Staffing increases at sheriff’s office will allow for more officers on hospital grounds
ST. JOHNSBURY, VT (August 26, 2025) – The Caledonia County Sheriff’s Office will soon be providing additional rounding and traffic services at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) starting this fall.
The increased police presence on the hospital campus comes in the wake of staff and patient concerns about traffic safety and cars speeding on the road between the parking areas and the hospital.
“We’re excited to have the sheriff’s department back on site to help with speed enforcement and to provide some general presence on campus,” says NVRH Shawn Tester. “We’re glad to be collaborating with them. It’s a great partnership and we look forward to growing it in the future.”
The Sheriff’s department and NVRH share a commitment to safety and community well-being, Tester explains, and an increased presence at the hospital will ensure safer traffic flow and support a secure environment for staff, patients, and visitors. The change coincides with the ongoing effort to foster a culture of safety at NVRH, including a recent employee survey on workplace safety. Healthcare workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence than people working in other industries.
Recent staffing increases at the sheriff’s department have made it possible to add more officers to support NVRH’s existing security staff.
NVRH Chief Innovation and Security Officer Shawn Burroughs is glad to see more officers returning on campus. “We had our annual check in with the sheriff’s department and thankfully with the staffing changes, we realized that there was an opportunity to have more of a presence at the hospital.”
“We were excited when the hospital reached out,” says Caledonia County Sheriff Brian Thrailkill. “We’re glad to be back on site and looking forward to rebuilding the partnership with the hospital, with a focus on traffic enforcement and increasing overall safety.”