Elizabethtown, NY – The University of Vermont Health Network - Elizabethtown Community Hospital Auxiliary was awarded an $8,000 grant from International Paper’s Ticonderoga Mill and the International Paper Foundation. The hospital auxiliary raised an additional $8,000, and made a gift of $16,000 toward the purchase of new handheld ultrasound units for the hospital’s six community-based health centers.

“We are grateful for the support from International Paper and our auxiliary,” said Dr. Rob Demuro, the UVM Health Network - Elizabethtown Community Hospital’s medical director for primary care. “We are excited to start using the new ultrasound units in our practice, and are working to get all of our providers trained on the new technology.”

According to Dr. Demuro, handheld ultrasound is becoming more and more common in primary care. The eight Butterfly iQ ultrasound units will enable providers to take and store high quality images and videos. “The ultrasounds will allow us to check for gallbladder disease, blood clots, and aortic aneurysms. Early detection of these illnesses can allow for more rapid treatment and reduce the risk of hospitalization and surgery,” he said.

There are nearly 28,000 visits each year to the hospital’s health centers, located in Au Sable Forks, Crown Point, Elizabethtown, Westport, Willsboro, and Wilmington. The health center staff offer a wide range of expertise to patients of all ages, including preventive screenings, diagnosis and management of chronic health conditions, and same-day urgent care appointments.

“At International Paper, we believe our company cannot succeed if our communities do not succeed,” said Donna Wadsworth, communications manager at International Paper. “We are proud to support the UVM Health Network -Elizabethtown Community Hospital’s health centers as they deliver critical services in our communities.”

The International Paper Foundation is one of the ways International Paper strives to reach its vision to be among the most successful, sustainable, and responsible companies in the world. Started in 1952, the foundation annually provides millions in grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations to address critical needs in the communities where its employees live and work. Funding priority is given to programs related to its signature causes: education, hunger, health & wellness, disaster relief, and initiatives that improve the planet. For more information, visit ipgiving.com.

“The International Paper Foundation grant helped us double the funds raised through our Dinner@8 event. We are thrilled to be recipients of the grant and to be able to support the patients and staff of the UVM Health Network - Elizabethtown Community Hospital with this new technology,” said Laura Sells-Doyle, president of the hospital auxiliary.

The hospital auxiliary works to support the mission of the UVM Health Network -Elizabethtown Community Hospital and its employees, as well as hospital-sponsored community initiatives to improve the health of our region. Over the past decade, the auxiliary has raised more than $125,000 for the hospital.

Donations to the hospital auxiliary help improve the patient experience and may be mailed to the UVM Health Network - Elizabethtown Community Hospital, 75 Park Street, Elizabethtown, New York, 12932. For more information, please visit https://www.ech.org/About-Us/Make-a-Contribution.

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About Elizabethtown Community Hospital

The University of Vermont Health Network - Elizabethtown Community Hospital is a designated critical access hospital and the primary health care provider serving the 39,000 people who live, work and vacation in Essex County, NY and the surrounding region.

Elizabethtown Community Hospital is transforming rural health care at its main campus in Elizabethtown, NY, at a new emergency department and outpatient center at the former Moses Ludington Hospital in Ticonderoga, NY, and at six community-based primary health care centers located throughout the region.  The hospital is one of the community’s largest employers with 383 employees.

Across the Elizabethtown and Ticonderoga campuses, the hospital maintains two 24-hour emergency rooms, a 25-bed inpatient unit, physical therapy, laboratory, and digital radiology departments, and a variety of specialty physician clinics on a weekly and monthly basis.  

Elizabethtown Community Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission and is licensed and certified by the New York State Department of Health and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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 University of Vermont Health Network – Home Health and Hospice

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.