WATERBURY, Vt. (WCAX) – Copley Hospital is opening a new orthopedics medical office in Waterbury.
After facing a $3 million budget shortfall earlier this year, Copley was forced to make an extraordinary request to the Green Mountain Care Board to allow them to raise their commercial rates mid-year.
This new office in the highly profitable specialty of orthopedics may be a step in the right financial direction.
“We’ve struggled. Copley’s had a negative operating margin for a number of years and we haven’t funded enough of capital and building improvements,” said Copley Hospital CEO Joseph Woodin.
A summer filled with community hospital transformation meetings led by the Green Mountain Care Board has underlined Vermont’s hospitals’ serious decline in financial health.
Copley specifically is forecasted to operate at an almost 6% negative operating margin in 2028, a somewhat dangerous position for a non-profit that wants to keep its doors open.
One suggestion the Green Mountain Care Board has presented to hospitals is to offer more profitable specialty offices like orthopedics, and Copley has done just that.
“So this is one of those examples. We are saving money by no longer renting and we have certainly a lot more control and ability to expand capacity,” said Woodin.
The new office also hopes to address accessibility issues. Copley says their waiting list for ortho appointments is several weeks to months long, but they expect this expansion to double their patient capacity.
“Before, we only had two providers that could see patients here we will have five to six providers per day,” said Copley Chief of Surgery John Macy.
It’s location, close to the Mad River Valley’s ski resorts, Stowe, and Smuggs, makes it a prime location for ski and snowboard injury follow-ups. Dr. Macy referred to the office as a “gold mine” during its opening ceremony.
While the wait list for an ortho appointment at Copley is still weeks to months long depending on the injury, Dr. Macy says he expects the transition into the new office to boost efficiency and get that wait time down soon.