Dr. Sunil Eappen has taken the helm of Vermont’s largest hospital, the University of Vermont’s Health Network. He succeeds John Brumsted, who retired in November after more than 10 years leading the system.
As the new president and CEO, Dr. Eappen will be responsible for overseeing all operations, including all five community hospitals, an academic center, a children’s hospital and a home health and hospice organization. His leadership comes at a time when labor shortages and economic problems are creating immediate challenges.
Vermont Public’s Mitch Wertlieb spoke with Dr. Sunil Eappen. Their discussion below has been edited and shortened for clarity.
Mitch Wertlieb: I want to know about your overall vision for the UVM Health Network. For example, are there any major changes you are considering for the system?
Dr. Sunil Eappen: So the overall vision is, how can we provide the best care to everyone in the state and upstate New York, regardless of whether they live in rural areas, or whether they live in urban areas; regardless of their race; regardless of their race, ethnicity, language ability, etc.
So, how do we provide quality care throughout our region and upstate New York? And we need to get all of our hospitals and health professionals to work together to do that. So it is the work we have to do to get there.
Let’s talk about the financial situation of the UVM Health Network, because in the fiscal year that ended at the end of September last year, there was a deficit of $90 million. And that’s despite more than $50 million in funding for the pandemic. What is the current economic situation?
Unfortunately, I think the problems that were at the end of last year continued, and we don’t have any financial infusion coming. And that will be the work we must do. Overall, I think we are in the same position as we were at the end of last year.
“So the mass layoffs really affected health care. So all the doctors and nurses retired or left the workforce at a significant rate.”
Dr. Sunil Eappen, UVM Health Network President and CEO
What are the main drivers of the job losses?
So a big part of that is our temporary workers, and the inflationary pressures that we’ve been feeling. So when you look at the workforce across the country, we have fewer nurses and fewer doctors working today, which costs us probably double to hire temporary nurses and other doctors and other staff that we had to fill. .
But the problem for us is that if we don’t do that, we won’t be able to provide the necessary services. And so we are caught in a catch-22, where we know what will bring us our money. But at the same time, we feel that we have a responsibility to take care of our residents and patients.
And the workers we have are permanent, we have to raise their wages, because the competition for those workers is high. So when McDonald’s and Walmart and Costco raise their wages, we’re competing for the same workers.
What is causing the loss of permanent staff, permanent nurses and other staff you need to run a successful healthcare network?
So the big drop really affected health care. As a result, doctors and nurses have all retired or resigned to a greater extent. At the end of the big part of the epidemic, we are really short staffed. And then secondly, because of temporary workers, organizations can actually increase the salary for people who want to travel, and so they attracted people to work, because you can make more by traveling.
But I think people are coming home not just to Vermont, but everywhere, after a year or two of being in a job where they have to travel, and live in places that maybe they didn’t like, but they are. back home. So I hope it goes well.
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UVM Health Network is currently building a facility to try and retain more health workers. When do you expect some of these, some of these houses to be available to these workers?
I think our first units will be open in the spring to summer, which will give our employees a way that will be financially related, so that we can give some money to our employees. And then the second phase will be the next year, in 2024, where the daycare and more homes will open in South Burlington, which I think is the first place for homes, child care.
This is a big problem for us in Vermont. So we had to do that. And we have to work with our government leaders and business leaders to achieve this, and we take this as part of our partnership responsibility, because we are a large part of the workforce here.
And Dr. Eappen, before coming here to Vermont, you served at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. You led their diversity, equity and inclusion program starting in 2020. What plans do you have to improve DEI standards here in Vermont?
Things are a little different in Vermont. At Brigham, the focus was, how do we get our medical community to match the neighborhood. And that means expanding our diversity in our work to accommodate this. Here, I think we have a responsibility to be leaders, we are the whitest people in America, I think we are about 93% white. So bringing and making people appreciate the diversity and value that diverse employees bring, and how we can be more creative, will be a big part of the work we do. And so we’re going to see a lot of change, I think, because we’re working and starting this process in many ways within our network, so I’m also excited about this process.
“And so if we want to get the best nurses and doctors and have the best staff, we have to be able to pay them. And those dollars come from making sure we hit our limits. It’s very important to be able to serve our people well.”
Dr. Sunil Eappen, UVM Health Network President and CEO
You seem optimistic, and that’s just what you need to be able to tackle a big challenge with work. But I’m wondering, you know, that less… $90 million, the amount of this difference should be closed to get out of the situation that would be difficult? Do you think it’s in trouble?
It is, and I think it’s a very good point, because the reason we have to go from bad to good at the edge, is that we can get it back. And if we can’t get it back, we’re in trouble. And by reinvest, I mean in buildings, hospital rooms and beds; MRIs and CT scans, and things like that.
But another aspect of reinvestment is reinvesting in our people. And if we want to get the best nurses and doctors and have the best staff, we have to pay them. And those dollars come from making sure we cross our borders. So the limits are very important to be able to serve our people well.
When is the next benchmark?
So for our margin to go up and make more profit, we should see that maybe when we look at it at the end of March or April. So the first half of the year, our fiscal year, that will be a good time, a good measure for us to look at and see how we’re doing.
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