Bassett At 100

Reflections on Amazing Work
by Caregivers, Recent Highlights

Dear Friends, Neighbors and Colleagues,
The holiday season is an excellent time for reflection. We look back on our blessings at Thanksgiving, look forward with resolutions to the New Year, and spend quality time with those most important to us. I’d like to do a little reflecting on Bassett Healthcare Network in this month’s column—starting with our people.

Our caregivers are the greatest blessings of the year and our best hope for the future. Over the past year, Bassett Healthcare Network has received many distinguished acknowledgements for the amazing work of our caregivers in many disciplines. Here are some highlights:

Bassett Healthcare Network recently recognized outstanding nurses with the following awards:

• Karen Sitterly, RN—Martha Twichell Award
• Heather Dygert, RN—Renee Henson Award (Intensive Care Unit)
• Kristin Silano, RN—Maureen Fitzgerald Murray Award
• Susan Carey, RN—Pearl F. Day Award
• Christina Simmonds, RN—Preceptor of the Year Award – A.O. Fox Hospital
• Kelly Moyer, LPN—Preceptor of the Year Award – Ambulatory Care
• Elizabeth Burns, RN—Preceptor of the Year Award – Bassett Medical Center
  • Bassett received an $82 million grant from The Scriven Foundation to support improved access to care and investments in staff.
  • Andreessen Horowitz Bio + Health Fund (a16z) and Bassett announced a partnership to develop digital health innovations to address rural healthcare needs.
  • Bassett and Columbia University are advancing collaboration with Cardiovascular Digital Medicine and Clinical Services.
  • Bassett Healthcare Network was named a Forbes Best-in-State Employer for 2022.
  • A.O. Fox Hospital has been nationally recognized with an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade.
  • Bassett Medical Center received national awards for providing excellent stroke care and lactation services.
  • Bassett Medical Center’s Midwifery Program was honored nationally for “innovative and compassionate” care.
  • Bassett’s School-Based Health program received an Excellus BlueCross BlueShield grant for telemedicine and recently celebrated its 30th anniversary of caring for children across Central New York.
  • Bassett’s Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety, part of the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health, has been awarded funding for five more years.
  • Caregivers at Bassett Medical Center, Valley Residential Services, Little Falls Hospital, NYCAMH, Bassett Health Clinics and beyond have received national or regional awards.

And these are only some of the many ways our caregivers go above and beyond every day.

Bassett celebrated the centennial of the founding of Bassett Medical Center this year. One hundred years ago, Bassett Medical Center opened its doors for the first time. Our organization’s legacy lives on through the work of our caregivers every day as we strive to improve the health of our patients and wellbeing of our communities.

This column is not a victory lap—far from it. There are huge challenges before us in rural healthcare. Both our staff and our communities are navigating pandemic-related changes and the economy. We need to rebuild our staffing teams and address burnout during a labor shortage. We see and feel the effects of mental health and opioid use crises daily—both national health emergencies.

Bassett is working to foster the resources we need to meet those challenges and the culture we need to support our staff. But my pride in our accomplishments and what they say about our future make me confident that we are positioned to carry forward our incredible legacy for another hundred years.

Happy holidays—from me and everyone at Bassett. Here’s to a stellar 2023.

Wishing you happiness and health, always.

Tommy