At least one hospital in Vermont postponed elective surgeries, and staff at multiple hospitals in the state slept at work overnight as historic flooding batters the region.
President Joe Biden approved Vermont Gov. Phil Scott's disaster declaration request July 11 to support flooding response efforts across the state. Flooding began July 9 after several days of heavy rain, according to The Wall Street Journal. At least two areas in the state had received more than 9 inches of rain as of July 11.
"The devastation and flooding we're experiencing across Vermont is historic and catastrophic," Mr. Scott said in a statement. "Flood waters continue to rise in some places like our capital city and have surpassed levels seen during Tropical Storm Irene."
Other parts of the New England region and New York were also hit by heavy rains, though there have been no other immediate reports of effects on hospitals, NPR reported.
"This sort of event absolutely has challenged our hospitals," said Michael Del Trecco, president and CEO of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. In a July 11 phone call with Becker's, Mr. Del Trecco said staff at several hospitals in the state had to stay the night, as road closures and other dangerous conditions have affected peoples' ability to get to work.
Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin — part of Burlington, Vt.-based UVM Health Network — is one such hospital. Twenty-five staff members stayed overnight July 10 to ensure treatment for patients, according to a report from VTDigger. Infusion services and elective surgeries at the hospital were postponed July 11, CVMC said in a statement. The outpatient dialysis unit, as well as primary and specialty care practices were also closed. The emergency department remains open.
"We do anticipate continued challenges for patients and employees getting from place to place due to the damage to many roads in the region," a spokesperson for UVM Health Network said in a statement to Becker's, adding that emergency departments across the health system remain open.
"To ensure that [UVM Health Network] is coordinating and leveraging all the skills and resources we have available, we have launched a UVMHN Weather Event/Flooding Emergency Management/Recovery Group of operational and clinical leaders, who will check in daily to problem solve and evaluate next steps," the spokesperson said.
There have also been challenges around the transport of tertiary patients to the University of Vermont Medical Center and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. However, pressures around tertiary transports have largely eased for now since a closed stretch of Interstate 89 has since been reopened, Mr. Del Trecco said.
All of Vermont's 14 hospitals are nonprofit — something Mr. Del Trecco said has streamlined communication and collaboration during this time to reopen closed services as quickly as possible.
"The not-for-profit nature, it's not competition, it's how do we solve these problems for Vermonters," he said.
Read live updates on flooding in the Northeast from The New York Times here.