Approval of UVM Medical Center’s Plan to Purchase Fanny Allen Campus Safeguards Patients’ Access to Essential Services
Green Mountain Care Board affirms the campus is ‘integral’ to caring for Vermonters, purchase ‘benefits patients and the community at large'
Colchester, Vt. – UVM Medical Center’s plan to purchase the Colchester-based Fanny Allen campus, which is home to a wide array of essential clinical services used by tens of thousands of patients each year, has been approved by the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB). The written decision by the board comes after Fanny Allen’s current owners said they would sell the 22-acre campus.
“The Board’s approval of our application should serve as reassurance to thousands of patients that they will continue to receive the care they need without interruption and reaffirms the central role this historic campus continues to play for both UVM Medical Center and patients across our region who rely on the Fanny Allen campus for essential care,” said Stephen Leffler, MD, UVM Medical Center President and Chief Operating Officer.
The GMCB, in approving the Certificate of Need application, said the $17.3 million purchase – financed over 15 years and included in the hospital’s FY25 budget submission – would serve the interests of patients, and the community. By purchasing the Fanny Allen campus, UVM Medical Center expects to save about $6.1 million over the 15-year period of financing.
“The project secures the use of the property for years to come and safeguards patients’ uninterrupted access to essential services,” the board noted when issuing the approval. “[UVM Medical Center] has demonstrated that the Fanny Allen campus is an integral component of its care delivery system and that continued use of this site benefits patients and the community at large.”
Under Vermont state law, to earn a Certificate of Need, UVM Medical Center was required to demonstrate:
The cost of the project is reasonable, financially sustainable and will not impact health care affordability for patients.
The purchase will improve quality of care or provide greater access to care for Vermont residents.
The purchase serves the public good.
UVM Medical Center will be required to file routine reports with the GMCB related to the operation of the campus that include current and long-term plans for on-campus buildings, any plans to demolish or renovate on-campus buildings, any changes in building use and financial updates regarding the tax-exempt bond used to finance the purchase.
Private practice physicians with offices in the Fanny Allen Medical Office Building will not be impacted by the sale and will continue to practice in their current locations.
UVM Medical Center in January submitted its Certificate of Need application after Fanny Allen’s current owners, Covenant Health, a Catholic health care system that owns the property, said they would sell the campus. UVM Medical Center currently leases Fanny Allen, which is home to a wide variety of outpatient clinics and offices, including surgical services and a suite of operating rooms, memory care, audiology, breast imaging, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, rehabilitation therapy, speech language pathology, radiology, urgent care, urology, pharmacy and laboratory services.
Purchasing the Fanny Allen campus is critical to meeting the current and future needs of patients throughout the region, as UVM Medical Center addresses the ongoing impacts of a rapidly-aging and growing regional population. The campus plays a central role in providing outpatient care and services, which hospital leaders say is crucial as UVM Medical Center continues to address patient access challenges, respond to growing demand for more complex outpatient care and work to limit hospitalizations for patients whose care would be more appropriately delivered in an outpatient setting.
In 2023, citing growing demand for outpatient surgical services, UVM Medical Center announced it was seeking approval from the GMCB to construct a multispecialty outpatient surgery center near its Tilley Drive campus in South Burlington, at an estimated cost of about $130 million. That application is still being considered by the Board.
“Fanny Allen is critical to ensuring continued access to care, but it does not solve all of our needs,” said Dr. Leffler. “Purchasing the campus is just one aspect of our long-term facilities plan, which includes major investments for new construction, as well as renovations and updates to existing Medical Center facilities.”