By Emily McKenna, Chief Advancement Officer
To out-of-staters, Vermont is often synonymous with our exports like maple syrup, ice cream, and Olympic skiers, to name a few. But one of our most unique traditions, Town Meeting Day, is just for Vermonters. Town Meeting Day is a perfect reflection of the Vermont way: neighbors coming together for the betterment of their community. Though they may not always agree on the specifics, and they may not always vote in person, town meetings are a kind of conversation among residents about what matters to them locally.
Each year on Town Meeting Day, Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice requests – and has historically received – funding from each of the 23 communities we serve in Central Vermont. We calculate our request for funding using the same formula – which accounts for CVHHH’s patient volume and population – in each community we serve.
You may be wondering why a “yes” vote on a Town Meeting Day ballot is so significant to CVHHH. In short, this funding provides vital support that helps us fulfill our mission to provide high-quality home health and hospice care to all Central Vermonters, regardless of their ability to pay. The longer answer gives some more context to our ask and why it’s important to our community.
The majority of CVHHH’s operating revenue comes from our primary payors, Medicare and Medicaid, in the form of reimbursement for providing skilled home health and hospice medical care, education, and supportive-care services to Central Vermonters of all ages at home. In alignment with our mission, we care for all eligible individuals who need our services, including people who are under or uninsured. This means that the value of the care we provide exceeds reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. We are also contending with years of cuts in reimbursement from Medicare for home health services.
Of course, a challenging reimbursement landscape has never meant that we limit access or services to Central Vermonters, or that we make compromises on who delivers this care. We are committed to delivering the highest-quality care to Central Vermonters, and this depends on our incredible team. You probably know someone who works at CVHHH. They might be your neighbor, good friend, or high-school classmate.
CVHHH’s registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, aides, personal care attendants, social workers, nurse practitioners, physical, speech, and occupational therapists, and wound care specialists, are the best around. They care. They are creative. They know what it means – and that it matters – to receive care in the comfort of home. Our program staff made more than 48,000 visits to 2,600 patients in their homes last year alone, and they drove well over a quarter of a million miles to get there. Every day, we hear from patients about the extraordinary care they or their family members received from CVHHH, and we currently have a 4-star patient satisfaction rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which is based on home health patient satisfaction surveys filled out by Central Vermonters.
Town funding, along with donations and grants, helps us bridge the gap in our operating budget. This fundamental support sustains CVHHH so our staff can continue to provide high-quality, compassionate, individualized home health, hospice, palliative consultative care, long-term care, and maternal and family child health care, and so our community can access this care when it’s needed most, in the place they want be: at home.
Town Meeting Day is coming up on Tuesday, March 3. Read on to hear why some of our supporters will be voting yes on their ballots:
One donor told us, “CVHHH’s mission of delivering high-quality healthcare to Central Vermonters at home — and providing education and support to keep people at home — benefits patients, families, and the broader healthcare system. I’m proud to say that here in Central Vermont, we support our neighbors — it’s just what we do.”
Another said, “When I needed them, they came, and they were here at any time. I could never be more appreciative of CVHHH.”
Your approval of CVHHH’s town funding request on this year’s ballot helps to ensure that all members of your town – your neighbors, family, and friends – can continue to access compassionate home health and hospice care and services in their home and in their community. This is Vermonters supporting Vermonters. This matters.
