It is never lost on us that the blue and white “H” signs you see along the road are more than just for directions. They are a promise that we will be here 24/7/365, for you and your family during the best of times and in your great times of need. As a community hospital, we are strong and dedicated to providing exceptional care in service to Franklin and Grand Isle counties. That is our mission. 

As Vermonters, we are lucky to benefit from one of the best healthcare systems in the country with quality, safety and access as the central focus. Here at Northwestern Medical Center (NMC), the Board, medical staff and leadership team are committed to being among the best of the best.  Our promise to you is a relentless pursuit of:  

• Improving timely access to safe and high-quality care – the right care, in the right place, at the right time. We continue to add providers to our medical staff so that you can get care locally, in a timely fashion. 

• We are working to improve and expand access to diagnostic imaging, lab services, physical therapy, urgent care, cardiology, pulmonology, sleep medicine, women & children’s health, orthopaedics, ENT, ophthalmology, general surgery, and more. 

• Deepening the breadth of our services and expanding our relationships with UVMMC, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and the New England Collaborative Health Network  so that you have access to care at the lowest cost in Vermont.
  
• Investing in the latest advanced technology in diagnostic imagining, laboratory services, surgical services and therapeutic interventions across the hospitals. This includes: 

• • A new MRI scanner in 2023 
  • Plans for a new CT and nuclear medicine scanner in 2024 & 2025. 
  • New laboratory analyzers 
  • Newly renovated emergency department with a 33% increase in capacity as well as dedicated safe space for patients battling mental health issues or illness. 

We will ensure your access to the very best of high-quality care with a laser focus on quality. Some measures we use to gauge our quality successes include: 

• Becoming a Leap Frog grade “A” hospital (The nation’s leading independent quality and safety rating organization). 
• Achieving the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Five-Star hospital (our national’s national healthcare regulator) and, 
• Advancing our journey to being a High Reliable Organization (HRO). Organizations achieve safety, quality, and efficiency goals by employing 5 HRO central principles: 

• • Sensitivity to operations 
  • Reluctance to simplify 
  • Preoccupation with failure  
  • Deference to expertise  
  • Practicing resilience 

• NOTE: Nuclear power and aviation are classic examples of industries that have applied HRO principles to achieve minimal errors, despite highly hazardous and unpredictable conditions.   

This focus remains critically important to achieving our mission to provide exceptional care to you, our community. We have served Franklin and Grand Isle counties for 140+ years, a privilege each and every one of the NMC team team treasures and takes very seriously. To us, you are not patients, you are our friends, our neighbors and our family. 

It is an exciting time to be at NMC. As a small community hospital, we are committed to serving the community as an independent not-for-profit healthcare provider, while leveraging the power of partnerships in our community, across the region and the state. 

Thank you for your continued interest in and support of your community hospital. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to serve! 

Respectfully, 

Peter J. Wright, FACHE 
Chief Executive Officer 
[email protected]