Vermont Public is independent, community-supported media, serving Vermont with trusted, relevant and essential information. We share stories that bring people together, from every corner of our region. New to Vermont Public? Start here.

© 2024 Vermont Public | 365 Troy Ave. Colchester, VT 05446

Public Files:
WVTI · WOXM · WVBA · WVNK · WVTQ · WVTX
WVPR · WRVT · WOXR · WNCH · WVPA
WVPS · WVXR · WETK · WVTB · WVER
WVER-FM · WVLR-FM · WBTN-FM

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact hello@vermontpublic.org or call 802-655-9451.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The home for VPR's coverage of health and health industry issues affecting the state of Vermont.

Single Beds, High-Tech Lifts Among Features At UVM Medical Center's New Building

A room in the Miller building at UVM Medical Center, with a bed and a dummy patient laying in it.
Emily Corwin
/
VPR
A room in the new Miller building at UVM Medical Center, with a bed and a dummy patient.

The University of Vermont Medical Center unveiled its new Robert E. and Holly D. Miller Building to reporters on Friday. The building has 128 rooms, serving specialty surgery, cardiology, oncology and orthopedic patients.

Previously only 30% of the hospital's patient rooms had single beds; now, nearly all will be singles.

"Single-room occupancy is better for the patient, for the family, and certainly delivers better outcomes," said Dawn LeBaron, the vice president of hospital services.

Each bed in the new building will come with a tablet, allowing patients to request assistance, review their medical records and control lighting. Some rooms also have ceiling lifts, which can move patients from the bed to the bathroom and back.

The hospital is seeking LEED certification for the $187-million building, which administrators say will use half the energy of a comparable hospital facility.

Patients will move into the building in two weeks.

Emily Corwin reported investigative stories for VPR until August 2020. In 2019, Emily was part of a two-newsroom team which revealed that patterns of inadequate care at Vermont's eldercare facilities had led to indignities, injuries, and deaths. The consequent series, "Worse for Care," won a national Edward R. Murrow award for investigative reporting, and placed second for a 2019 IRE Award. Her work editing VPR's podcast JOLTED, about an averted school shooting, and reporting NHPR's podcast Supervision, about one man's transition home from prison, made her a finalist for a Livingston Award in 2019 and 2020. Emily was also a regular reporter and producer on Brave Little State, helping the podcast earn a National Edward R. Murrow Award for its work in 2020. When she's not working, she enjoys cross country skiing and biking.
Latest Stories