Bennington, Vt.-based Southwestern Vermont Medical Center has asked the Green Mountain Care Board to approve a 6.3 percent increase over its 2022 approved spending plan, according to an Aug. 11 report from the Bennington Banner.
The hospital cited increased staffing costs and a need to address a projected operating deficit, its first since 2009, in a presentation published on the Green Mountain Care Board's website.
The hospital is projecting a $1.3 million loss for the fiscal year 2022 due to a sharp increase in budgeted expenses outpacing revenue.
Hospital president Tom Dee said the budget is the most daunting he's faced in 40 years of hospital administration.
"We’ve had a longstanding record here of having positive operating gains. To have a deficit is concerning. We work hard through plans to get into a black operating line. Right now, it’s not," Mr. Dee said.
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center is the county's largest employer.