Industry · VT
Businessman Donates $4 Million to Struggling Brattleboro Hospital
Willy Buhlmann, a Swiss immigrant who founded and recently sold Swiss Precision Turning, has donated $4 million to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital's depleted investment account, the Vermont hospital announced Monday. The gift comes as the Windham County facility, which operates on a $130 million annual budget, forecasts a $7.1 million deficit for fiscal year 2027 following years of operating losses the hospital attributes to past administrative and accounting problems. Hospital reserves have fallen from $53.3 million in FY 2021 to a projected $19.7 million in FY 2027. The Green Mountain Care Board recently level-funded the hospital's spending plan, unlike 13 other Vermont acute-care hospitals, while it works to clarify its finances.
Why it mattersThe donation offers a one-time financial cushion for a hospital under heightened state regulatory scrutiny, but does not resolve the structural deficit spending that could affect provider solvency and community access to care in southeastern Vermont.