Fletcher Allen Health Care

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Fletcher Allen Health Care
Location
Place Burlington, Vermont, (US)
Organization
Care System Private, Teaching
Hospital Type General
Affiliated University University of Vermont
Services
Emergency Dept. Level I trauma center
Beds 562
History
Founded 1879
Links
Website Homepage
See also Hospitals in the United States

Fletcher Allen Health Care, together with its partners at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is Vermont's academic medical center. Its mission is to improve the health of the people in the communities it serves by integrating patient care, education and research in a caring environment. Fletcher Allen serves as a regional referral center -- providing advanced care to approximately one million people in Vermont and northern New York -- and as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties. With more than 30 patient care sites and 100 outreach clinics, programs and services throughout the region, Fletcher Allen is committed to being a national model for the delivery of high-quality academic health care for a rural region. It employs 6,000 workers and is the second largest private employer in the state.[1]


Contents

[edit] Services

Fletcher Allen is home to the Vermont Children's Hospital, the state's only children's hospital and is one of 39 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer treatment centers in the country. Comprehensive is the highest level a cancer treatment center can reach. Fletcher Allen also houses the General Clinical Research Center at Fletcher Allen/University of Vermont. The General Clinical Research Center at Fletcher Allen/University of Vermont is one of 78 in the country and the only one in northern New England; here, researchers are pioneering treatments for heart disease, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, ALS, and many other diseases. The medical center also has comprehensive surgical services (neurological, cardiac, pediatric) and imaging equipment. Fletcher Allen has a Philips high-field Open MRI, a Philips 3T MRI, a General Electric Signa LX 1.5 tesla system, and a 64-slice CT scanner. As the only Level I Trauma Center in Vermont, Fletcher Allen offers the region advanced technology and techniques to care for the most seriously ill and injured pediatric and adult patients. Fletcher Allen was the first organization in the United States to be verified as a Level I Trauma Center for both children and adults. The Vermont Children’s Hospital’s Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, offers one of the highest levels of intensive care for critically ill and premature infants. The unit is located immediately next to the Birthing Center, ensuring quick transport of Fletcher Allen’s tiniest patients in critical care situations.

[edit] The Renaissance Project Controversy

In 1999, responding to proposals from chief executive William C. Boettcher, the State Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration (BISHCA) approves a $118 million plan called the Renaissance Project for new construction at Fletcher Allen. In 2001, the commission approved an amended proposal (also known as a Certificate of Need or CON) for $173 million. This second proposal is later described as "fraudulent" by the United States Attorney for the district including Vermont. This description is based on the fact that at the time Fletcher Allen management was maintaining two separate project budgets in an attempt to keep a major portion of the costs from BISHCA (specifically the cost of the parking garage). The final version of the proposal, approved in 2003, is $364 million. In the end, eight Fletcher Allen trustees resigned; the chief executive (CEO), chief financial (CFO) and chief operating officers (COO) resign; the law firm retained by the hospital (Downs Rachlin Martin) agrees to pay $2 million in restitution and Fletcher Allen is fined $1 million.

In August of 2006 David Cox, former CFO, plead guilty to charges and admitted his role in the controversy.[2]

As of 2007 four former executives have been charged with crimes associated with the project. The former CEO, William Boettcher, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years on federal conspiracy charges. David Demers, a former senior vice president for planning, also pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy charges. Thad Krupka, the former COO, pleaded guilty in state court to three counts of misdemeanor false claims. [3][4]

[edit] History

Fletcher Allen Health Care was formed in 1995 from the merger of three organizations:

  • Medical Center Hospital of Vermont
Founded in Burlington, 1879, Mary Fletcher Hospital was the first hospital in Vermont. It was renamed Medical Center Hospital of Vermont in 1967.
  • Fanny Allen Hospital
In 1894, the Sisters of St Joseph founded the Fanny Allen Hospital in Colchester, Vermont. They named their hospital after Fanny Allen (daughter of Ethan Allen), a nun who nursed wounded American soldiers in the War of 1812. This site, now referred to as the Fanny Allen Campus, has an ambulatory surgery center and rehabilitation unit.
  • University Health Center
In 1971, ten medical specialty practice groups joined to form the University Health Center in the site of the former Bishop DeGoesbriand Hospital (1924). Most of the ambulatory clinics moved from the UHC campus to the Ambulatory Care Center in 2005.

[edit] References

  1. ^ America's Career Infonetaccessed February 3, 2008
  2. ^ Vermont Guardian
  3. ^ US Attorney - VT
  4. ^ [1] Fletcher Allen Archive, Burlington Free Press 1998-2005

[edit] External links