Current News

At the request of Governor Peter Shumlin, officials with the Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) have asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to conduct a preliminary damage assessment (PDA) in Vermont counties impacted by last week’s severe winter storm. The state is asking for the assessment in an effort to qualify for federal public assistance to help cover the cost of cleanup and recovery from the storm.

Governor Shumlin surveys storm damage from the air. Courtesy Vermont Electric Cooperative.

Thousands of Vermont youngsters in need will be able to enjoy warm, high-quality socks again this winter, the seventh year that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, Cabot Hosiery Mills/Darn Tough Vermont, and the state’s community action agencies and homeless shelters have joined forces to improve the health and comfort of Vermont children.

“Blue Socks for Kids” project volunteers will deliver 8,400 pairs of premium, Vermont-made merino wool socks to the state’s community action agencies and homeless shelters for distribution to children in need of warm clothing this holiday season.

Left to right: Ric Cabot, Governor Peter Shumlin, Don George, and Hal Cohen

by Mike Barwell, Photography by Mark Washburn, D-H Using knowledge gained from a national network of medical experts,Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) has dramatically improved the outcomes of patients with sepsis by focusing on early detection and rapidly delivering recommended care – doubling the chance of survival.

Sepsis is the leading cause of deaths in U.S. hospitals. It affects nearly one million patients and costs an estimated $20 billion to treat annually. Beyond being deadly, sepsis is notoriously difficult to detect and treat. It often mimics other illnesses, such as the flu. Defined as a whole-body inflammation caused by infection, sepsis can progress very quickly, setting off a reaction that can lead to shock, organ failure and death.

The University of Vermont Medical Center is again being counted as a top performer among leading academic medical centers in the 2014 University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) Quality and Accountability Study, nationally recognized as the most important analysis of its kind. UHC is an alliance of nearly all of the academic medical centers in the United States.

Excellent results in infection prevention, low rates of complications and readmissions, and overall efficiency of care contributed to the high ranking.

“The elite university hospitals are in this study, so this means our patients are getting some of the best care in the country close to home,” said John Brumsted, MD, president and CEO of The University of Vermont Medical Center and The University of Vermont Health Network. “This achievement is due to the relentless efforts our employees make to provide the best possible care for every patient every single time.”

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Governor Peter Shumlin and his team say they will release their single-payer financing plan by December 30, but as of last week, the Department of Health Reform was still running numbers. The Shumlin administration continues to explore different economic scenarios, examining the results, and if they’re unsatisfactory, the state will tweak the inputs and start again. State officials are using the Gruber Microsimulation Model. Robin Lunge, director of health reform, says the model offers Vermont “the best estimate that anyone is able to do” of how people and businesses will respond to a single-payer program.

Catherine Gemmiti has joined College of St Joseph as founding program director for its planned Master of Medical Science Physician Assistant Studies (MMScPAS) Program. Upon accreditation, CSJ, based in Rutland, will offer the first PA program in Vermont in 2016.

Gemmiti has extensive experience in physician assistant education. In addition to success as founding director of the University of New England, PA Program, she comes to CSJ more recently from Franklin Pierce University, where she worked as the director of the Master of PA Studies Program. She also has served as the chair of the Department of PA Studies at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

The People’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of People’s United Bank, announced today that it has awarded $5,000 to Life Bridge, Inc. Life Bridge, Inc, was started in 2004 as a teen mentoring organization. Together with full-time staff and numerous volunteers, their goal is to facilitate one-to-one mentoring relationships between students and healthy adults resulting in positive life changes.

Left to right: Michael Seaver, Officer, People’s United Community Foundation and Vermont Division President, People’s United Bank; David Kemper, Executive Director/President, Life Bridge, Jeff Fuller, Central Vermont Director, Life Bridge and Vince Santilli, Executive Director, People’s United Community Foundation.

Full-time faculty members at the University of Vermont represented by United Academics have ratified a new contract that will expire June 30, 2017. The contract provides for performance-based and across-the-board annual increases, as well as salary adjustments when faculty members are promoted.

UVM said in a statement that this contract will allow UVM to remain competitive in recruiting, rewarding, and retaining our high quality faculty. The agreement also reflects full health care benefits for more faculty and a 20 percent increase in the percentage of the premium faculty pay for those benefits, as has been the case for other faculty and staff.

GMP has restored power to nearly all its customers following one of the most difficult and lingering storms in its history. By Tuesday morning, GMP had restored power to more than 130,000 customers from last week’s storm, which continues to cause small outages across the state. GMP, Vermont Electric Cooperative and Washington Electric Cooperative were down to just over 400 combined outages. GMP crews numbered over 1,000 strong at the peak and worked round the clock and through the weekend restoring power, clearing trees and making repairs to infrastructure.

Electricity began flowing this afternoon from National Life Group’s newly built solar energy project. The 500 kilowatt project is made up of more than 2,000 panels arrayed on about 4 acres just south of the company’s Montpelier headquarters. The electricity will feed into the regional power grid. Combined with a 73 kilowatt solar project built in 2008, National Life Group will generate more than 15 percent of its own electricity demand.

“This project makes great financial sense to us as a company,” said Mehran Assadi, president and CEO. “We’re also proud to say it makes great environmental sense and moves both our company and the city of Montpelier closer to our mutual goal of energy independence and sustainability.”

Vermont PBS Board Chair Rob Hofmann announced Monday the appointment of Holly Groschner as president and CEO for Vermont’s statewide PBS affiliate. The Corinth, Vermont, resident expects to take the reins of the public media organization in mid-February. In her new position, Groschner will draw upon a wealth of experience in the communications industry, having most recently served as General Counsel for the Vermont Telecommunications Authority. There, she worked with staff and state legislators to improve public access to broadband and cell phone services across the state.

Newly appointed Vermont PBS President & CEO, Holly Groschner

Said Hofmann, “We are fortunate to find someone with Holly’s level of knowledge and experience to lead Vermont PBS into the future. I know she’s the right fit for the organization. I’m also delighted that she’s a Vermont resident, which makes this selection even more gratifying.”

The Association of General Contractors of Vermont (AGC/VT) recently announced new appointments to its Board of Directors for 2015. Judy Desrochers of JA MacDonald will lead the Association as its new President. Desrochers has been with JA MacDonald for over 30 years, and an active member of AGC/VT.

“I’m proud and honored that the members of AGC/VT have elected me to serve as their next President,” said Desrochers. “AGC/VT is the premier trade association for the construction industry in Vermont. We’ve built a strong national reputation as a leader in safety and education classes. And during my term, I will continue the remarkable education efforts, and will work to strengthen our incredible partnerships with state agencies.”