Departmental News

UVM Health Network President & CEO Brumsted Announces Retirement in September

January 26, 2022 by Annie Mackin

After more than four decades as a physician, innovator and national leader in health care, John R. Brumsted, M.D., president and CEO of The University of Vermont Health Network since it was founded in 2011, has announced that he will retire in September 2022.

John R. Brumsted, M.D., president and CEO, UVM Health Network. (Photo: Jeff Clarke)

After more than four decades as a physician, innovator, and national leader in health care, John R. Brumsted, M.D., president and CEO of The University of Vermont Health Network since it was founded in 2011, has announced that he will retire in September.

Over the course of his career, Brumsted served as a physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology in rural Northern New York and at the UVM Medical Center, brought individual health care organizations together as a health system to preserve access to high quality care in the region, and served as a respected voice and driver of what has become a national model for health care payment reform efforts here in Vermont.

“It is such an honor to be a part of health care in Vermont and Northern New York,” said Brumsted. “We have experienced and accomplished so much together, and we created something new – an integrated health care system – to respond to the needs of the patients we are so privileged to serve. We have faced many challenges, and there is no doubt that there will be more challenges in the future. I am confident that this organization will continue to innovate and improve the way we serve and advance the health of our patients and our communities, now and into the future.”

UVM Larner College of Medicine Dean Richard L. Page, M.D., said "John Brumsted has devoted his career in service to our integrated health system, in roles at the UVM Larner College of Medicine, the UVM Medical Center and the UVM Health Network. On behalf of our College, I am grateful for his vision, partnership, and countless accomplishments that have brought benefit to our entire region. I wish him the very best on his retirement, and look forward to the process to recruit the next CEO who will build on Dr. Brumsted's legacy."

Preserving Local Access to Care

Brumsted’s leadership and vision was borne out of a desire to end health care disparities and protect access to care for people who are disadvantaged and for those who live in rural areas. This passion for equity drove the evolution of the UVM Health Network from its beginnings, as a loose affiliation among a handful of local hospitals, to an interconnected health system serving patients across two states and an essential partnership with the University of Vermont for academic medicine and research.

Under Brumsted’s direction, the UVM Health Network has become one of Northern New England’s premier health care providers, and Vermont has remained one of the lowest-cost states in the nation for health care. In recent years, the Network has embarked on a multi-year transformation to an electronic health record that serves as the foundation for countless quality and patient experience improvement initiatives. His support and leadership made possible the $180 million Miller Building addition to UVM Medical Center and the transformation of the struggling former Moses Ludington Hospital in Ticonderoga, N.Y., into a modern, full-service medical village campus of Elizabethtown Community Hospital. In 2021, the Network launched UVM Health Advantage, a Medicare Advantage plan, the first of its kind in the region, shaped by physicians toward the goal of making value based care a reality across the health system.

For nearly two years, Brumsted’s leadership through the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized providing the community with trusted health information and supporting the accelerated expansion of new pathways to care through video and phone visits to keep health care accessible during uncertain times, and leading the way with Network participation in an unprecedented mass vaccination campaign.

Brumsted also has driven the Network forward in a way that leverages the benefits of individual health care organizations coming together as a system of care. This has included efforts to create more consistent and equitable care through key new positions including the Network’s first Network Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Nursing Officer.

“Of course, none of what we have accomplished would be possible without the best providers and staff in health care,” Brumsted said. “To them, I want to express my enduring appreciation – ‘Thank you for showing up for our patients, communities and each other. I will miss working alongside you, but continue to be grateful for your service.’”

Championing Health Care Reform

Under Brumsted’s leadership, The UVM Health Network has worked with state and other health care partners to establish Vermont as a recognized national model for health care reform. The ongoing transition to value based care and reimbursement is one of the Network’s core strategies both in Vermont and Northern New York: These efforts are focused on transforming the way health care is delivered and paid for, to not only treat patients for their illness, but also to keep them as healthy as possible while controlling costs.

“Now, more than ever, it is clear that health care reform is absolutely necessary,” Dr. Brumsted said. “Vermont’s approach to reform allows providers – who know what their patients need – to come together statewide and chart a path toward higher-quality, lower-cost health care.”

UVMHN Will Launch a National Search

A national search has begun to identify a successor before Brumsted’s retirement on September 30. The search committee will be led by UVM Health Network Board Chair Allie Stickney.

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About The University of Vermont Health Network

The University of Vermont Health Network is an integrated system serving the residents of Vermont and northern New York with a shared mission: working together, we improve people’s lives. The partners are:

(This article was adapted from a news release by Annie Mackin, UVM Health Network communications director.)

Announcements

 

We are excited to welcome to our department two new faculty: 
-Karen George, MD, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology).  Dr. George is also Associate Dean for Students at Larner College of Medicine

-Amanda Kallen, MD,  Associate Professor of of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility)

Anne Dougherty, M.D., Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences has now accepted the enhanced role of ODEI Director for Gender Equity.

In this new role Dr. Dougherty will continue her current coordination of workshops, speakers and awards related to the LCOM Gender Equity Initiative.  She will also develop new mentoring and resource programs for women and underrepresented minorities in medicine, participate in analysis and tracking, and collaborate on efforts to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in faculty recruitment. As ODEI Director for Gender Equity, Dr. Dougherty will report directly to Margaret A. Tandoh, M.D., FACS, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.   Congratulations to Anne on her new role!

CONGRATULATIONS to the following faculty who received promotions (July 2021):
Nathalie Feldman, MD to Associate Professor and Navid Esfandiari, PhD to Professor

Navid Esfandiari, PhD, Professor, REI Division, received the "Star Award" from the 77th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) - October 2021

Congratulations to Justin DeAngelis, MD who was appointed interim assistant dean for students in the Office of Medical Student Education at the Larner College of Medicine, effective March 1. Read more here

A champion for women's health, diversity and science, Elizabeth Bonney, MD recognized in News Spotlight from UVM Larner College of Medicine.  Read the article here.

Navid Esfandiari, PhD, received the “Star Award” from the 76th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) – October 2020

Misty Blanchette Porter, MD, Associate Professor, REI Division, was invited to present at AIUM education webinar - teaching on ORADS and IOTA on the evaluation of adnexal masses – Sept 2020

Justin DeAngelis, MD, Assistant Professor, Ob/Gyn, was selected as Class Mentor to the residency by the class of 2021 and was recently awarded the 2019 APGO Excellence in Teaching Award.

SO PROUD! Congratulations to Katherine Menezes, MD (PGY-3) who was awarded the Clinical Resident of the Year Award by the LCOM graduating Class of 2021!!!!  These are the awards that are given out on Honors Night to and from the graduating class.  Check out the video here.

Marjorie Meyer, MD, Division Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine, was recognized for her work in the treatment of women with opioid dependence during pregnancy in Governor Phil Scott's State of the State address on Jan 9.  Read announcement here

Theresa Ko, PhD (Croucher Fellowship 2006), Assistant Professor in the Division of Reproductive Sciences, was recently interviewed with the Croucher Foundation in December 2019 about her molecular biology quest to reduce maternal deaths.   Read the article here

Elizabeth Bonney, MD, MPH, Professor and Head of the Division of Reproductive Sciences was selected to present the lecture entitled "A Theory of Maternal Immunity" at the 25th Annual Dr. Raymond O. Berry Memorial Lecture on October 18, 2019. Read the announcement here.

Congratulations to Marti Churchill, CNM who received the award for "Excellence in Advanced Nursing" at the Nursing Awards Ceremony  on May 6, 2019.

Congratulations to Tendai Chiware, MD who won the 2019 Beth Fitzpatrick M.D. Citizen of the World Award, awarded by the Global Health Program at UVM LCOM and the Western Connecticut Health Network. 

We are pleased to share news of the appointment of Anne Dougherty, M.D., as Gender Equity Liaison in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) at The UVM Larner College of Medicine.    Read the announcement here.

Cheung Wong, MD was invested in a formal ceremony on June 8, 2018 as the inaugural Berta Pi-Sunyer Williams Endowed Professor.   Read all about it.

The cover photo on the March 2018 issue of the American Journal of Ob/Gyn is from Dr. Kelley McLean's article Mechanical heart valves in pregnancy:  the necessity of appropriate and careful anticoagulation.

Congratulations to Cheung Wong, MD for his recent appointment as the VP for Clinical Affairs for the University of Vermont Health Network.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Bonney, MD and Natalia Gokina, PhD who have won the NIH RO1 funding for "Systemic Vasculature Remodeling Females:  Effects of the Immune System and Experience of Pregnancy".  The application was scored at the 1st percentile!

Our match results are in!  Announcing our newest residents 2018-2022:  Hayley Pierce (Saint Louis University); Allison Walker (Oregon Health & Science University) and Rebecca Zuckerman (University of Chicago).  We look forward to seeing them soon!

We are excited to welcome our new fellows on July 2, 2018 for their 3 year fellowship:  Maximilian Klein, MD (Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility fellow) and Ankita Kulkarni, MBBS (Maternal Fetal Medicine fellow)

Nathalie Feldman, M.D., Educator Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, was recently awarded (along with her colleague, Judy Lewis, MD in the Dept. of Psychiatry) the UVM Larner College of Medicine Teaching Academy's "Educational Scholarship Award" for her work on the learning environment.  

Jenna Flanagan, MD (PGY-3) will be presenting a poster "A Needs Assessment for Somali Women:  Optimizing this Populations' Peripartum Care in a Tertiary Care Center in Vermont" at the North American Refugee Health Conference, June 16-18, 2017 in Toronto, Canada.

Erin Morris, MD, received the 2017 APGO Excellence in Teaching Award.  Dr. Morris is an active clinical member of the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine.  She currently serves as our Associate Ob/Gyn Clerkship Director and the Faculty mentor for the Ob/Gyn Student Interest Group. 

May 15, 2017 - Elise Everett, MD was presented the Clinical Teacher of the Year Award from the Class of 2017 during Honors Night.

CONGRATULATIONS to our new interns starting June 2017: Johanna Kelley, Katherine Menezes & Rebecca Parad.