ST. JOHNSBURY, VT (July 8, 2025) – A grant from the Melissa Andrews Trust has funded a crucial software update for the Pulmonary Function Test machine (PFT) at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH), ensuring that patients with respiratory illnesses can continue to access essential diagnostic care close to home.
From left to right: John Lyon, Co-Trustee, Melissa Andrews; Trust; Eric Meyer, NVRH Registered Respiratory Therapist; Shawn Tester, CEO, NVRH; Alexis Starr, Lead Respiratory Therapist, NVRH.
Residents of Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties experience higher rates of chronic lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than the rest of the state. Contributing factors include higher smoking rates, widespread use of wood-burning stoves, and limited access to health care. Nearly 15% of adults in the NEK live with a lung disease, and over 60% of those cases are uncontrolled.
PFTs are a vital tool in diagnosing, assessing and treating patients with respiratory conditions. They support care for a wide range of individuals, including asthma patients, those undergoing chemotherapy, people with cystic fibrosis or other chronic diseases, farmers who have breathed years of dust and hay particles, veterans exposed to hazardous materials on duty, people with occupational exposures such as welders and mechanics, and more. Every year over 360 NVRH patients rely on the PFT for accurate testing and results.
To keep this vital service available, NVRH’s six-year-old Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) machine required a crucial software update, including new licensing and installation costs. Without this upgrade, the machine would have been unusable, threatening access to critical diagnostic services for local patients.
The Melissa Andrews Trust stepped in to ensure uninterrupted PFT operations by providing the necessary funding for the upgrades. The Trust, based in Barre, VT, was established by Melissa Andrews in 1922 to care for tuberculosis patients in memory of her son who died from the disease. Since then, rates of tuberculosis have declined sharply in the U.S. and the Trust has expanded to provide funds for equipment and therapies to care for patients with other respiratory ailments.
In 2021, NVRH strengthened its respiratory services by opening a Pulmonology Clinic for children and adults and welcoming a full-time pulmonologist. Having local access to specialized respiratory care has been life-changing for many.
“For a significant portion of these people, travel is challenging due to age or limited financial resources,” says Alexis Starr, Lead Respiratory Therapist at NVRH. “Having this diagnostic tool available here allows our local patients to access this essential medical care without traveling long distances.”
This marks the third gift NVRH has received from the Melissa Andrews Trust. The first was in 2019 to help ensure the hospital could secure sufficient respiratory equipment and supplies during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the purchase of a Volara™ airway clearance system in 2022.
“The Melissa Andrews Trust is proud to support Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in its mission to meet respiratory healthcare needs in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont,” said Co-Trustee John Lyon. “Addressing respiratory conditions is critical to improving quality of life in our rural communities. By supporting vital diagnostic services like pulmonary function tests, we help ensure that Vermonters living in rural areas can get the respiratory care they need—quickly and close to home.”