Stephen Leffler, M.D.’90, president and chief operating officer of the UVM Medical Center, CEO of the six-hospital University of Vermont Health system that stretches across northern New York and Vermont, and professor of emergency medicine at the Larner College of Medicine, says hospitals in the North Country face numerous challenges, according to WAMC. Dr. Leffler expressed concerns about the state of rural hospitals during a legislative forum in Plattsburgh.
“Rural health care right now is under intense pressure,” Leffler says. “There’s real pressure on workforce, on how we pay for it, the impact on property taxes, education taxes, the challenge on aging facilities, rising costs, and limited access to our staff for things like housing, child care, broadband access, and transportation. I know many of you are sharing the same challenges.”
Leffler praised the partnerships between hospitals, colleges, community organizations and businesses to train a new health care workforce.