In October, the University of Vermont Medical Center paused construction on a planned $129 million outpatient surgery center in South Burlington, Vt., following budget constraints.
Now, the system is taking steps to close a series of administrative and clinical services across the state, including Central Vermont Medical Center's Inpatient Psychiatric unit, to comply with orders to cut more than $100 million in revenue, according to a Nov. 15 report from NBC 5.
The Green Mountain Care Board, the governing body of the hospital, has ordered UVMHN to cut $122 million in revenue from Central Vermont Medical Center and the University of Vermont Medical Center to stay within an imposed cap.
The health system has since fought back, filing a motion Oct. 21 with the Green Mountain Care Board to delay an order that the hospital said would penalize it for delivering care to patients in fiscal 2023.
The system alleges that the board has penalized them for providing "too much care back in fiscal 2023," meaning they are being forced to reduce revenue from patient care in that same amount this year.
The closure of the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit at CVMC, which saw an average of eight patients a day, was among the biggest changes made to save money, according to the report.
Additional cuts include eliminating $18 million in administrative expenses, reducing the number of patients who stay overnight at the UVMMC from 450 to 400 and eliminating surgical renal transplants.
The cuts will also end UVMHC's staffing and operation of kidney dialysis clinics outside of primary service areas and consolidate some family medicine and rehabilitation clinics.
These cuts will also result in approximately 200 workforce reductions, including employed, temporary and travel staff. Staff cuts are expected to take effect immediately.
"These decisions we are being forced to make are painful because there are patients connected to each one of them. I apologize to our patients and to our employee colleagues who will be impacted," Sunny Eappen, president and CEO of the University of Vermont Health Network, told NBC. "As a nonprofit academic health system rooted in the rural communities we serve, we know these cuts will affect our friends, our families and our neighbors who need the lifesaving care we provide."
"It's an unacceptable decision. UVM Health Network and CVMC management are blaming the Green Mountain Care Board, however, this is the fault of executives and leaders who have failed to plan their budgets accordingly. We are not going to stand by and let this happen," Sue Becker, the grievance chair of the nurses union at CVMC, told the news outlet.
The Green Mountain Care Board alleges that they had no idea the psychiatric unit would be closing as part of budget reduction measures.
"The GMCB was not consulted on, and did not approve, these reductions," the group told NBC. "The GMCB is reaching out to UVMMC to better understand UVMMC's rationale and how it evaluated alternatives, such as those identified in the GMCB's budget and enforcement orders."