Green Mountain Care Board Approves UVM Medical Center Project

BURLINGTON, Vt. — The Green Mountain Care Board recently approved The University of Vermont Medical Center’s Certificate of Need application to build a new building to replace aging inpatient facilities.

The $187.3-million project will be on the west side of the Medical Center Campus above the existing emergency department parking lot. There will be four patient floors, each containing 32 single-occupancy, medical-surgical rooms for a total of 128 inpatient rooms. There will be two floors of mechanical space and a first floor will provide ambulance access to the emergency department entrance. There will not be any increase in the number of UVM Medical Center’s inpatient beds.

In approving the project, the board supported the need for the project and noted the building will improve the quality of healthcare in the state, and that single rooms will provide patients a better care experience. Due to the scope and cost of the project, the board included conditions requiring additional financial reporting and changes to debt financing prior to the start of construction.

“I appreciate the board’s thoughtful review and approval of the project. We still have some work to do to meet the board’s conditions, which will lead to providing patients and families in our region with inpatient facilities that match the high quality of healthcare our doctors, nurses and staff deliver every day.” said John Brumsted, M.D., president and CEO, UVM Health Network and CEO, UVM Medical Center.

Medical Center staff are reviewing and analyzing the decision and are in the process of developing a plan to address the conditions set by the board.