John Brumsted, longtime University of Vermont Health Network executive, is stepping down from his leadership role in Vermont’s only accountable care organization, OneCare Vermont.
The resignation, announced this week, does not affect Brumsted’s leadership roles at UVM Health Network, system spokesperson Annie Mackin said Friday.
She said Brumsted is stepping down “because he is confident in the direction OneCare is taking and feels it’s time for new voices.”
UVM Health Network, based in Burlington, became the sole parent of OneCare in October. The accountable care organization funnels hundreds of millions of Medicare and Medicaid payments to providers statewide. The health network, the largest provider in Vermont, is already the umbrella to several hospitals, clinics and elder care facilities.
OneCare’s board members will elect Brumsted’s successor at a yet-undetermined date, OneCare spokesperson Amy Bodette said Friday. Three UVM Health Network representatives are in the running. Founding member Rick Vincent, who is chief financial officer at UVM Medical Center, is among the candidates. Two new appointees are also in the running, according to Bodette: Tom Huebner, former leader of Rutland Regional Medical Center, and Teresa Fama, a Central Vermont Medical Center physician and site leader.
Huebner, who will join the board in December, is not a member of UVM Health Network but served on the board as a community hospital representative during his tenure at Rutland Regional. He said he was invited to serve as a network representative because of his experience with OneCare.
Huebner said Friday he hopes to use his knowledge to help OneCare be successful. When asked about the upcoming board elections, he said, “That is not up to me at all. That is not something that has happened.”
Brumsted is expected to leave his post in January. He’s been a board member for six years and chair for three, OneCare said in a press release. The press release did not specify Brumsted’s exact reasons for leaving in the middle of his second two-year term but mentions the change is “in alignment with the recent governance change announcement.”
OneCare, originally a joint venture of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and University of Vermont Medical Center, came under the UVM Health Network umbrella about a month and a half ago. In the process, Dartmouth-Hitchcock dropped two of its three seats. Steve LeBlanc, chief strategy officer at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, is now the sole representative of the Lebanon-based hospital chain on OneCare’s board.
UVM Health Network picked up an additional seat, bringing its representation to four. Providers from other parts of the health care system, including community hospitals, mental health organizations and independent practices, fill the remaining 15 seats.
