Statement on Brattleboro Memorial Hospital

July 3dd 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Good morning,

This is really difficult news that we’re all grappling with. . I’ve been in meetings all week to better understand what we can do to support the hospital, the birthing center, and our whole community. Please know that I am committed to this work as is the entire Windham County legislative delegation. 

We issued the following statement to all local media outlets and stakeholders:

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Windham County legislators support efforts to maintain the Birthing Center at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and are ready to work with BMH staff and leadership, the Governor’s office, the Legislature, Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB), and the entire region to find a sustainable path forward to support birthing and OBGYN services in Southern Vermont.  

Current hospital leadership and staff deserve credit for cutting a structural deficit in half, conducting ongoing rigorous internal process audits, and engaging the workforce and community while on their way to producing a balanced budget. Staff and management have been working under difficult conditions and need the region’s support.

Your legislative delegation supports the Hospital leadership's efforts to sustain the whole hospital. We understand the budget they are about to submit to the Green Mountain Care Board  will receive rigorous review. And, it will receive extra scrutiny because of recent budget challenges and the need to reduce structural budget deficits. We encourage the GMCB Board to suggest actionable options for both short term and long term sustainability.

The costs of running a birthing center are significant but the value to the region is much greater and vital to women and families. BMH staff have provided exceptional service for generations. 

We have time to do this. The legislature recently passed law S.189 that lays out a process and timeline for a hospital to close an essential department in order to reduce or avoid substantial disruption to a community. We hope the bill  provides time for all of us in the region to rally around our hospital and show we understand the cost and also the inestimable value the birthing center brings to us all.