout these challenging times. Their dedication to this organization and to the communities we serve has been unwavering and provides great testimony to the character of our local communities.
We will close this holiday message with a sincere thank you to the communities we serve. We are honored to be entrusted with serving your healthcare needs. As a new day begins for SMCS and Springfield Hospital, we renew our commitment to you that we will do everything possible to have both organizations fulfill their promise as a place “Where People Come First.”
Happy Holidays,
Joshua Dufresne, MBA
Acting Chief Executive Officer
Springfield Medical Care Systems
Michael Halstead, MBA
Interim Chief Executive Officer
Springfield Hospital