Current News

Vermont Business Magazine In a statement released today by the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, Bea Grause, RN, JD, currently the President and CEO of the VAHHS, has been named by the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) Board of Trustees to succeed Dennis P. Whalen as HANYS' next President upon his retirement in June 2016. The association embarked on a national search process when Mr. Whalen announced his intent to retire. Grause has been the President and CEO of VAHHS since 2001. She received her Juris Doctorate in May 1991 from Santa Clara University School of Law and her BSN from Boston College in 1979. Before moving to Vermont, Bea worked in a variety of health care positions in Washington, D.C. Prior to entering the field of law, Bea had worked for 10 years as a Registered Nurse, primarily in the Emergency Room and Intensive Care areas.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington lost at least $1.5 million and perhaps as much as $2 million on a $3.65 million loan to Burlington College, according to financial statements from the church. In 2010, Burlington College bought the former diocese headquarters on North Avenue for $10 million. The diocese sold the property to help cover the cost of a $17 million settlement with victims of priest sex abuse in Vermont. The college borrowed heavily to buy the 33-acre prime Lake Champlain waterfront property. The purchase was part of an ambitious expansion plan for the school, led by Jane Sanders, the former Burlington College president and the wife of presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders.

by Joshua E Brown University of Vermont Led by researchers from the University of Vermont, the first national study to map US wild bees suggests they're disappearing in many of the country's most important farmlands -- including California's Central Valley, the Midwest's corn belt and the Mississippi River valley. If losses of these crucial pollinators continue, the new nationwide assessment indicates that farmers will face increasing costs -- and that the problem may even destabilize the nation's crop production. The findings were published December 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Vermont Business Magazine For the second year in a row, the University of Vermont Medical Center has been selected for the “50 Greenest Hospitals in America” list compiled by Becker’s Hospital Review, a leading industry journal. Hospitals on the list are considered leaders in sustainable innovation, eco-friendly design and green practices across all areas of operation. The UVM Medical Center’s efforts to reduce energy consumption, chemical use and waste stream, as well as committing to green surgical and construction standards and serving healthy and locally produced foods were highlighted.

Vermont Business Magazine Community Bancorp, the parent company of Community National Bank, has declared a dividend of $0.16 per share payable February 1, 2016 to shareholders of record as of January 15, 2016. Community National Bank is an independent bank that has been serving its communities since 1851, with offices in Derby, Derby Line, Island Pond, Barton, Newport, Troy, St. Johnsbury, Montpelier, Barre, Lyndonville, Morrisville and Enosburg.

by Vermont Health Commissioner Harry Chen, MD The United Health Foundation just released its annual America's Health Rankings. Again, Vermont finds itself near the top of the charts as the second healthiest state. We have ranked #1 or #2 healthiest for seven years running. This is certainly cause for celebration, one for which many Vermonters deserve credit. At the same time, it’s clear that Vermonters are not all equally healthy, as detailed in the 2015 County Health Rankings by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Wisconsin Population Institute. The number that best predicts individuals’ health may not be their blood pressure or cholesterol level, but their zip code. On average, people living in Chittenden, Washington and Addison counties are far healthier than those living in Essex, Orleans and Bennington counties. Closely tied to these health gaps are socio-economic differences on one side of the equation, and health behaviors on the other.

by Carolyn Shapiro, UVM No two patients with lung cancer are exactly alike – some are former smokers and others have never smoked – and often, different genetic mutations are responsible for their disease. While treatments exist to target many of these mutations, cancer cells can be tricky to treat: they can adapt and sneak around the targeted drugs and continue to grow. Next month, the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Vermont Medical Center will launch a test that will help physicians better understand the specific molecular pathways of these types of cancers, and – more importantly – determine a personalized treatment for each patient.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell has reached an agreement with Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc that addresses concerns with the 2014 price increase of the opioid antidote drug Naloxone. Amphastar, the manufacturer of Naloxone, has agreed to provide the drug to Vermont state and local governments and associated agencies at 20 percent less than the wholesale price. Under the agreement, Amphastar will provide a $6 per dose rebate for each syringe purchased over the next year, and increase the rebate to match any increase in Naloxone’s wholesale price.

“Opioid addiction is a battle we are fighting hard in Vermont on several fronts,” said Attorney General Sorrell. “Naloxone has already saved the lives of Vermonters. Affordable access to this drug is a critical component of addressing the opioid crisis.”

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center’s new ExpressCare in Waterbury Center is scheduled to open Jan. 4. Located at 76 McNeil Road, off Route 100 near Pete’s Greens Waterbury Farm Market, it offers quick and easy walk-in medical care with no appointment required. The 6,000-square-foot Waterbury Center clinic is the hospital’s second ExpressCare facility and is similar to the Berlin clinic on the Barre-Montpelier Road, which opened in 2014. Designed as a safety net for adults and children with minor illnesses and injuries who cannot access their primary care provider, ExpressCare will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, 365 days a year. All insurances will be accepted. All Vermonters and visitors to Vermont are welcome.

by John McClaughry In two short weeks the Vermont legislature will be back in Montpelier. The central issue will be contriving some way to produce a balanced General Fund budget for 2017 – without any visible increases in taxes. Every year for the past five the legislature has faced nagging deficits. For the current fiscal year (FY16) the legislature will have to find at least $28 million to fill the gap, plus withdrawing at least $10 million from the Human Resources Reserve Fund. But solving the FY16 budget problem will be a minor chore compared with the FY17 problem, especially since Gov. Shumlin has (so far) ruled out new taxes for that purpose.

The Joint Fiscal Committee, the legislature’s budget monitor, projects what’s called “the hungry alligator”: a FY17 deficit of $58.5 million. For FY18: $80 million. For FY19: $75 million. For FY 20: $95 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) has attained its fourth Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the highest honor an organization can receive for excellence in nursing. SVMC was the first hospital in Vermont to receive the designation. This fourth consecutive recognition places SVMC in an elite community of only three four-time designees in New England and one of only 31 four-time designees in the world. Obtaining Magnet recognition requires the integration of the program’s concepts: transformational leadership, structural empowerment, exemplary professional practice, innovation, and the measurement of outcomes. The concepts are evidenced in departmental organization and governance. Nurses work with the support and guidance of their supervisors and in collaboration with other departments to improve care.

Vermont Business Magazine Members of the local chapter of the American Academy of Professional Coders gathered to present a check to staff at the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center. More than $1,000 was raised through several fundraisers in 2015, including a bake sale, Sip and Swirl painting events, and a PartyLite candle sale. The funds will be added to the Cancer Center Patient Resource Fund, which is used to assist cancer patients with the expenses related to their diagnosis.

“Donations like this one are so important this time of year. Many patients are struggling to buy heating fuel, gas, and groceries or to pay their bills,” said Wendy Petitt, practice manager of the Cancer Center and the person who administers the fund. “Thanks to the Coders work over the past year, many patients will feel some relief from the financial stresses that come up during their diagnosis and treatment.”