Patient Calls Two CVPH Nurses His Guardian Angels

Care Inspired Donation to Foundation of CVPH

A former patient at The University of Vermont Health Network-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) was so touched by the care he received from two nurses that he donated to The Foundation of CVPH in their honor.  “I can say they were like two guardian angels, as far as I’m concerned,” Rodney Nephew said, reflecting on the care that Mallory Mattison, MSN, RN and Kristy Gough, RN provided him during his two month stay on R6. “They’re very, very personabl [...]

Plattsburgh Couple Pledges $50,000 to Foundation of CVPH

Money to Benefit Emergency Department Patients

If not for the care Rich Guglielmo has received in the Emergency Department (ED) at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH), his wife of 53 years, Judy, is certain she would be a widow right now. “A couple of times, they’ve saved his life over the last few years,” she stated with conviction. Rich was rushed to the hospital after suffering an anaphylactic reaction when he was stung by a yellow jacket this past summer. Judy said after seven or eight hours in the emergen [...]

Cardiac Rehab Nurse Puts her Heart in Health Care

Shirley Doolen, RN has been with CVPH for more than three decades, including the last 20 years in Cardiac Rehabilitation. She works with patients who have had a cardiac event, ranging from a heart attack to bypass surgery and valve repair or replacement. Each patient typically spends about 12 weeks with Shirley and her team, learning about exercise, diet modifications and medications. “The job here isn’t to make people physically fit,” Shirley explained. “The job here [...]

Grateful Patient Praises Nurse for Care During Labor

More than three years of waiting, worrying and wondering had finally come to this. Abby Bennett, now the Director of Nursing Research and Clinical Practice at The University of Vermont Health Network-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH), was lying in a bed in the hospital’s Alice T. Miner Women and Children’s Center (WCC) preparing to give birth to her first child. “It was just kind of surreal,” Abby said. She and her husband Ryan, a Licensed Funeral Director [...]

What is Your Why?

A conversation with Travis Larche, BSN, RN

Just before entering the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), there is a bulletin board posing a simple question: Why did you first become a nurse? Many of the answers are inspiring, from some pointing to their family members for sparking their interest to others who answered the call after witnessing the care nurses provided. Over the past year, several nurses have spoken in-depth about what their why is, including Travis Larche, BSN, RN, a member of the Non-Invasive Cardiology team. Q: [...]

Emergency Department Pulls Together to Care for the Community

As a nurse in the Emergency Department (ED), you never know what is going to come in the door from shift to shift. Assistant Nurse Manager Michael Wells, BSN, RN talked about how proud he is for the way the team has responded on a daily basis to the influx of patients in the ED. Q: What has it been like seeing so many patients coming to the ED for care? Michael: It’s definitely been challenging over the last probably six or so months. I know there’s been a lot going on try [...]

Gun Violence is a Public Health Crisis -

Let’s Treat It Like One

Mass shootings are happening so frequently in our country that the past few weeks seem as unsurprising as they are terrifying: 19 innocent children and two teachers killed in Uvalde, Texas; 10 killed in one of the deadliest and racist massacres in recent U.S. history in Buffalo, New York; four lives lost to an angry patient with a gun at a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and a security guard shot to death inside a Dayton, Ohio hospital. The horror and heartbreak are overwhelming, yet all too f [...]

An Epic Transformation

From the Bedside and Beyond, Nurses Made a Difference Helping Bring a New Electronic Health Record to Life

History was made in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 2. Our hospital joined Alice Hyde Medical Center and Elizabethtown Community Hospital in going live with Epic, marking the third and final phase to connect The University of Vermont Health Network’s affiliates and ambulatory practices to a single Electronic Health Record system. It is a transition that is having a meaningful impact on our people and our patients, providing a seamless experience at the bedside that is leading [...]

Making a Difference: The LPN Connection

When it comes to your care, clinical skills are just part of the equation at The University of Vermont Health Network-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH). Our nurses, which include Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN), Registered Nurses (RN), and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN), also hope to make a difference through the connections they strive for with every patient and in every setting throughout the organization. “A lot of those patie [...]

Cath Lab Nurse Recognized for Heartfelt Care

Monica Buskey, BSN, RN Makes a Difference With Her Patients

A CVPH Cath Lab nurse has been honored for a second time with a Leadership Excellence and Development (LEAD) award for the difference she makes every day with her patients. From a young age, Monica Buskey, BSN, RN, CV-BC, CSRN, TNS felt a sense of compassion for others and knew she wanted to help people. Those feelings were solidified while growing up in Churubusco, as she saw the tremendous care provided by nursing staff at the assisted living facility her grandparents stayed at. “I [...]