I find it alarming that so many staff have left Addison County Home Health and Hospice under the new management (Addison Independent, Jan. 31, 2019). The focus on profit without attention to those who have built the excellent reputation of ACHHH over the years seems a huge oversight of both the current management and board.
The “change is hard” response to justify this unprecedented exodus seems both insulting and dismissive to the dedicated employees who have left due to what they report as a toxic culture. Clients reporting excellent care and services speaks more to the integrity and quality of the staff, rather than an indication of their satisfaction in their work place which must be challenging at best and unsustainable at worst with the added workload of losing so many of their colleagues. This big systems approach of profits before people does not seem in line with Vermont values and raises concerns for our friends, neighbors and loved ones who depend on ACHHH’s heart and help for their personal care when needed the most.
I see this as a wake-up call for the community and hope that this will elicit questions for members of the board to begin the discussion of how you define success in the agency and mission you oversee.
Barbara Christie-Garvin
Waitsfield