Local conditions
| Probate court | Bennington Probate Division, 207 South Street in Bennington |
|---|---|
| Average hospital distance | 13.7 miles |
| Towns near a hospital | 5.9% |
| Transit stops | 129 |
| CMS-certified homes | 4 |
| Licensed facilities | 14 |
| Memory care designated | 5 |
| Nursing homes | 4 |
How Bennington compares next door
Bennington County's hospital distances run from 1 mile in Bennington town to 24 miles in Dorset, the widest single-county spread recorded on this site, while only 5.9% of the county's 17 towns fall within a 15-minute drive overall. That range matters more than the county-wide average: a household near the town of Bennington and one near Dorset are planning around very different realities even though both addresses are technically "Bennington County."
Senior care in Bennington County
Arlington and Shaftsbury both sit on the VT 7A side, while Pownal, at the county's southern tip, is closer to the New York and Massachusetts state lines than to Manchester.
Meals, the senior center and the area agency in Bennington County
Bennington County belongs to the Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging, which shares the county with Rutland.
Meals on Wheels of Bennington County, a 501(c)(3), serves hot meals to eligible seniors over 60 and to disabled adults under 60, and about three-quarters of its meals are delivered to homebound seniors.
It asks adults over 60 for a $4 suggested contribution and says it will not deny a meal to anyone unable to pay; in partnership with the Council on Aging it delivers hot meals five days a week and frozen meals for weekends.
The rest are served at eat-in cafés at gathering points around the county.
The Bennington Cafe offers a choice of entrees at lunchtime five days a week without a reservation, and Bone Builders and other exercise classes run upstairs at the Bennington Senior Center, whose mission is to engage people 50 and over in lifelong learning and physical, emotional and social well-being.
Green Mountain Express and door-to-door rides
Southwestern Vermont's public transit provider is Green Mountain Express.
Its Shoppers Express and Elderly and Disabled programme offers door-to-door rides to selected destinations including grocery, medical, work and social events; rides are booked by calling 802-447-0477, and demand-response service depends on vehicle and driver availability.
Its service partners include Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, United Counseling Services and Bennington's adult day programme, and it connects with the Moover in Wilmington, the Rutland bus in Manchester and Berkshire Regional Transit in Massachusetts.
First-time riders and anyone requesting a flag stop are encouraged to call ahead to verify times and safety.
For a household in Manchester, Dorset or Pownal, the ride to Bennington is the practical limit on how far apart family members can live.
Hospital, home health and hospice
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington, a member of Dartmouth Health, is a nonprofit health system with a 100-year history; it began as Putnam Memorial Hospital and admitted its first patient on June 10, 1918.
It serves more than 75,000 people in Bennington County, western Windham County and southern Rutland County in Vermont and parts of New York and Massachusetts.
Four of the county's nursing homes sit within about a mile of it.
Home health and hospice are provided by the VNA and Hospice of the Southwest Region, founded in 1946 in Rutland, a nonprofit Medicare-certified agency with more than 250 home health aides, therapists, social workers and visiting nurses serving Bennington, Franklin and Rutland counties; its number is 802-775-0568.