All UVM Health Network Critical Access Hospitals Nationally Recognized in ‘Critical Access Hospitals to Know’ List

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Patients in our region are being served by nationally recognized hospitals as all three critical access hospitals in the University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center, Elizabethtown Community Hospital, and Porter Medical Center – have been named to a list of 27 ‘Critical Access Hospitals to Know’ nationwide by Becker’s Hospital Review. Critical access hospitals are vital to ensuring residents and visitors of rural areas have access to high quality care, close to home, when they need it. By definition, they offer 24/7 emergency care and have no more than 25 inpatient beds. Alice Hyde earned Critical Access Hospital designation just a few months ago. 

Alice Hyde Medical Center – Malone, N.Y. 

Located in one of New York’s most rural counties, Alice Hyde Medical Center is committed to providing high quality care to more than 55,000 residents. Alice Hyde is a 25-bed acute care facility that also includes four family health centers, a walk-in clinic, cancer center, orthopedic and physical rehabilitation center, cardiac rehabilitation unit and a dental center. The medical center provides a 24-hour physician-staffed emergency department, laboratory services, an array of surgical services, a wide range of outpatient services and access to numerous clinical specialties through its partnership with the UVM Health Network. Alice Hyde also operates The Alice Center, a 135-bed skilled nursing facility with a 30-bed assisted living program.

“The critical access hospital status we earned in November 2023 has supported this team’s commitment to providing vital services to our community while securing a stronger foothold in the future,” said Michelle LeBeau, President and Chief Operating Officer of Alice Hyde Medical Center and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, a larger community hospital in Plattsburgh, N.Y. “Before we attained our CAH status, we functioned very much like a critical access hospital but without the associated financial benefits. This designation is helping us to preserve access to quality care for the people we serve. Being recognized by Becker’s as a Critical Access Hospital to Know in our first calendar year with the designation is a testament to the great work of our teams, and I thank them for their work.”

Elizabethtown Community Hospital – Elizabethtown and Ticonderoga, N.Y.

With two hospitals and six community-based primary care health centers, Elizabethtown Community Hospital serves as the central source of healthcare delivery for local residents and visitors to the Adirondack Park wilderness. The Ticonderoga campus, where the former Moses Ludington Hospital stood, is now a state-of-the-art 24-hour emergency department and outpatient center owned and operated by Elizabethtown Community Hospital. Between the Elizabethtown and Ticonderoga campuses, the hospital offers two 24-hour physician-staffed emergency departments, a 25-bed inpatient unit, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, radiology, laboratory, chemotherapy, infusion, cardiology, gynecology, gastroenterology, oncology, orthopedics, women’s health and pulmonary specialty care.

“Both Elizabethtown Community Hospital and Porter Medical Center are committed to providing quality health care to everyone in our respective regions in Vermont and New York,” said Robert Ortmyer, President and Chief Operating Officer of Elizabethtown Community Hospital and Interim President at Porter Medical Center. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work of our providers and staff, not only for providing compassionate care, but also for our collective work as an employer, partner and responsible steward of these communities.”   

Porter Medical Center – Middlebury, Vt.

Founded in 1925, Porter Medical Center is a community health care provider with just over 700 employees and approximately 192,000 patient encounters each year. It operates a 25-bed acute care facility and a 105-bed skilled nursing facility, which includes a memory care unit, short-term rehabilitation unit and long-term care unit. It also offers a network of primary care and specialty medical practices, inpatient surgery, diagnostic imaging and laboratory services, an infusion center and an express care facility. Porter earned a 5-star rating from CMS in 2023.

"The staff at these hospitals maintain vital access to health care for people in the most rural parts of our region,” said Sunny Eappen, MD, MBA, President and CEO of the UVM Health Network. “Knowing the great work that they do, this recognition doesn’t surprise me, and I am proud of them. I applaud their ongoing efforts to work in tandem with their Network partners to improve access, enhance quality of care, and address health disparities in an evolving health care landscape.”

In compiling the list, the Becker’s editorial team examined rankings and awards from respected organizations, including Healthgrades, the National Rural Health Association and the Chartis Center for Rural Health.