SPRINGFIELD, VT. — The Springfield Area Community Collaborative is asking area residents to complete a community health needs assessment before July 9.
The survey is available online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BK5GY5Q. Paper copies can be obtained by calling 802-885-7686 to request a supply.
For more information contact Anna Smith, Springfield Medical Care Systems at 802-885-7621 or email annasmith@springfieldmed.org.
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS), southeastern Vermont’s community mental health agency, has hired 12 new professionals who will work in the Hartford, Windsor, Bellows Falls and Brattleboro regions.
The Hartford office welcomes respite providers Rachel Grohbrugge, Melony Tibbetts, Ella LaRose and Alliyah Whitcomb; community outreach specialist Aurora Alft-LaFond; and DSP-employment specialist Hilary Lockwood.
Katherine LaPlante will work in DSP-Community in Windsor and Michael Blanchard will be a residential specialist in Bellows Falls.
Area managers Susan Spencer and Stephen Jurentkuff, residential specialist Taegen Fletcher and respite provider Sara Gauthier will join the team in Brattleboro.
LEBANON — Dr. Michael T. Lynch took over as chief medical officer at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital last Monday.
Lynch comes to the hospital from Reliant Medical Group in Worcester, Mass., where he served as executive medical director of same-day services. In that role, Lynch oversaw four locations that received 170,000 cases per year and included pediatrics, adults, an infusion center, laboratories, imaging and occupational health.
Prior to Reliant, Lynch spent 21 years with Concord Emergency Medical Associates in Concord. There, Lynch was the medical director of urgent care from 2013-2018 and served in multiple leadership roles including president and chair of emergency medicine.
“Michael brings extensive clinic and administrative experience to this role,” Alice Peck Day’s President and CEO Sue Mooney said in a news release. “We are fortunate to have him join our leadership team and continue our dedication to high-quality, patient-focused health care.”
Lynch earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, received his medical degree from the University of Virginia, and completed his residency in emergency medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minnesota. He has also completed a physician executive MBA at Brandeis University. He said that he looks forward to returning to the Upper Valley.
“APD’s dedication to high-quality, personalized patient care and mission-driven approach align well with my clinical and leadership experience,” he said.
LEBANON — Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital has installed a new magnetic resonance imaging machine that will deliver better images while making the experience of getting an MRI faster and less stressful for patients.
“This machine is one of the final components to the renovation of our radiology department,” Jean Ten Haken, chief operating officer, vice-president of nursing, and chief nursing officer at the hospital said in a news release. “We are thrilled to offer increased MRI capabilities and comfort to our patients, and diagnostic confidence to referring providers.”
The Siemens Magnetom Aera 1.5 Tesla machine was put into place last Tuesday. The machine is technologically advanced and has a bigger opening than other machines, reducing the claustrophobic feeling that many patients experience during an MRI.
“This new MRI will allow more advanced imaging, ensuring our patients receive top quality scans while still maintaining the small hospital feel of APD,” said Kelli Clifford, radiology technologist at the hospital.
RANDOLPH — Kristen Briggs, a mental health professional and acute care services coordinator at the Clara Martin Center, which provides mental health and substance abuse counseling to Upper Valley residents, presented about suicide prevention at the Bi-State Primary Care Association’s 2019 Primary Care Conference, held May 21.
Along with Julie Parker of Northwestern Counseling and Support Services in St. Albans, Briggs co-presented a professional development workshop titled “What to Do When a Patient Discloses Suicidal Thoughts: Clinical Skills and Systems Readiness.” In their presentation, they reviewed assessment tools for suicidality, planning for safety, and the importance of systems readiness to address suicidality. Their goal was to have participants gain insights on implementing the Zero Suicide framework and the importance of interagency suicide-safe pathways.
Briggs has 13 years of experience working in the field of mental health and substance use, including most recently overseeing Clara Martin Center’s Chris’s Place crisis bed program. She is part of Clara Martin Center’s Zero Suicide initiative and is a certified Mental Health First Aid trainer.
—Compiled by Kelly Burch