A Message from the Medical Staff President,
Chris Danielson

It has been my pleasure to be the President of the Medical Staff for the past year. During this time period, we have experienced more than a year's worth of change. Two of the big things Ñ joining the Dartmouth Hitchcock Alliance and acquiring the Bloch Building will mold our future over the years to come. Regional planning with the Alliance will allow us to plan for services to patients and communities beyond our traditional service area. And the additional space right down the hill in the Bloch Building has given us the opportunity to dream of expansion as we have not dared to dream in a long time. This year we have welcomed several new physicians to NVRH. Dr. Jay Dege joined Dr. Sarah Berrian at the Concord Health Center; Dr. Elaine Paul is a welcome addition to the community, offering even more choice of OB/Gyn providers for women in the area. After a long search, Dr. Sheldon Werner joined the NVRH Anesthesia Group; urology services will be expanded in the coming year with the addition of Dr. Morice Dennery to Dr. Kevin Killeen's practice. Dr. Laura Murphy fits in well with the team at St. Johnsbury Pediatrics. Radiation Oncology services are now available here by Dr. Bassem Zaki. Dr. Craig Schein is providing podiatry services, and several new emergency room doctors were added to the rotation in the NVRH ER: Dr. Paul Newton, Dr. Richard Yee, and Dr. Phillip Lawson. We also said goodbye to Dr. Al Thomas after thirty-two years of service to the community. Over the years, Dr. Thomas helped grow the ophthalmology practice to become one of the most respected in the north country. We wish Dr. Thomas well on his retirement. He will be missed by his countless patients and colleagues on the medical staff. Utilizing work started by the past two medical staff Presidents, the Medical Staff committee structure was completely re-engineered this year: committees were combined, Medical Executive Committee was expanded to include more representation from the committee chairs, and all the committees meet on the same day each month. The new structure will be evaluated over the next year, but so far the new schedule seems to provide more efficient use of everyone's time, and has allowed for the more rapid flow of communication between committees. In this past year, the medical staff, hospital administration, and the Board of Trustees have initiated a new spirit of partnership. Physicians and Board members got a fresh insight into the symbiotic relationship between physicians and the hospital. Physicians renewed their commitment to keeping NVRH financially healthy while maintaining the high quality of care the community has come to expect. What hasn't changed over the past year are the dedicated physicians, hospital staff, Board of Trustees, and volunteers who continue to put in countless hours of service to the hospital and the community. Their energy and commitment betters our health care community and makes us all proud to be part of the NVRH family.

Christopher Danielson, DO Medical Staff President