Dr. Steve Leffler, President and COO of the University of Vermont Medical Center, speaks during a roundtable on health care costs hosted by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, in Burlington on May 31, 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
UVM Health announced Monday that it was laying off several top executives at the network level. The change comes as new leadership takes shape with an emphasis on shifting power out of the network and back to its member hospitals.
The network will phase out the roles of Chief Operating Officer, Chief Medical Officer and Chief of Staff by the end of the year. Jason Williams, who worked as the Chief External Relations Officer at the network level, also decided to leave his post as part of the transition, according to an email the network’s new CEO, Steve Leffler sent staff Monday afternoon. It is not clear if the network will fill his position or disperse his responsibilities to others in his department.
University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Porter Medical Center in Middlebury, and Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, three hospitals in upstate New York and a home health and hospice program comprise the hospital network.
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by Peter D’Auria
January 23, 2025, 5:40 pmJanuary 24, 2025, 12:44 pm
High executive compensation at the network has come under scrutiny in recent years. In 2024, 19 executives at the network received a combined $3 million in end of year bonuses. In a September press release specifically weighing in on the rising cost of healthcare in the state, Governor Phil Scott specifically called out “perverse financial incentives and executive bonuses paid for by skyrocketing premiums.”
The changes come as part of an effort to make the network leaner and more efficient, Leffler, said in his Monday email. He officially began the new role last week, after former president and CEO Sunny Eappen stepped down. Leffler will remain in his role as president of University of Vermont Medical Center while also leading the network.
During its September budget decisions, the Green Mountain Care Board, the state’s main health care regulator, brought extra scrutiny to the hospital network for the high costs of care at its biggest hospital, UVM Medical Center, and its expensive administrative arm. Eappen’s departure was, in part, a reaction to the mounting public pressure, trustees of the hospital and network previously told VTDigger.
Care board chair Owen Foster told VTDigger that a leaner network is a step in the right direction for the type of change he hopes to see at UVM Health. “Those decisions were definitely in line with some of the criticisms and concerns that the care board has had about excessive layers of management and lack of local control. It sounds to me like they’re making hard decisions,” Foster said. “Certainly for those people [who] are impacted, it’s painful and difficult, but overall it sounds like it’s a necessary course correction, and we appreciate the effort.”
As part of his new role, Leffler outlined a vision for a less network-centric organization, which he said would vest more decision making power in the hospitals and those closer to the level of care.
Under Eappen, the president of each partner hospital reported to the network’s Chief Operating Officer. Now, they will once again report directly to the network’s CEO.
In addition to the layoffs, Leffler announced that the chair of each hospital’s board of trustees will have a voting seat at the network board. He added that he will continue working on ways to involve the trustees of the member hospitals more meaningfully, including decisions on hospital budgets. Right now, the network board holds the decision-making power for its member hospitals’ budgets.
It is likely that the network can expect more changes to follow in time, Leffler said in his email. He promised transparency throughout the process.
“I know change can bring uncertainty, but a few things are clear. We are staying together as a health system. Every health care partner, team and shared service in our health system plays a vital role, and we are stronger because we work as one,” he wrote. “These changes are about better supporting you and the work you do as a care provider, so we can stay focused on what matters most: our patients, our people and our mission.”
Foster, at the care board, added that changes at University of Vermont Medical Center are likely to be a major component of network-wide change. He noted that in the settlement agreement the hospital made with the care board for exceeding its budget last year, the hospital agreed to allocate resources for a structural transition. Foster said he hopes the hospital addresses its long waitlists for primary care and screenings by moving care out of the hospital.