Bringing Healing Harvest locally is another way we can provide wraparound support for our patients and their families.
Caryn Packard, Dartmouth Cancer Center Bennington administrative directorDartmouth Cancer Center Bennington, located on the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) main campus, launched a new program this month to support patients experiencing food insecurity.
Healing Harvest is a food pantry program that started at Dartmouth Cancer Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, in 2022. The program was launched after staff began noticing many patients struggling with food insecurity. The expansion of Healing Harvest to Dartmouth Cancer Center Bennington started on December 15.
“This represents a huge step towards our goal of offering Healing Harvest services to food insecure patients at every Dartmouth Cancer Center location,” said Julia Boger Hawkins, program manager of Healing Harvest. “There are many reasons patients may require assistance through Healing Harvest, including the financial impact of cancer, transportation issues, and the physical effort that it takes to go grocery shopping while under treatment for cancer. The program ensures access to healthy foods for all cancer patients.”
The launch of Healing Harvest in Bennington was supported by donations to the SVRCC Patient Resource Fund, through the Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) Foundation.
“While we support our patients through treatment, we don’t want their healing impacted by lack of access to basic needs,” said Caryn Packard, administrative director of Dartmouth Cancer Center Bennington. “Bringing Healing Harvest locally is another way we can provide wraparound support for our patients and their families.”
For information on supporting Healing Harvest in Bennington, please contact the SVHC Foundation at 802-447-5017.
About Dartmouth Cancer Center
Since 1972, Dartmouth Cancer Center (DCC) has combined groundbreaking and advanced cancer research at Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine with award-winning, personalized, compassionate, patient-centered cancer care and clinical trials. At its flagship location at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, with 14 locations across New Hampshire and Vermont, DCC is one of fewer than 60 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers nationally. Each year, DCC manages 74,000 appointments, treats more than 4,500 newly diagnosed patients, and currently offers more than 240 active clinical trials. DCC remains committed to excellence, outreach and education. DCC strives to create new knowledge and impact, accelerate integrated and collaborative research to prevent and cure cancer, enhance survivorship and promote cancer-related health equity. Learn more at cancer.dartmouth.edu.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.