The Why Behind CVHHH’s Town Funding Requests

When you vote yes on CVHHH’s annual town funding requests, you’re helping to ensure that all Central Vermonters have access to high-quality care and services at home. Read on to hear from Sandy Rousse, CVHHH’s President & CEO, about why we ask for this funding, and how it sustains our work.

Every year, on the first Tuesday in March across Vermont, you’ll find community members coming together to raise local matters at Town Meeting Day. Though the format of town meeting day has evolved, with many voters now using mail-in ballots, this enduring state tradition is an opportunity for residents to show up for their town and cast their vote on the issues that matter to them.

If you’ve voted at Town Meeting Day in Central Vermont, you may have seen CVHHH on the ballot. CVHHH requests – and receives – town funding each year from the 23 communities we serve in Washington and Orange counties. The amount we request comes from a formula that takes into account CVHHH patient volume and a town’s population. This funding is vital to our work.

Reimbursement from our primary payers, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid provides the majority of our operating revenue, and only covers 80% of the cost of the medical care, education, and supportive-care services that CVHHH provides. However, we are not reimbursed when the value of care exceeds these federal and state reimbursement rates, or for care we provide to those who are under or uninsured.

As a full-service, not-for-profit Visiting Nurse Association, being able to care for central Vermonters of all ages, regardless of their ability to pay, is our mission and something that CVHHH has been committed to for well over 100 years. In 2024, we served over 2,700 patients living in 23 towns in this region. Town funding helps sustain CVHHH so our staff can continue to provide high-quality, compassionate, individualized home health, hospice, palliative consultative care, long-term care, and family-child health care, and, so our community can access this care when it’s needed most, in the comfort of home.

Town Meeting Day is coming up on March 4, so CVHHH staff asked some of our supporters – donors and volunteers – about why CVHHH matters to them.

One volunteer told us, “Most people who are in need of hospice care want to be able to stay in their homes and be with their families. Hospice helps make this possible. The home visits by hospice convey a message of compassionate support – not only to the family being served but to the entire community. We take care of one another and we support one another, particularly when that support is most needed and appreciated.”

Another said, “Whether coordinating care between a physician and a specialist, limiting the number of doctors’ appointments by monitoring patients’ health, or offering a few hours of respite for primary caregivers, CVHHH acts as bridge, using their knowledge to assist caregivers and patients navigating the complexities of their medical needs.”

When you complete your ballot this year – either in person or through the mail – please consider voting yes on CVHHH’s town funding requests. CVHHH is embedded in this community and, with your support, we can continue meeting your needs and caring for your neighbors, family, and friends for a long time to come.

What was CVHHH’s impact in my town in 2024?