Per Diem Radiology Technologist

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

'A real circle of caring': Grace Cottage gets Act 250 approval for new clinic. TOWNSHEND - Grace Cottage has received Act 250 approval to proceed with its $21-million renovation and hopes to break ground in late 2026. Plans for a 21,120-square-foot office office building to replace its current outdated hospital clinic buildings and construction of a new parking area was kick-started with a $5-million challenge pledge from Joseph and Elizabeth Pollio, of the Polly-O Dairy, who split their time between Grafton and Homestead, Florida. Grace Cottage also received $1.5 million in congressionally directed spending through U.S. Rep. Becca Balint's office and $1 million from the Northern Borders Regional Commission. Olivia Sweetnam, Grace Cottage's chief executive officer, said the community's support, not just for the new building, but its support over the years since the hospital was founded in 1949 by Dr Carl G. Otis, has been crucial in helping them weather difficult times. "Grace Cottage is incredibly dependent and grateful for our supportive community," she said. "We are embedded in this community and we exist because they want us to be here," said Charma Bonanno, senior director of development, marketing,and community relations. "And this new facility is the building our talented staff and our patients deserve." Sweetnam came to Grace Cottage is June 2024, replacing Doug DiVello, who oversaw much of the beginning steps of the project. "I have worked in many hospitals," she said. "I have never worked anywhere like this where the staff treat each other with the love and respect that they treat the patients." "It's a real circle of caring," said Bonanno, who also thanked the Green Mountain Care Board for its assistance and its issuance of a certificate of need. Grace Cottage has 13 primary care providers who work out of the two old buildings that are connected by a winding hallway. In 2018, the clinic had 21,000 individual patient visits, which grew to 31,000 visits in 2022 - an increase of nearly 50 percent in just four years. "This project is predominantly for the re-location of the existing medical clinic use to a purpose-built and code compliant new structure," states Grace Cottage's Act 250 application. To make a donation, visit gracecottage.org/get-involved/ways-to-give. Bob Audette can be contacted at [email protected].