(BURLINGTON, VT) – The University of Vermont Health Network is taking steps to protect our patients and staff as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including changing our visitor policy to discourage all visitors with few exceptions, and suspending all non-urgent procedures and encounters to conserve needed resources.

Recognizing that many of our patients, staff, and members of the wider community will face financial challenges in addition to health challenges during this time, the UVM Health Network is suspending collections-related activities effective immediately. Regular billing will continue, including bills in the mail and monthly statements, but unpaid bills will not prompt phone calls from network affiliates, and patients will not receive calls, letters, or penalties from collections agencies.

“This pandemic is causing a great deal of anxiety and financial uncertainty for many people in our community,” said John R. Brumsted, MD, CEO of the UVM Health Network. “We are working hard to care for our patients and support our staff, and we believe that suspending these activities is appropriate at this time.” 

As non-profit hospitals and home health providers with a mission to provide needed care regardless of someone’s ability to pay, UVM Health Network affiliates offer a number of financial assistance programs. Contact your individual provider to discuss options.  

Unless it is an emergency, patients should stay at home and contact their doctor by phone or through MyChart if they have COVID-19 symptoms,: fever, cough, and/or shortness of breath. Our providers will work with patients to determine if testing or medical treatment is needed.

More information about COVID-19 is available at:

UVM Medical Center Information Page

Vermont Department of Health

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

About The University of Vermont Health Network

The University of Vermont Health Network is an integrated system serving the residents of Vermont and northern New York with a shared mission: working together, we improve people’s lives.  The partners are:

• 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 & 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 affiliates remains committed to its local community by providing compassionate, personal care shaped by the latest medical advances and delivered by highly skilled experts.