Vermont Announces Rural Health Transformation Projects to Strengthen Vermont’s Long-Term Care System
WATERBURY, Vt. — The Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL) announced the award of approximately $2.7 million in federal funding through the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) program to strengthen the state’s long-term care system. The department awarded funds to three rural nursing homes to increase their capacity to serve residents with complex medical issues and to four community partners to increase training of Licensed Nursing Assistants (LNA) to serve in rural healthcare and long-term care settings across the state.
Vermont’s Rural Health Transformation program is a five-year federal initiative to strengthen rural healthcare; this award from that funding will focus on necessary equipment and staffing to ensure high-quality care in rural areas of the state.
As Vermont’s demographics shift and people live longer lives with chronic medical conditions, Vermonters need to be able to receive more intensive care closer to home. The following organizations have been awarded funding to increase access to high-acuity medical care in nursing homes:
- The Pines at Rutland Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation has been the first and only nursing home in the state to accept residents on ventilators and often has a waiting list; with the purchase of new ventilators, they will be able to serve more residents with these needs.
- Johnsbury Center for Living and Rehabilitation will launch a new ventilator unit in the Northeast Kingdom, further increasing rural Vermont’s ability to provide this care.
- Springfield Center for Living and Rehabilitation will open the first ‘dialysis den’ in a Vermont nursing home, supporting residents and community members in receiving dialysis at home and in their own community, instead of having to travel long distances for treatment.
Increasing recruitment and retention of LNAs is key to the sustainability of Vermont’s long-term care system, which currently relies on expensive traveler/agency staffing. The following organizations have been awarded funding to increase Vermont’s LNA workforce:
- Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, Hartford Town School District, and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation will act as regional LNA Training Hubs to expand training opportunities in rural areas and increase recruitment and retention of LNAs in the field. These projects build new partnerships to strengthen student recruitment and readiness, offer more trainings to more students each year, and are designed to set students up for career success.
- Community Colleges of Vermont will develop an innovative statewide LNA Training Hub to facilitate more students entering LNA training programs. That Hub will include: connections with training programs across the state, a website for identifying programs, a lending library of training equipment, support for curriculum development for programs, and LNA navigation to support trainees.
“Across the nation, people are living longer. In Vermont, about a third of our population is over 60. It is important that we are ready to provide the services and meet the needs of older Vermonters. We must do all we can to ensure our systems of care are prepared to meet growing demand as well as the changing and complex needs of Vermonters as we age,” stated Dr. Jill Bowen, DAIL Commissioner. “We are very excited to support these projects in our most rural areas, and to begin working with these key partners. These grant awards further our mission of making Vermont the best state in which to grow old or live with a disability.”
“The Trump Administration’s Rural Health Transformation Program is based on one simple idea: your access to quality health care shouldn’t depend on your ZIP code,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “Funding new approaches to expand access to care is a critical step toward achieving that vision for Vermonters, and I look forward to seeing RHTP investments drive equally transformative innovations for rural communities nationwide.”
About the Rural Health Transformation Program
Vermont’s Rural Health Transformation (RHT) program is a five-year federal funding initiative designed to promote bold, innovative ideas that make care more accessible, higher quality, and better tailored to meet the needs of rural communities. The RHT program is funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Vermont’s Year 1 award is $195 million.
This project is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $195,053,740.44 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS, HHS, or the U.S. Government.
To learn more about Vermont’s Rural Health Transformation Program, visit: healthcarereform.vermont.gov/hr1rural-health-transformation-fund.
About the Department of Disabilities, Aging & Independent Living:
Our mission is to make Vermont the best state in which to grow old or to live with a disability – with dignity, respect and independence.
