UVM Children's Hospital Pediatric Inpatient Care Unit

11/29/2025

🎨 MOSAIC PROJECT | The Art of Nourishing Others 🎨
“I’ve always needed to make things with my hands.” Meet Amanda Brunell, a recruiting and outreach coordinator for UVM Health Nutrition Services.
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Whether I’m kneading bread, sketching before dawn or piping icing onto a cake, creating gives me calm and purpose. I just like making things for people I care about.

I started college as an art major, but I realized that a traditional academic path wasn’t for me. I come from a long line of makers. My grandmother had a kiln. My grandfather could play any string instrument. Both my parents are excellent cooks. I followed in their footsteps and found my creative outlet in a bakery, decorating cakes.

After a decade in bakeries and food service — plus a passion for nutrition — I joined UVM Health. What began as a line-chef role led to recruiting for nutrition services, which I love. It keeps me close to food and nutrition.

When my daughters started dance lessons, art returned. I’d sketch in the early mornings and while they practiced, post my work online. Commissions followed, and in 2022, Seven Days named me Best Illustrator.

My older daughter danced her way to Sugar Plum Fairy before switching to field hockey and college. My younger daughter competed in dance and eventually left that hobby in favor of volleyball and lacrosse. But she always tagged along to art shows. Art became her safe space, too.

Eventually, commissions wore me down. Everyone wanted dog portraits — 10 hours each — and I couldn’t turn off the self-critique. I wanted to get back to creating for the joy of it.

Now, to satisfy my creative needs, I volunteer wherever I can: Project Grad, athletic boosters, Art Hop. Every Christmas, I try a new craft: finger-knitted blankets, family cookbooks and more. I’ve made balloon arches, ribbon leis and digital posters. My family teases me for never saying no, but I like giving without expectations.

Whether I’m cooking mac and cheese for 200 high school seniors or sketching before sunrise, it’s all the same at heart — using my hands to bring people together.
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The Mosaic Project is a collection of short stories about the people of University of Vermont Health. These are your coworkers, caregivers, neighbors, family members, friends – each with unique life experiences that are part of the vibrant mosaic of who we are.

11/28/2025

With cases of pertussis (also known as "whooping cough") rising in Central Vermont and beyond, our physicians reveal who is most at risk, what symptoms look like and how to stay protected against this highly contagious respiratory disease.

11/27/2025

🙏 As we enter this season of gratitude, we want to thank the family of Lili Ruane for their generosity in making our renovated Prayer and Meditation Room possible.

Their support helped us realize a light-filled space that welcomes people of many different religious and spiritual traditions as well as those who just want a peaceful, quiet place to reflect.

The room features art created by local artists, including a four-panel stained glass window commissioned for the Prayer and Meditation Room.

We are so grateful to Lili Ruane and her family for their gift of sanctuary, rejuvenation, respite and peace.

Video features Nancy Wood, our manager of spiritual care, blessing the space during its official opening earlier this fall.

11/27/2025

In observance of Thanksgiving, many UVM Medical Center offices and clinics will be closed on Thursday, November 27.

• Urgent Care: Closed

• Outpatient Pharmacies: Main Campus - 9 am - 2 pm | Other locations - Closed

• Outpatient Labs: Main Campus - All locations closed

As always, on-call providers are available by phone for most clinics, and our Emergency Department is open 24/7 for emergency care.

From all of us at UVM Medical Center, we wish you a safe, healthy and very happy Thanksgiving. 🦃

11/26/2025

🧬 Knowledge is power. 🧬

WCAX’s Sophia Thomas shares her journey with BRCA1 genetic testing and what it means for breast cancer prevention. UVM Medical Center’s Wendy McKinnon explains why knowing your risk helps patients take control of their future.

https://www.wcax.com/2025/11/20/reporters-notebook-genetic-testing-provides-proactive-prevention-breast-cancer/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOSxCxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFveU1SOTFtV2daRXpRVjdqc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjp2vj1AtKPW1AO9_1TFC6GmrNDz5yiXmSrRADcXr3gnioYePkspldXxFeRL_aem_yl3vHI4O3tU1H9M-BvAHuw

WCAX Reporter Sophia Thomas recently learned that a genetic mutation in her family puts her at high risk for developing breast cancer.

11/26/2025

Ten minutes. That’s all it took each day for Maggie Frampton to fight breast cancer.

Thanks to cutting-edge technology and an incredible care team with The University of Vermont Cancer Center, her treatments were quick, precise and life-changing.

Read the full story to see how Frampton's story is proof that there's hope - and life - on the other side of cancer.

The University of Vermont Cancer Center

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When Frampton was diagnosed with breast cancer, her life changed instantly. A psychotherapist in Montpelier, she’s used to helping others navigate emotional challenges. Facing her own was a different story.

“I was stunned by the reality of it,” Frampton says. “But I thought, okay, they have a plan. We’ll take care of it.”

That plan included daily radiation treatments for four weeks. Thanks to a new linear accelerator at University of Vermont Health–Central Vermont Medical Center, Frampton’s treatments were fast.

“I expected it to take 30 or 45 minutes,” she recalls. “But I was in and out in 10. I could come in, get treated and carry on with my life. I’m still working part-time, and I could work with the schedule. We are really, really lucky to have this kind of technology here.”

WORLD-CLASS TECHNOLOGY, LOCAL ACCESS

Installed in May 2025, the new machine is part of a multi-year initiative to upgrade cancer treatment technology across UVM Health’s four radiation oncology sites: Central Vermont Medical Center, UVM Medical Center, Alice Hyde Medical Center and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital.

These upgrades mean:

✅ Faster, more efficient treatments
✅ Sharper imaging during therapy
✅ Cloud-based software that connects cancer experts across the region

In 2023 alone, more than 25,000 radiation treatments were delivered across the health system. The goal: treat more patients quickly and as close to home as possible.

“Being able to come here and be out so quickly meant I could carry on with the other part of my life,” says Frampton. “That’s huge.”

A TEAM THAT CARES

Frampton describes her care team as “outstanding,” from the doctors to the techs and front desk staff. “They’re comforting, passionate, and have a great sense of humor. I felt very well cared for.”

She also used support services like acupuncture and Reiki to relieve stress and support healing. “The educational piece was so clear,” she adds. “I could ask any question, anytime. It made a big difference.”

A MOMENT TO CELEBRATE

After her final treatment, Frampton rang the bell outside the cancer center — a tradition that marks the end of radiation therapy.

“Everyone clapped,” she says. “It felt like I was on stage, which I’m not comfortable with. But in that case, it worked. It made me feel really good.”

She celebrated with friends over dinner in Stowe, grateful for the care she received and the life she still gets to live.

“Walking, talking with friends, going places, concerts,” Frampton says. “I feel like I’m in my next life just enjoying things.”

11/25/2025

🦃 Our inaugural Thanksgiving parade! A huge thanks to our staff members for putting a smile on our faces today. You may rival the !

11/24/2025

🐝 🐝 🐝 A huge thanks to child life specialist Jenny Eddy, who recently received the Be Extraordinary Everyday (BEE) Award for her exceptional dedication, compassion and professionalism. Jenny was nominated by her colleague, who wrote:

🌞 "Not only does Jenny bring an incredible sense of calm, warm and reassurance to every child and family, she provides the same spirit to her colleagues. I have learned so much from working with Jenny and witnessing her unwavering belief in the resilience of children.

She approaches every situation with empathy, creativity and purpose by epitomizing the power of human connection in healing. Her insights are routinely sought by nursing, physicians and social workers alike. She is adaptable by nature and meets every patient and family where they are at.

💚 Where Jenny shines brightest is during those quiet moments...helping a family cope following a traumatic event, an unwanted diagnosis or the final days of a child's life. The moments where many feel the urge to disappear are when Jenny makes sure she is present and available...This is the heart of the BEE Award - going above and beyond in compassion and in care."

Thank you, Jenny, for all that you do!

11/22/2025

🎼 MOSAIC PROJECT | When Memory Sings 🎼
“I was born in Sierra Leone in western Africa and adopted by a family in Connecticut when I was 3.” Meet Ashley Snow, an activities coordinator at UVM Medical Center.
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I was born in Sierra Leone in western Africa and adopted by a family in Connecticut when I was 3. I didn’t speak English yet, but music was a language I could understand. My parents used to sing me to sleep, and music quickly became my second language. Whenever I’m singing, practicing or performing, it feels like home.

When I was a little girl, I would tell people that I was going to be a singing doctor — someone who helped people while singing to them. I had not yet learned about the scientific benefits of music, but I was living proof of it. Music has guided and shaped my life.

Some of my earliest memories are visits to my grandmother’s nursing home, which I thought was the happiest place on earth. She was on the swim team, loved community events and even taught my siblings and me billiards in the activities room. From then on, I knew I wanted to work with older adults.

Gradually my two passions converged. I trained as an opera singer at Interlochen Arts Academy, where I first learned about music therapy. I went on to study it at Ohio University.

Seeing music therapy in action changed everything. As a student, I worked with a woman in memory care who had been nonverbal for years. After weeks of music therapy, she sang her name to me.

I think of that moment often. It was the moment I knew I’d work in memory care.

During the pandemic, I was an activities assistant at a senior care center in California. Overnight, as lockdowns took effect, I became a bridge for families and their loved ones, a companion for the lonely, and an advocate for improving residents’ quality of life with less reliance on medications. Movement, friendship, music and connection became the foundation for better health and deeper human connection.

It’s a focus I’ve brought with me to my work at University of Vermont Health - UVM Medical Center. The work isn’t easy, but it’s worth it — especially being able to bring out a part of someone that memory has taken. Sometimes, all it takes is a little companionship. And it never hurts to try music.
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The Mosaic Project is a collection of short stories about the people of University of Vermont Health. These are your coworkers, caregivers, neighbors, family members, friends – each with unique life experiences that are part of the vibrant mosaic of who we are.
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11/21/2025

Who will care for our rural communities tomorrow? Two residency programs in our region are training the next generation of physicians to answer that call.

🎧 Listen to the podcast to hear how these programs are shaping the future of rural care.
Link in comments.

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Real stories. Real care. Real impact.

Living Healthy Together | Growing Rural Health Care: Inside UVM Health’s Family Medicine Residency Programs

Only 10% of physicians practice in rural areas — and just one percent of graduate medical training programs are located in rural communities, meaning many, if not most, providers-in-training aren’t exposed to rural health care at all.

We explore two residency programs that buck this trend: the Family Medicine Residency Programs at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vt., and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Learn how the next generation of physicians is thinking about practicing medicine in rural America, and dive into how these programs have found success in both attracting medical students and keeping physicians in our communities after they graduate.

11/20/2025

In case you missed it. From skiing to hockey to everyday slips, brain injuries can happen fast. Two UVM Health experts joined Vermont Public's Vermont Edition to explain how to lower your risk — and what to do after a concussion.

🔹 Dr. Katrina Ducis - pediatric neurosurgeon, explained what concussions really are and how treatment has changed in recent years.

🔹 Tara Grenier - injury prevention coordinator, shared practical tips for reducing risk.

Catch the full episode. Link in the comments.

The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at The University of Vermont