Gifford President Named
Chair of State Board

Gifford Medical Center Administrator Joseph Woodin has been elected chairman of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems Board.

Woodin brings 20 years of health care leadership experience to the board and a demonstrated ability to improve health care in Vermont. Under his leadership for the last eight years, Gifford in Randolph has seen positive financial performance and significant growth in number of providers, patients, technology and revenue.

The Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS) is a member-owned organization devoted to developing and sustaining high quality health services for Vermonters. Its members include the state’s 14 nonprofit hospitals, along with the Vermont State Hospital, Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Brattleboro Retreat. VAHHS activities include advocacy, policy development, education and research.

"Having worked in three Vermont hospitals, I think I bring a sensitivity and understanding of the needs of our medical school and associated tertiary care center, as well as the mid-size and smaller community hospitals," Woodin said.

Woodin previously worked at both Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin and the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont (now Fletcher Allen Health Care) in Burlington. He has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in administration. He has also previously served on numerous state and New England health care boards, and served as president of the New England Healthcare Information Management Systems Society.

VAHHS President Bea Grause said Woodin brings "knowledge of the health care industry, energy and passion" to the board and "he’ll need all three to help guide the association given what’s on the horizon."

"This next year is going to be an extremely busy year. We’re going to be facing a lot of challenges on both the state and federal level," Grause added, naming the state’s new Catamount Health plan and changes in Medicare and Medicaid funding as two examples.

While rankings such as "healthiest state in the nation" are a testament to Vermont’s medical system, Woodin acknowledges that the cost of health care is foremost on many Vermonters’ minds.

"I think we’re moving into a very exciting time as it relates to the delivery of health care in Vermont," Woodin said. "The Catamount Health plan and some of the other legislative efforts will definitely improve access to services. Vermont is actually on the cutting edge of health care reform. The challenge becomes how do we ensure all the needs are being met, and how can we afford these new programs."

For VAHHS, Woodin said that means, "As an association, we need to continue to listen to the public, and to our patients, to understand the changes they would like to see. We need to facilitate that process and lead the changes with our collective association."

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