Burlington-based University of Vermont Medical Center is asking state regulators to allow it to purchase a new $2.4 million Da Vinci surgical robot, WCAX reported.
UVM Medical Center already has one of the robots, the only one in the state, but says it needs another to cut back on months-long wait times for robotic-assisted surgery, according to the Oct. 19 story. The state's healthcare regulator, the Green Mountain Care Board, must approve medical purchases totaling more than $1.7 million under certificate-of-need rules.
"We have to do this for Vermonters," UVM Medical Center President and COO Stephen Leffler, MD, told WCAX. He said the robot would also help recruit talented surgeons to the state and train medical residents.