BRATTLEBORO-Thank you for The Commons' article detailing what Grace Cottage Hospital is and does for the people of our region. Your interview with the GCH CEO Olivia Sweetnam brought to the fore a number of important points about not only the hospital and the communities it serves, but also the remarkable lack of knowledge and insight shown by the Green Mountain Care Board and its evaluation of Vermont's medical care future.
As a physician who has worked in a number of small New England hospitals, my own involvement with Grace Cottage has been peripheral. Nonetheless, it has been clear to me for the past 35 years that its model of community-based, locally oriented medical care (including home care, elder care, and rehabilitation) provides an essential missing piece that Americans from coast to coast wish they had in their towns and neighborhoods.
Yes, the big hospitals and medical centers can literally work miracles, but they are not nearly so adept at the 1,001 details and kindnesses needed daily in every location where people go in pursuit of healing and wellness. That's where Grace Cottage comes in - and excels.
The members of the Green Mountain Care Board should try again and open their eyes to what's real. What's real is a highly respected, even beloved, institution doing what needs to be done, when and where it needs to be done, at an affordable price, in cooperation with other caregivers and stakeholders who provide important elements of true sustainability.
Grace Cottage Hospital can hold its head up high as a model for American health care in the 21st century. The Green Mountain Care needs to live up to its name and get on board.
Franz Reichsman
Brattleboro
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