Burlington, VT. – Nearly three dozen employees from hospitals throughout University of Vermont Health Network graduated from the health system’s Pathway Program this month.
The size and scope of the class – 31 employees from hospitals across the health system – showcases the swift and dramatic evolution of a workforce development initiative that was once focused solely on nursing shortages at UVM Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center’s (CVMC) long-term care facility, Woodridge Nursing Home.
“To see it grow from the original group of thirteen to over thirty graduates is astounding,” said Megan Foster, workforce development program manager for the health system and one of the architects of the original program at CVMC. “To see lives change and people open up pathways for themselves and their families really shows the impact we are trying to create.”
Respiratory Therapist Pathway graduates first cohort
Two years after UVM Health Network partnered with Vermont State University to revive the school’s Respiratory Therapist program – ailing amid low visibility and awareness of the career path – employees from UVM Health Network - Alice Hyde Medical Center and CVMC are the first graduates of the health system’s RT Pathway Program.
Rose Blacker, who has spent the last three years working as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at Alice Hyde Pediatrics, is one of those graduates. Blacker previously spent a decade serving as a private duty nurse for chronically-ill children in need of long-term respiratory support. Her passion for acute care and supporting families through difficult circumstances is why she chose pursue a career as a respiratory therapist. Blacker graduated summa cum laude and maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout the two-year RT program.
“I did this because I wanted to provide that kind of care again – I missed it so much,” she said.
As a single mother with two children – one adult son and a 10-year-old daughter – Blacker said uprooting her career so dramatically would have been difficult without the health system’s Pathway Program. The programs allow employees to continue earning a salary while pursuing clinical degrees that range from LPN and registered nurse (RN) licenses to laboratory-based careers like medical lab technician.
The financial support available to employees is due in large part to the generous donations of organizations like M&T Charitable Foundation, Union Mutual, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group and individuals like David and Eleanor Ignat.
“There are people who this program can provide not just fulfillment but also financial stability, and change their life,” said Blacker. “I think the program is a beautiful thing. It makes me proud to work for a system that does things like this.”
Respiratory Therapy is a health care career in high demand amid years of low public awareness of the career, as well as retirements and increased prevalence of respiratory conditions like pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other disorders that restrict lung function.
Surgical Technician pathway graduates first cohort
For more than 13 years, Kirstan Dresser of Dannemora, New York has filled numerous clinical care roles at University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH). Dresser has also dreamed of following in the footsteps of her mother, Joni Spellman, who served as clinic coordinator and scheduler for CVPH’s General Surgery office.
Dresser and Spellman, who recently passed away after a battle with colon cancer, loved to swap stories about patient care, with Dresser fascinated by the workings of the human body and surgeons’ skill in the operating room (OR).
“It was a dream that was really brought alive by my mom,” she said.
When the health system’s Surgical Technician Pathway Program launched as a partnership with Mohawk Community College in Utica, New York, Dresser applied. She quickly saw signs she had made the right choice. During a job shadowing session prior to being accepted into the program, she found herself in a surgical suite with CVPH surgeon Zachary Kanouse, MD, who had cared for her mother, observing a colon cancer-related procedure.
“I called my dad right afterward and said ‘Mom was there’,” said Dresser. “I took it as, I need to do it – not just for myself, but to keep making my mom proud.”
After passing her national certification exam in May with four other program graduates from CVPH and UVM Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center, Dresser jumped into her new career. Surgical Technicians are in high demand as older workers retire and demand for surgeries increases amid the aging of the baby-boom generation, advances in medical technology and changes in insurers’ policies related to surgical procedures.
She enjoys the variability of surgical work, and her role preparing and assisting surgeons in the OR.
“I could be doing a mastectomy one day and a lap-coli the next,” said Dresser, referring to laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a minimally-invasive gallbladder surgery. “I truly love my job. When I go home I know I’ve made a difference for someone. This was the best decision, and I know that my mom would agree.”
LPN Pathway graduates first network cohort
For 17 years, Brittany Viens of Barre, Vermont, specialized in veterinary anesthesia before choosing to prioritize her son over a career that routinely demanded 50 to 60-hour workweeks.
Viens, who served as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) in Massachusetts two decades ago, returned to human health care in 2023. She joined Central Vermont Medical Center as a phlebotomist, leveraging the skills she developed over two decades of caring for humans and animals.
Now, Viens is one of 16 graduates of the health system’s first cohort of Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN). While the original LPN Pathway Program launched at CVMC, this is the first health-system-wide group to complete the program, which is a partnership with Vermont State University. The group includes eight graduates from CVMC, five from University of Vermont Medical Center, and three from UVM Health Network – Porter Medical Center.
“It’s bittersweet, because I really love the lab,” said Viens. “But I’m excited to go on to the hospital’s medical-surgical unit.”
For Viens, who is passionate about education, this is just the latest stop on her professional journey. She plans to pursue her RN license, her Bachelor’s in Nursing (BSN) and then a doctorate as a nurse anesthetist. Viens’ goal is to become a member of the Intensive Care Unit care teams at Central Vermont Medical Center and University of Vermont Medical Center.
“I feel like I’ve been in school since pre-K,” she joked. “I just can’t stop. It’s been fun to be in something new but familiar at the same time.”
Viens’ focus remains on striking a work-life balance so she can support her son, who is four and participating in sports like swimming and karate.
“They’re still my number-one priority,” she said. “Being able to make the dean’s list and still go to my son’s games, that’s the power of this program. I think more states should start to apply this model. We are desperately in need of nurses, so I hope that more states take on this work.”
