Small community hospitals have been struggling to control expenses and increase revenues to remain viable. In the case of Porter Medical Center in Middlebury, it has lost $11 million since 2012.
In the face of these losses, the hospital has eliminated the positions of eight registered nurses and adjusted its benefit package while opening a new infusion center.
We discuss the challenges facing this small, community hospital with Ron Hallman, Porter's Vice President for Development and Public Relations, and Alice Leo, President of the Porter Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.
Also on the program, College of St. Joseph in Rutland is the most diverse college in the state. With an undergraduate population of about 250, 40% are students of color. The college also works with the STEPS program, supporting and assisting students coming out of the foster system in the state. We talk with Paula McGhee, Associate Vice-President for Student Affairs and Director of Diversity and Inclusion and the STEPS Program, about how the school thinks about diversity, and how students are received by the local community.
Broadcast live on Mon., February 29, 2016 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
