Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported February 22, 2023, that COVID-19 case counts were down and hospitalizations were largely unchanged over the last week. COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH. Hospitalizations increased by a single case to 42 last week (they were as low as 30 last fall). Total cases fell to 433 (from 495). There were seven COVID-related deaths in the last week for a pandemic total of 917 as of February 18. Of the total deaths to date, 725 have been of Vermonters 70 or older. There have been 3 deaths of Vermonters under 30 since the beginning of the pandemic. There have been 15 deaths so far in February; there were 24 in January, as data was adjusted based on more information. Deaths are not spiking this winter as they have the previous two.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Mutual Insurance Group, one of the oldest property and casualty insurers in the Northeast, has contributed more than $550,000 to local charities in 2022 through its Charitable Giving Fund. Since its inception in 2014, the Vermont Mutual Charitable Giving Fund has donated more than $3.5 Million to help support organizations in communities where they do business, including $1 million in COVID-19 relief efforts in the state of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Hunger Free Vermont received a $36,090 grant from Shaw’s and Star Market Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbors Program. The grant was provided from funds donated by generous customers at checkout last September and will be used to help schools and communities across Vermont to increase the number of children who consistently participate in their school breakfast programs.

Vermont Business Magazine Following the US Food and Drug Administration’s proposed guidance last week allowing nut, oat, soy, and other non-dairy products to use the name "milk,” Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jim Risch (R-ID), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Peter Welch (D-Vermont) today introduced bipartisan legislation to combat the unfair practice of mislabeling non-dairy products using dairy names. The Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, milk, and cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act (DAIRY PRIDE Act) of 2023 would require non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants, and algae to no longer be mislabeled with dairy terms such as milk, yogurt or cheese.

The Small Business Administration is hosting a free webinar at noon March 1 about its guaranteed loan programs. SBA guarantees loans making it easier for small businesses to get the funding by reducing lender risk. Funds can be used for most business purposes, including long-term fixed assets and operating capital. Amounts range from $500 to $5.5 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Becca Balint (D-VT) has been appointed to two Oversight Subcommittees: Healthcare and Financial Services and Government Operations and the Federal Workforce. The Subcommittee on Healthcare and Financial Services has jurisdiction over federal health care policy, food and drug safety, federal entitlement programs, monetary policy, banking, infrastructure, tax policy, and oversight and legislative jurisdiction over the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Katie Porter is the Ranking Member of the subcommittee.

Vermont Business Magazine Over 100 Vermont businesses from diverse industries completed the 2023 annual economic survey in January regarding the outlook of Vermont’s small- to medium-sized businesses. 80% of the business owners who responded have fewer than 25 employees. The survey, presented by Davis and Hodgdon CPAs and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, revealed that there is more optimism in business owners’ attitudes about the Vermont economy than there is optimism for the U.S. economy. Also noteworthy is that most business owners are optimistic about their operations and profitability in 2023 and many have made significant adjustments to their business models to adapt to post-pandemic life.

Vermont Business Magazine More than 75 million Americans have high blood pressure accompanied by heart muscle thickening and more than three million of these patients suffer from heart failure, a leading cause of hospital admissions and healthcare costs. In heart failure with a stiff heart muscle, the heart is less able to relax and refill with blood, which often causes debilitating shortness of breath. A new study published in JAMA Cardiology found evidence that a counterintuitive approach might be the key to addressing this problem, which is a diverse multisystem disease with few available therapies. Based on the results of this blinded, randomized clinical trial, called myPACE, the researchers learned that by implementing a tailored acceleration of heart rates, they could reduce congestion and improve the circulation of blood. A total of 107 HFpEF patients from Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York who have very specific kinds of pre-existing pacemakers participated in the study.

Dartmouth College Communications The Remsen Medical Sciences Building is closed following a fire Sunday morning in a seventh-floor laboratory. Access to the adjoining Kellogg Hall and Vail Research building will resume for research and education functions on Monday. Vail is closed on Sunday while the situation is being assessed. The fire was contained to the Remsen lab and set off the building’s sprinkler system in the vicinity of the fire. The Hanover Fire Department received an automated fire alarm call just after 7 a.m., and firefighters were on the scene moments later. No one was injured in the incident.

by Michael Del Trecco, CEO, VAHHS If you’ve read my columns over the past several months, you know that we at VAHHS have committed ourselves to reducing the rising tide of violence we’re seeing in Vermont’s health care workplaces—particularly in our emergency departments. We strongly support S.36, which attempts to enact measures to support our colleagues in health care, who are increasingly subject to physical and verbal abuse as they care for us and our neighbors. To put a human face on the problem of violence in Vermont’s health care settings, we convened a Workplace Violence Summit at the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier.