Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Howard Center management confirmed today that the agency’s Board of Directors have approved a two-year contract with Local 1674 of AFSCME Council 93, which represents 702 Howard Center direct care workers, 127 of whom are members of the union. The agency employs over 1,500 employees.

Today, the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) approved The University of Vermont Medical Center’s Certificate of Need (CON) application to build a new building to replace aging inpatient facilities. The $187.3 million project will be on the west side of the Medical Center Campus above the existing Emergency Department parking lot. In approving the project, the board supported the need for the project, and noted the building will improve the quality of health care in the state and that single rooms will provide patients a better care experience. Due to the scope and cost of the project, the board included conditions requiring additional financial reporting and changes to debt financing prior to the start of construction.

The Vermont Attorney General has entered into two more Assurances of Discontinuance with manufacturers to settle violations of Vermont’s Prescribed Product Gift Ban and Disclosure Law. The law bans most gifts to Vermont health care providers and requires manufacturers of prescribed products, such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices, to disclose certain expenditures paid by manufacturers to health care providers.

The ChildSafe clinic at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital/UVM Medical Center in Burlington, which serves children and families where child abuse, neglect, and child sexual abuse are suspected or diagnosed, is undergoing a change in provider involvement. Clinic founder Karyn Patno, MD, FAAP will reduce her time to one day per month of direct patient services, while continuing her teaching, case collaboration and community roles in Vermont and New York. Joseph F Hagan, Jr, MD, FAAP will serve in the ChildSafe Clinic to see children and families as needed. Dr Hagan will also participate in collaborative case management with UVM Children’s Hospital specialists, community clinicians and Vermont’s Department for Children and Families. He will also provide supervision to the University of Vermont Medical Center Emergency Department Sexual Abuse Nurse Examiners (SANE), and continue his community involvement in child abuse prevention, diagnosis and treatment activities.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants announced today it has been selected to manage a new, luxury boutique hotel in the popular, year-round vacation destination of Manchester, Vermont. The 87-room, new construction project, owned as a joint venture between Florida-based developer Heaton Companies, local partner Clark French and Boston financial partner Janet Jiang of First Cambridge Capital, is under construction and is slated for a fall 2015 opening as The Taconic Hotel. It will be located at 3835 Main Street, Manchester Village.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine 'Orange is the new Blue' was the slogan of the day as GlobalFoundries announced Wednesday morning that it had completed its acquisition of IBM’s Microelectronics business, which includes the facility in Essex Junction, Vermont, and the approximate 3,000 employees that go with it. IBM will retain many workers in Vermont as part of the deal. IBM will give GlobalFoundries $1.5 billion and in return GlobalFoundries signed a 10-year contract to supply IBM with advanced technology. IBM had sought to sell the money-losing division for several years as it turns away from manufacturing and focuses more on high-end, high-margin business services.

Governor Peter Shumlin Tuesday marked an important milestone in the rebuilding of the Waterbury State Office Complex, joining state and local officials to witness the installation of monumental cupolas that will frame the center of the new campus. The project, now 80 percent complete, is progressing as expected, on time, and on budget.

With the June 30th retirement of CEO William Catto, President Dan Bridge will take on the Chief Executive role. Current Senior Vice President Mark McDonnell will elevate to the number two position in the organization and partner with Bridge to lead the company.

“This completes a well-planned leadership transition that began several years ago”, said Bridge. “Since joining the company in 2014, Mark has made significant contributions to our organization and I look forward to partnering with him as we move the company forward.”

Bridge continued “I think I speak for both Mark and myself when I say we are excited about the future of this organization. We are fortunate to work with an exceptional team here at Vermont Mutual, comprised of both our dedicated employees and our agency partners.”

TThe United States Supreme Court on Thursday granted Vermont’s request to review a lower court decision regarding VHCURES, Vermont’s all-payer health care database. VHCURES is an important repository of health care claims information, which Vermont uses to assess health care costs, access, and quality. The Green Mountain Care Board administers VHCURES and requires all health care payers (including private insurers and plan administrators) to provide de-identified claims data for this database.

Mayor Miro Weinberger today announced that Chief of Staff Mike Kanarick will be leaving the Mayor’s Office after serving in City Hall since Weinberger became Mayor more than three years ago. Kanarick has accepted a position with the Burlington Electric Department where he will serve as Director of Customer Engagement and Communications, effective July 6. The mayor also announced that Brian Lowe will be promoted to the Chief of Staff position after having served for nearly two years as Mayoral Projects Coordinator, and Jen Kaulius will be promoted from her current scheduler and assistant role in which she has served for more than three years to the position being vacated by Lowe.

From left, Weinberger, Kaulius, Kanarick and Lowe. Courtesy photo.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The patent on the silicon-based integrated circuit was barely five years old when an IBM manager called into his office in East Fishkill, NY, a small group of his best young engineers. This was 50 years ago almost exactly, in the spring of 1965, and he wanted them to try and use ICs for memory. To that point they’d only been used for logic. IBM was developing an important computer for the National Security Agency and VP of Engineering Eric Bloch asked his engineers to see if ICs could be used for one small component. If not, he told them, he’d use something else for the system protect.

RELATED STORY: GlobalFoundries completes acquisition of IBM Microelectronics business, July 1, 2015

Chroma Technology Corp, based in Bellows Falls, has received an award for workplace safety from workers’ compensation insurer MEMIC. Only eight, out of more than 20,000 policyholders, were honored with a safety award at MEMIC’s Annual Meeting. Chroma Technology Corp is an employee-owned manufacturer of optical filters.

“Chroma Technology Corp. has a best practice injury prevention program that gets incredible results year after year,” said its MEMIC safety management consultant, Eric Grant. “Chroma Technology Corp. has taken proactive, self-directed approaches to reducing non-value added tasks, human touches and ergonomic risk factors.” The company has invested in robotic processes and automation that eliminate risk factors and prevent injuries.