The University of Vermont Medical Center February 10 submitted a certificate of need (CON) to the Green Mountain Care Board for a multispecialty outpatient surgery center (OSC) to be located at its current Tilley Drive campus in South Burlington. The new facility will help meet the need for surgical services for an aging and growing population in the hospital’s service area 

“Population forecasts show that by 2030, the total population in our service area will grow by 4 to 8 percent, and the 65-plus population will grow by 30 to 60 percent. We already see that our patients face access challenges, and a growing and aging population only exacerbates those challenges,” said Stephen Leffler, MD, UVM Medical Center President and Chief Operating Officer. “We will need more capacity to meet the health care needs of the people we serve.” 

The new surgery center will increase the UVM Medical Center’s surgical capacity by initially adding eight operating rooms, 12 prep rooms, and 36 recovery spaces, which will include eight extended-stay recovery rooms. The setting will promote efficiency and better experiences for patients, families, surgeons and staff, and will include space to add additional operating rooms if needed in the future. 

The project will also allow UVM Medical Center to shift all surgeries from its Fanny Allen operating rooms, which cannot be expanded or further updated. The project is estimated to cost $130 million.

UVM Medical Center expects the center to have the capacity to perform approximately 8,000 outpatient surgeries per year, directly addressing growing local and regional demand for these services. Demand for outpatient care – in particular – is growing. Outpatient services mean less time spent at the hospital and allow patients to more quickly return to their lives and convalesce at home.

Republished from February 10, 2023 UVMMC press release