CEO message to the community - June 30, 2026. July 1, 2026 New primary care clinic building starting in Spring 2027! Grace Cottage has waited a long time, but this dream is finally close to becoming a reality! With 72% of the funds raised, Grace Cottage is moving forward and planning to break ground in Spring 2027. Joe & Terry Pollio of Grafton kicked off this pivotal project with a generous challenge pledge to build a new primary care clinic building at Grace Cottage. "We want Grace Cottage to be the best it can be," they said. "We hope that this new clinic will ensure top-quality medical care for everyone in this area for generations to come." Its award-winning primary care is attracting new patients (there are currently over 400 on its waiting list), but without sufficient and efficient space, Grace Cottage struggle to accommodate prospective patients knocking on its doors. Grace Cottage is out of room. Every closet, porch, and vestibule has been converted into a workspace. And its current clinic, in two converted houses built in the 1840s, is not holding up well under the strain of 30,000 visits per year. Grace Cottage know its community needs better access to primary care, and Grace Cottage want to deliver it! To find out more about the project and how you can help, visit gracecottage.org/future. Hospital Fair Day on Saturday, august 1! Please plan to join Grace Cottage on the Townshend Common from 9 am - 3 pm for the 76th Annual Hospital Fair Day! Free parking, free admission, $1 pony rides, specialty booths, auction, food, entertainment, a Hole-in-One contest sponsored by M&T Bank, a Birthday Parade led by the Stork, with The Taconic Bagpipes, and so much more. Come be part of the fun! If you have items to donate for Hospital Fair Day, including books, jewelry, art, a car, a boat, antiques, or household items, or if you'd be interested in volunteering for an hour, a day, or more (before, during or after) contact Fair Day co-chairs Connie Holt and Helen Holt at [email protected], or the Grace Cottage Foundation team at [email protected]. Proceeds from Hospital Fair Day will go toward the construction of the new primary care clinic. Voting in the 21st Annual Readers' Choice Awards is underway at The Brattleboro Reformer. Grace Cottage has won in all seven eligible categories for many years: * Best Hospital * Best Emergency Room * Best Physical Therapy * Best Doctor * Best Pediatrician * Best Pharmacy (Messenger Valley Pharmacy) * Best Place to Work Voting closes on July 4th! You are allowed one vote online and one vote on the paper ballot found in The Reformer. Grace Cottage Hospital earning Big recognition. I'm very proud to tell you that Grace Cottage Hospital has recently earned three major accolades. The first is from the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines, recognizing efforts to address the health needs of rural communities like ours. According to the American Heart Association, people who live in rural communities have a 40% higher likelihood of developing heart disease and face a 30% increased risk of stroke mortality. Grace Cottage is committed to changing that in its community. For its efforts to optimize stroke care and reduce gaps in rural health outcomes, Grace Cottage has received the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines(R)- Stroke Rural Recognition Bronze Award. This is the highest possible status for the short time Grace Cottage has been involved with this program. Grace Cottage has also achieved Silver Status in the American Heart Association's STEMI Award. To earn this, Grace Cottage Hospital providers demonstrated high proficiency in treating patients experiencing ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) - the deadliest type of heart attack. And again, Grace Cottage has earned another 5-star rating in the 1st Quarter of 2026 by the National Rural Rating System (NRRS), a program through the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) that recognizes excellence in rural healthcare. Grace Cottage earned a 4-star overall rating in 2024 and 2025, based on its scores of 4 and 5 over the whole year. It's a testament to its dedicated staff's efforts to improve its patients' experience. Quarterly scores are averaged at the end of the year to determine the overall score. Grace Cottage is proud to remain at the top of this prestigious list! Ongoing competency training. Grace Cottage is serious about continuous training, particularly in procedures that Grace Cottage don't do often at Grace Cottage. Although Grace Cottage closed its obstetrics program many years ago, its emergency staff keep up their skills in births and many other procedures that aren't often seen, in case they're needed. The photo above appeared in the University of Vermont's Spring newsletter, which can be found here: https://issuu.com/universityofvt/docs/vermont_medicine_spring_2026_ The 17th annual tee it up for health golf benefit a great success! After last year's challenging weather, Grace Cottage were overdue for the picture-perfect day Grace Cottage enjoyed on June 13th. Twenty-two teams entered this year's tournament and had a fantastic day of golf! Thanks to these players, donors to its auction and raffle, and its sponsors, the event raised about $53,000 before expenses. Temps were in the upper 70s, with a slight breeze, and the beautiful Haystack course was in excellent condition. Congratulations to the winning teammates: Matt Scott, Ian Barusso, Trevor Reynolds, and Alex Kaiser; as well as second- place winners: Rob Lawrence, Paul Hoey, Wemyss Scott, and Steve Kruseiewski. Grace Cottage'd like to give a special thanks to all of its sponsors. If they are a business, please thank them by making a purchase at their establishment; if they're an individual, please thank them when you see them! 17th annual Spring into Health 5K. Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital hosted its 17th annual Spring into Health 5K on Saturday, May 9. Despite the weather, Grace Cottage welcomed 65 enthusiastic participants: runners, walkers, and strollers, including almost twenty kids from area school running programs. Proceeds from this year's 5K will go toward the Patient Care Fund at Grace Cottage, helping Grace Cottage to care for its community. Congratulations to Al Claussen, who was the fastest runner at 19:59, and to Julie Wolf, who was the fastest female runner at 24:36. Special recognition goes to Ken Walker, its "most experienced" participant, as well. Many thanks to its generous sponsors: M&T Bank, Linda Bastian, Big Picture Farm, Burrows Sports, Cota & Cota, Riverbend Farm Market, Smith Family Maple, and WEEI 93.7 Sports Radio. Thanks, also, to Rescue Inc. for helping to keep participants safe during the event; the Townshend Church and the town of Townshend for the use of their facilities; and to its volunteers for helping out. Thanks to all for supporting Grace Cottage! I hope everyone has a great start to the summer and is finding ways to keep cool! L. Olivia Sweetnam, CEO

CEO message to the community - February 10, 2025. February 11, 2026 Hi everyone, and happy almost-spring! (Too soon?) The weather this week may not show it, but I am confident Grace Cottage will have warmer days coming in the near future. Grace Cottage has so much to be proud of here at Grace Cottage - some examples can be found below. Thank you all for your continued support! Best Places to Work in Vermont. I am very pleased to announce that, for the FOURTH year in a row, Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital has once again been named by Vermont Biz as one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont! This prestigious award would not have been possible without its incredible group of loyal, dedicated, compassionate, and hard-working employees. I am proud and fortunate to work with all its employees across every department, and I greatly appreciate all they do for its patients and its community. The statewide survey and awards program, designed by Vermont Business Magazine, was created to identify, recognize, and honor the best places of employment in Vermont. The first part of the award qualification process consisted of evaluating each nominated company's workplace policies, practices, and demographics. This part of the process was worth approximately 20% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience, which accounted for approximately 80% of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. For the fourth year in a row, Grace Cottage is the only hospital in Vermont to receive this award. No matter how large or small, thank you for the role that you play in Grace Cottage's success, whether you are an employee, a patient, a volunteer, and/or a donor. Each and every one of you helps keep Grace Cottage not just surviving, but thriving. Welcome Paul Stanchfield! Grace Cottage is delighted to welcome Paul Stanchfield, PA-C, to Grace Cottage Family Health! Paul is seeing patients in its same-day clinic, providing care for illnesses and issues that cannot wait for a wellness visit, but are not appropriate for the emergency room. Paul comes to Grace Cottage from Brattleboro Internal Medicine, where he provided care since 2014. His prior experience includes patient care at The Brattleboro Retreat, Brattleboro Primary Care, and Mount Anthony Primary Care. Same-day appointments are available for current Grace Cottage patients (seen within the last two years). To schedule, please call 802-365-4331. Congratulations to its Daisy Award winner! I was proud to present nurse Michelle Kopka with the first Grace Cottage Daisy Award today. She was nominated by fellow nurse, Michelle Johnson, who said, "Michelle demonstrates compassion, and her level of caring means a great deal to individual patients. Michelle often encourages her patients with good humor and gets the tasks done. I am grateful to work with Michelle at Grace Cottage." If you would like to find out more about the Daisy Award or to recognize a Grace Cottage nurse for excellent care, you can find out more here. Congratulations, Claire Bemis, RN! Grace Cottage's Community Health Team Care Coordinator Claire Bemis was recognized last week by Windham Aging, winning the 2026 Elizabeth Rowell Thompason Leadership Award. "Claire Bemis demonstrates exceptional leadership in improving the lives of older adults in Windham County through her decade of service," they stated. "Through home visits, care coordination, education, and advocacy, she helps seniors age safely and independently at home. Claire bridges healthcare and community resources, champions advanced care planning, supports caregivers through dementia support groups, and plays a critical role in hospital discharge and emergency follow-up. Widely trusted by patients, families, and providers alike, she inspires a culture of compassionate, holistic care, and strengthens the community systems that allow older adults to live with dignity, safety, and choice." Cabin Fever online auction starts friday! Its popular online auction is back! From February 13 - 24, bid to win exciting items large and small. New items are being added daily, so go ahead and register for the auction so that you can hit the ground bidding on February 13th! Exciting vacations, dinner out, gifts, and more will go to the highest bidder! All proceeds from this year's Cabin Fever Auction will go toward the new primary care clinic project. The 3rd Annual Make Tracks for Health on March 7. Join Grace Cottage at Stratton's Nordic Center on Saturday, March 7, from 10 am to noon for the 3rd Annual Make Tracks for Healthevent. You choose whether to snowshoe or cross-country ski on the beautiful wooded trails, then join Grace Cottage for treats. Equipment is available to borrow. This family-friendly event supports its Patient Care Fund, which has an ever-growing need. Primary Care clinic project update. Grace Cottage is so grateful to many donors who have committed early support for its new primary care clinic building to replace its current clinic. While charming, the two 1840-era houses that make up its primary care clinic are not up to the task of hosting 30,000 patient visits each year. Grace Cottage is planning a 23,000-square-foot building on its campus that will connect to the hospital, allowing primary care patients to easily access its lab and diagnostic imaging services. This transformational project will also make its work more efficient, helping lower healthcare costs while making its patients more comfortable. This project started in 2021 with a generous pledge from community members Joe & Terry Pollio. It took years to complete the permitting process, and it will probably not surprise anyone to learn that the project's cost has risen in the meantime. Grace Cottage has raised $16.8 million to date and are confident that you, its community, will help Grace Cottage reach its new goal of $24 million. You can stay up to date on the project and learn how to participate by visiting gracecottage.org/future or calling Charma at 802-365-9109. Many thanks to those of you who have already committed support for this crucial project, which is integral to Grace Cottage's future! Thank you for your support! With your help, Grace Cottage exceeded its Giving Tuesday goal! Thanks to very generous support from its community, along with a grant from the Vermont Department of Homeland Security, work is underway to make essential upgrades to the security in its Emergency Department, making it safer for everyone - its patients, visitors, and the nurses and providers ready to care for the community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Grace Cottage is proud of its reputation at Grace Cottage for compassionate, personal care. These improvements will not change the warm and welcoming atmosphere you expect at Grace Cottage - but they will ensure greater protection for those who depend on Grace Cottage in their most vulnerable moments, and for the staff who dedicate their lives to helping others. Giving Tuesday gifts totaled $27,925, exceeding its goal! Any funds raised beyond the project costs will go directly into the Emergency Department's other expenses, which are always needed. Thanks to everyone who contributed! Grace Cottage is so grateful. I hope you are staying warm and as healthy as possible! L. Olivia Sweetnam, CEO