The Brattleboro Memorial Hospital campus on Belmont Avenue. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is reporting the departure of its chief financial officer just weeks after the exit of its CEO amid a projected $14.5 million annual budget shortfall. T he 500-employee not-for-profit facility — the main health care provider for about 55,000 people in southeastern Vermont — has replaced CFO Laura Bruno with interim leader David Sanville, a former executive at hospitals in Berlin, Randolph and Windsor, it said in a press release sent after the close of business Friday.  Sanville will be assisted by Patrick Nudo, a national Ovation Healthcare consultant who will serve as senior finance director, the release added.   “These decisions were made after careful consideration and reflects our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of leadership and accountability within our organization,” the hospital said in a written statement. “Our focus now is on ensuring a smooth transition and continuing to deliver on our mission without interruption.” Administrators released no other information, and Bruno couldn’t be reached for comment. The 61-bed hospital — one of Brattleboro’s three largest employers — has reported a string of annual losses since 2021 and entered a state review hearing this past August with fears of another shortfall. “We recognize we are in a bad financial condition,” Bruno said at the online meeting. “We have some ways to go.” READ MORE But the hospital nonetheless unveiled a proposed 2026 fiscal year budget at the summer hearing that estimated $121 million in spending and a $244,529 surplus as of next Sept. 30. In response, regulators at Vermont’s Green Mountain Care Board questioned the accuracy of those figures and ordered the hospital to recalculate its budget or risk becoming the first health care facility to receive state intervention under a new law.  Soon after, the hospital announced CEO Christopher Dougherty was taking an unexplained leave of absence in October before he exited permanently without comment in November. Earlier this month, a set of acting leaders and several outside advisers sent the state an updated $130 million budget for the 2026 fiscal year that projected a $14.5 million operating loss. Past and present administrators have blamed the hospital’s fiscal problems on everything from too many unpaid patient bills to their own staff’s rising health insurance costs, spurring them to launch a hiring freeze and let go of several managers. The hospital’s acting leaders are continuing to review budget numbers as they search for a new CEO and CFO, they said Friday at a meeting of community members who act as advisory corporators. Regulators have yet to announce whether they’ll hold another review hearing but believe the updated $14.5 million projected loss is “an accurate representation,” they recently said in a written statement. Read the story on VTDigger here: Brattleboro hospital’s chief financial officer exits amid projected $14.5M shortfall. ...read more read less