The University of Vermont Health Network

08/23/2025

✨🦉 CLOSE LOOK, DEEP FOCUS 🦉✨ “I’ve always loved owls. The way they move. The way they watch. The way they wait.” Meet Raven Schwan-Noble, a telemonitor technical assistant for University of Vermont Health Network - Home Health & Hospice
~~~
I photograph for Vermont State Parks, usually on hikes in the Champlain Islands. Niquette Bay is a favorite. I’ll sit with an owl for hours, waiting for that perfect moment. People ask how I stay so still. But I don’t get bored.

What you think you see isn’t always there. We miss details, and that’s what I love to share in my work. I think in close-ups, bringing those subtleties to the forefront.
That way of seeing started early. When I turned 8, I got a Brownie box camera. That little gift changed everything.

Being adopted created many barriers for me as a child. I always felt different. I struggled in school. That camera gave me something steady.

As an adult, I was never without a camera, snapping photos everywhere I went. I found I could hide behind the lens while still capturing connection.

I met my husband at Knight Point State Park. He was the first park ranger there. After he passed, I stopped photographing for a while. Slowly I started back up again, but my vision had shifted. My photos became more intimate: a mother, dad, and sister holding a child who won’t survive. A family gathered at the Respite House. It felt natural and good to help others with their grief.

I’ve worked with Home Health & Hospice for more than eight years, setting up remote patient monitoring. I don’t wear scrubs. I don’t look medical. That’s on purpose. People have had their fill of white coats by the time I arrive.

Some people are lonely. I take my time. If someone seems especially isolated, I might show them one of my photos—an owl, a fox, a quiet trail. Something to talk about. I like moving through places slowly, noticing what others overlook. Whether I’m in the woods or in someone’s living room, I always try to look closer. Listen longer.
~~~
The Mosaic Project is a collection of short stories about the people of University of Vermont Health Network. 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.

08/22/2025

💚Partnering for Mental Health Access💚 Today in Burlington, Rep. Becca Balint toured the Howard Center Mental Health Urgent Care at UVM Medical Center — a collaboration with Howard Center, Pathways Vermont and Community Health Centers and the Vermont Department of Health.

The center offers same-day, walk-in mental health care for adults, with peer support, medication help and connections to ongoing resources — providing an alternative to the hospital emergency department.

This partnership is one way our community is coming together to reduce stigma, improve access and strengthen the health of our region.

08/21/2025

✨ Registration is open! ✨ Join us Friday, Sept. 19 for the 28th Annual Women’s Health and Cancer Conference — free to attend in person or virtually. 👉 RSVP and ticket info: www.facebook.com/events/1449109399739053/

✨ No-cost CME credits available courtesy of The University of Vermont Cancer Center.

This year’s theme: “The Leading Edge of Cancer Care” — covering AI in oncology, what’s new in clinical trials cancer research, patient advocacy, emerging therapeutics, the latest in breast cancer care and so much more.

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

08/21/2025

✨ Real stories. Real care. Real impact. ✨ This Friday at 1pm on WDEV, join us on ‘Living Healthy Together’ with UVM Health Network as we dive into major Medicaid changes. Dr. Sunny Eappen joins a panel of leaders from across our health system to unpack the impacts and share how our health system is helping patients, caregivers and rural hospitals prepare.

Tune in and stay informed!

Listen live: FM 96.1, 96.5, 98.3, 101.9 | AM 550 | player.listenlive.co/67961
~96.1 can be heard in Plattsburgh, NY~

08/16/2025

🎵🎸 GUITAR HERO 🎸🎵 Meet Dylan Arquette, a lab assistant at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital. “I’m a nerd. I like video games and music, and I like science and numbers. It’s what I do and what I’m passionate about.”
~~~
A lot of people will tell you music elicits certain emotions. It’s different for me. My brain works in numbers, and that’s how I see music. Arranging musical notes in an intentional way, it just activates the reward centers of the brain in a satisfying way. It’s like drugs for the ears.

How I got my start in music is a cool story. I grew up playing a lot of video games, like tens of thousands of hours of video games. One that I really got into when I was in high school was Guitar Hero. They had a global ranking system, and at one point I was ranked seventh in the world.

I was so proud of this, and I told my dad one day about the ranking. His response was, “Get rid of that game, and I’ll buy you a real guitar.”

That was his way of encouraging something I was clearly passionate about.
I got rid of the game and, as Dad promised, he bought me a guitar. Shortly after that, I went to a Metallica show. Some friends and I, having no idea what we were doing, decided to start a band. And that’s how I got into playing guitar.

I went to SUNY Plattsburgh as a chemistry major, but music remained a big part of my life and my studies. While learning chemistry, math and physics, I also took every music class I could. I performed guitar in an ensemble, played piano all the time and sang. I ended up with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and one class short of a degree in music.

While the laboratory is my life’s work, performing, writing and producing music is my life’s love.
~~~
The Mosaic Project is a collection of short stories about the people of University of Vermont Health Network. 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.

08/15/2025

🏠 Partnering on the Region's Housing Crisis 🏠 Affordable housing and quality child care remain ongoing challenges across Vermont and northern New York. Yesterday, during her housing tour through Chittenden County, Rep. Becca Balint visited several sites to see innovative approaches to Vermont’s housing challenges.

UVM Health Network was proud to join her on Market Street in South Burlington, where Dr. Sunny Eappen and Dr. Stephen Leffler discussed our two employee apartments and on-site childcare center, built to help ensure we can recruit and retain the talented staff we need to care for our community. The group toured University of Vermont's newest student and staff housing, and had a meaningful discussion about challenges, opportunities, and the progress we can make when local leaders, organizations and developers work together on innovative solutions like these.

Through investments like this, and partnerships such as Let’s Build Homes — a coalition of more than 100 organizations committed to tackling Vermont's housing crisis — we’re addressing barriers to building a strong, sustainable health care system and the social determinants of health that shape the well-being of our region.

08/14/2025

✨ Real stories. Real care. Real impact. ✨
This Friday at 1 PM, tune in to the premiere of Living Healthy Together with UVM Health Network on WDEV! Hear the gripping story of Steve Stahl, who survived a widowmaker heart attack on the slopes of Mount Mansfield.

Health Network CEO Dr. Sunny Eappen joins us to talk about Steve’s inspiring story, and the complex system of care that we all rely on.

Listen live: FM 96.1, 96.5, 98.3, 101.9 | AM 550
~96.1 can be heard in Plattsburgh, NY~

08/09/2025

🎵 STRINGS ATTACHED🎵 Meet Denis Thibouthot, a registered nurse at Central Vermont Medical Center. "My life has taken me from Quebec to Florida to Vermont, but the one constant has been music: It’s my passion, and my way of life."
~~~
I discovered the guitar at age 13 after hearing Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. I haven’t put it down since. I’m a guitar player first; I played in bands pretty seriously for 10 years. Nursing is a second career for me.

I also studied music – classical and jazz guitar – but I didn’t like the academic side. I just wanted to play. So I did, five or six days a week, while teaching private lessons and recording at my house. By the 1980s, the music business was declining, and I was starting a family. Nursing seemed like a good option.

I was still thinking about music all the time. For a lot of people, music is like a hobby – they can go weeks without playing. But for me it’s a passion.

I always loved the sound of the cello. When I was in high school, my music teacher played a piece by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, and I fell in love with the instrument. But for me, it seemed impossible to play.

Then in 2001, after we moved to Vermont, my daughter started cello lessons. When she didn’t want to do it anymore, we were going to return her rented cello. But I started playing for fun and taking lessons, and I thought, “This is really hard!” There are no frets, and bowing was the hardest part: You have to make your cello sing.

Now, I consider myself a decent cello player. I’ve performed recitals at the hospital with coworkers on piano and violin. It’s rewarding but challenging. I still play guitar, too – everything from jazz to Joni Mitchell to “oldies."

I practice almost every day. I always want to learn something new, so I can get better. It’s also my oasis: When everything gets crazy, I go practice. It makes me forget pretty much everything and relax.

Music is just something that lives in you. Like a painter or an artist – you never stop.
~~~
The Mosaic Project is a collection of short stories about the people of University of Vermont Health Network. 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.

08/06/2025

Our health system is mourning the loss of Carol Haraden, PhD, a member of UVM Health Network’s Board of Trustees and a longtime health care leader who was committed to improving care for all.

Carol, a Middlebury resident, served on our health system’s volunteer board since 2022 and most recently had chaired the board’s Quality & High Value Care Committee. Her board service followed an illustrious career in health care quality, including 18 years as vice president at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and several years as vice president of quality at what would become UVM Medical Center.

In retirement, Carol traveled around the world to visit friends and family, volunteer and consult. She loved the outdoors and would often squeeze in a cross-country ski before morning committee meetings.

Carol will be missed, but her contributions to health care in this region and beyond will continue to have impact for years to come.

💚 Learn more about Carol’s life and legacy in her full obituary:

Dr. Carol Haraden, 71, of Middlebury Aug 1, 2025 | Obituaries Obituaries Dr. Carol Haraden, 71, of Middlebury August 1, 2025 DR. CAROL HARADEN MIDDLEBURY — Dr. Carol Haraden, 71, passed away peacefully and surrounded by loved ones on July 27, 2025. Carol was born on Oct. 27, 1953, in Bar Harbor, M...

08/02/2025

For many, the term “palliative care” brings to mind end-of-life decisions. But its scope is actually much broader.

Research shows this specialized support that prioritizes quality of life can actually help patients live better.

07/30/2025

Medicare and Medicaid turn 60 today!
Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, these landmark programs continue to transform access to care.

✔️ Medicaid supports 1 in 4 in our region
✔️ Covers 40% of U.S. births
✔️ Supports 60% of U.S. nursing home residents

But proposed cuts threaten coverage for tens of thousands of our neighbors.
As a nonprofit academic health system, we never turn patients away based on their ability to pay — but these cuts would place even greater strain on an already stressed system.

07/26/2025

They’re loaded with antioxidants, help fight inflammation and are a great source of fiber, vitamins and nutrients. In addition to being nutritious, berries require little to no prep and appeal to kids and adults alike. All those reasons make berries a great “pick” for an easy, crowd-pleasing snack or addition to a meal.

You can make the most of this sweet season by getting outside and picking your own.