Giving Newsletter - February 2020

We express gratitude in many ways. For David Wells, a UVM Cancer Center patient and retired professor of mechanical engineering, gratitude took the form of an acoustic guitar he hand-built and donated to the UVM Cancer Center in recognition of the expert care he’d received from Drs. Jim Wallace and Scott Perrapato, and the care his children received related to their cancer diagnoses.

David asked that the guitar be raffled off, with proceeds going to the UVM Cancer Center Fund where they’d support a wide range of patients’ needs. Donating the instrument—made from Adirondack red spruce, walnut and mahogany and embellished with inlay designs by Tracy Cox, a friend who’s worked on guitars for music legends like Eric Clapton— was for David an expression of gratitude, an articulation of his love of music and a way to ease the burden of others impacted by cancer.

The raffle went live in November, sold out in 45 days and raised more than $6,000 through ticket sales and donations. The raffle winner, songwriter and musician Alexa Woodward, learned she had won the guitar just two days after she herself underwent surgery to remove a malignant melanoma.

Music lover to music lover; survivor to survivor; human to human, this elegant instrument inspired generosity, gratitude and healing and will ultimately touch many lives. Thank you to all who participated.

Read Alexa’s personal reflection and watch a brief video of her playing the instrument here on UVM’s campus.

Interested in elevating your wellness in 2020? Inspired by the opportunity to support UVM Cancer Center patients?

Check out TinBox Collective’s new “WellBox” offering discounts at local businesses that foster and value well-being, such as Smugglers’ Notch, Evolution PT & Yoga and Advance Music Center. 50% of all proceeds will be donated to the UVM Cancer Center Fund and the Integrative Therapies Fund at the UVM Cancer Center. Learn more or watch a recent MyNBC clip about Williston, VT resident Andy Duback, founder of TinBox Collective.

UVM Medical Center employees receive 30% off purchase price. Please email wellness [at] uvmhealth.org (wellness[at]uvmhealth[dot]org) for more information.

Explore the latest issue of UVM Larner College of Medicine’s The Red Wheelbarrow. This student-run magazine for the literary and visual arts aims to capture, cultivate and explore the creative endeavors of the medical and scientific communities—past and present —at UVM and its clinical education partners.

Enjoy extraordinary works by Larner College of Medicine faculty, students, staff, alumni and donors. View the Red Wheelbarrow.

Since 1920, UVM Medical Center’s Auxiliary has been tending to patients and families in myriad ways. From providing teddy bears to children in the Emergency Department to making significant charitable gifts to areas such as the Breast Care Center, Cardiology’s Echo Lab and the Miller Building, the Auxiliary’s support gets to the heart of patients’ needs.

Fitting, then, that as part of their Centennial Celebration this coming May, the Auxiliary is hosting a raffle to benefit UVM Medical Center’s Health Assistance Program which offers financial support, advocacy and other services to patients. Click here to learn more about the raffle and purchase tickets.

Having raised nearly $8 million since their formation 100 years ago, the Auxiliary is poised for a new century of fundraising, service and community-building. For all the Auxiliary has accomplished in the interest of greater health and wellness for patients, families and our staff, we say thank you.

Biomedical science and technology change people’s lives for the better. Physicians and scientists at UVM are key agents of that change, spurring world-class developments in such areas as cardiovascular, cancer, neurobehavioral and health care delivery research. A leadership gift from Steven Firestone, MD—an alumnus from the UVM Larner College of Medicine Class of 1969—sets the stage for construction of a new 60,000 square foot biomedical research facility on campus. To be named the Dr. Frederick and Mrs. Bobbie Firestone Medical Research Building in honor of Firestone’s parents, the building will feature state-of-the-art, flexible, collaborative spaces that share resources efficiently and foster innovation and progress.

Click here to read the inspiring story behind Firestone’s gift and learn more about the facility. Interested in supporting the project? Contact Kevin.McAteer [at] uvmhealth.org (Kevin[dot]McAteer[at]uvmhealth[dot]org).

In June of 2019, six newly-minted physicians arrived at the UVM Medical Center from across the U.S. to begin their training as the first cohort of emergency medicine residents. The group has embarked on a three-year residency program that is breaking new ground for its scope and emphasis on practice in resource-limited settings.

“Few programs in the country allow residents to train in an academic tertiary care center environment, plus a rural environment, plus a community environment,” says Ramsey Herrington, MD, Emergency Medicine division chief.

In addition to time at UVM Medical Center’s Emergency Department, residents complete multiple rotations at two UVM Health Network locations: Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, VT, and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, NY. The group hones their clinical decision-making through advanced training in wilderness medicine, global health and point of care ultrasound.

To help offset the financial burden on visiting medical students, Emergency Medicine faculty members established a new endowment to encourage fourth-year medical students from underrepresented backgrounds to spend a month rotating at UVM Medical Center, with an aim to recruit and retain them as practitioners in the Network. “Residents tend to stay in the areas in which they train,” says Herrington, adding that the current residents are strong indicators of what’s to come.

“They're super bright and enthusiastic,” he says. “They have a strong work ethic. Knowing they’re going to be working in our network – it’s very exciting.”

To learn more about this fund, contact Susie.Poster-Jones [at] uvmhealth.org (Susie[dot]Poster-Jones[at]uvmhealth[dot]org).