MIDDLEBURY– After many months of planning, fund-raising, and anticipation, a major renovation project was launched this week at Helen Porter Rehabilitation and Nursing. This $900,000 project will result in a state-of-the-art post-acute unit for residents recovering from surgery or other conditions requiring short-term rehabilitation, and a new end-of-life suite offering a comfortable and family-centered environment for residents and their loved ones which, for the ARCH organization, represents the realization of their founding mission.
“These two distinct but equally important initiatives have been combined into one major renovation project thanks to the outstanding financial support of our general community, the Porter Medical Center Auxiliary and the Addison Respite Care Home (ARCH) organization,” said UVM Health Network/Porter Medical Center Dr. Fred Kniffin. “Helen Porter is an invaluable part of Porter’s ability to provide a full spectrum of comprehensive health care services to the people of our community, and this investment of almost a million dollars to create outstanding new resident care facilities is essential to supporting that key strategic goal,” he added.
Working closely with the ARCH board of directors, Porter raised more than $350,000 of the overall cost of the project from local citizens, with a major boost from the Porter Medical Center Auxiliary which capped off the campaign with a two-year commitment of $150,000 as well as a significant contribution from ARCH. “Our community and our partners at ARCH stepped up last fall in a major way, as they recognized the importance of taking Helen Porter to the next level in terms of both palliative and end-of-life facilities and a modern rehabilitation unit designed to help folks to recover and achieve the highest level of independence possible and return to their community setting.”
The renovation project is slated to run for approximately five months, and Porter is planning a community celebration and open house in September.
About The University of Vermont Health Network
The University of Vermont Health Network is an academic health system that is comprised of six affiliate hospitals, a multi-specialty medical group, and a home health agency. We serve the residents of Vermont and northern New York with a shared mission: working together, we improve people’s lives. Our partners include:
- The University of Vermont Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Porter Medical Center
- The Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties
Our 4,000 health care professionals are driven to provide high-quality, cost-efficient care as close to home as possible. Strengthened by our academic connection to the University of Vermont, each of our hospitals remains committed to its local community by providing compassionate, personal care shaped by the latest medical advances and delivered by highly skilled experts.