Editor’s note: On Friday, Aug. 30, UVM Medical Center interim president, Dr. Stephen Leffler, MD, sent the below message to the hospital’s employees in response to the recent action taken by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, Conscience and Religious Freedom Division.
Over the last two days, UVM Medical Center has become the focus of a challenging national discussion about protecting the religious and ethical beliefs of individual health care providers while meeting the medical needs of our patients. Right now, the spotlight is on abortion, but this issue includes procedures like life support, blood transfusions, organ transplants, and sterilizations and extends to patients and employees of many faiths, genders and sexual orientations. The challenge with this discussion is that it’s not simple and the perspective can change depending upon who you ask.
I want to take this opportunity to offer my perspective and share with you what I can.
First and foremost, it’s important for you to know that our legal team investigated the allegations made by a former employee. I can’t go into specifics, but based upon what we know of the procedure, and the interviews we conducted, the facts simply do not support what has been said publicly. On multiple occasions, we attempted to speak to HHS about the accusations, to no avail, and regrettably they’ve chosen the court of public opinion.
As an ER doc, I’m no stranger to difficult cases that come through our doors. Some have stuck with me to this day. Some brought me to tears then, and some still do thinking about them now. I’m sure that each of you, regardless of what you do or your level of interaction with patients, have had your own similar moments. When each of us joined the UVM Medical Center team, which I consider to be truly special, we did it to better the lives of our patients who come to us for expertise – and in some cases, to save their lives.
So I am sympathetic and understanding of our employees and staff who wrestle with their personal beliefs and the demands of their profession. That’s why it was so important to develop a policy that both respects those individual beliefs and protects the patients who trust us with their health and access to safe, legal treatment. A team representing many different parts of our organization, including a patient and family advisor, physician and nurse leaders, and HR tackled this challenging topic to create the thoughtful policy we have today. It abides by federal law and is in line with similar policies from health systems across the country.
The policy states that anyone employed by UVM Medical Center may request to be excused from procedures that go against their ethical and religious beliefs. We work hard every day to make sure we respect and honor their wishes – that’s our goal 100% of the time. But as the state’s only academic, tertiary care center, the world can change in seconds and in the face of all of our best laid staffing plans. Our policy takes into account these situations – and above all else, when there are no other staffing options, our obligation is to our patient.
We stand by our policy. Although we always seek to improve both our policies and our practices, we won’t be forced into going against what we believe is the right thing to do, which is providing safe and legal health care to those who need us while respecting our employees’ deeply held beliefs. Anything less undermines our purpose and mission as an institution.
We should all be proud of our service to our patients. It’s why we chose this profession. I’m honored to work side by side with over 8,000 of my fellow coworkers, many of whom I’m proud to call friends, who share vastly different beliefs, backgrounds, and life experiences. That’s what makes this a special place.
In the meantime, I’d like to thank you for your commitment to our patients, to this organization, and to each other.
You have my commitment that we will continue to do everything in our power to respect our differences, and I encourage you to speak to me or your leader if you’d like to share an opinion or idea.
