Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The American Cancer Society (ACS) has selected Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), as a Hospital Systems Capacity Building (HSCB) Community of Practice (COP) site to increase colorectal cancer screening rates. The HSCB COP initiative is 3-year project including 20 hospitals and their community partners nationwide.

by Devon Green, VAHHS Vice President of Government Relations Although the ink is barely dry, the Vermont Senate is taking full advantage of the $1.3 billion expected to come to Vermont from the latest federal COVID relief package, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). On Friday, senators advanced a state COVID relief bill with $63 million in federal funding. Unlike the last round of funding, which needed to be spent in a matter of months, the expiration date for ARPA funding is by the end of 2024. As discussions progress, VAHHS will continue to advocate for workforce initiatives, mental health resources and broadband connectivity.

Vermont Business Magazine Mount Mansfield Maple Products has partnered with Generosity Brings Joy and Jen Ellis, the mother, partner, teacher, community member, and crafter, who made the famous Bernie Sanders Inauguration Day Mittens to create a commemorative bottle of pure Vermont maple syrup to benefit Camp Ta-Kum-Ta. This limited-edition bottle features a custom label inspired by Bernie’s mittens to celebrate the movement spurred by Jen Ellis’ creation of Generosity Brings Joy, an organization that brings awareness to, and funding for, non-profit organizations working in our community.

Vermont Business Magazine The National Committee for Quality Assurance), a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality, has once again awarded Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center and Ottauquechee Health Center Recognition as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. The Hospital first earned this honor in 2015 and has re-certified yearly since then. The Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition program highlights medical practices that place patients at the forefront of care.

by John McClaughry Agriculture has long been the bedrock of Vermont, combining food production and employment with rural economies and preservation of the state’s ecosystems and landscapes. Over the years legislatures and governors have periodically commissioned reports to formulate plans to strengthen Vermont’s agriculture. The most recent of these appeared last month. It’s titled the “Vermont Agriculture and Food System Strategic Plan.”

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters age 60 and older will be able to make an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine starting Thursday, March 25 at 8:15 am. The length of the entire process will vary, but Vermonters can expect it to take approximately two months from the time you register to the time you are considered fully vaccinated. The VDH today is also reporting 84 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths since Friday, for 219 total statewide. Over 170,000 Vermonters have received at least one dose of vaccine, or 31.2 percent of the adult population.

Vermont Business Magazine GlobalFoundries (GF) and Vermont Technical College announced today that they have established a partnership program which offers GF employees the opportunity to further their education at Vermont Tech in undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs at discounted tuition rates. Additionally, employees can further benefit through GF’s tuition reimbursement program. For Vermont Tech, partnering with GF brings experienced professionals to the campus, broadening the learning experience for current attendees and providing a pipeline of new students.

Vermont Business Magazine The ACLU of Vermont is supporting an effort by the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) to obtain records of legal claims filed against Vermont’s former prison healthcare provider over a period of five years. The question of whether a state contractor can withhold public records involving a core government function – in this case, the provision of healthcare in Vermont prisons – is now pending at the Vermont Supreme Court.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Department of Corrections (Vermont DOC) is reporting three new cases of Covid-19 among incarcerated individuals in the outbreak at Northern State Correctional Facility (NSCF) in Newport. The cases were detected in testing conducted March 18, and are contained to the same unit as the past four rounds of positive incarcerated results. No staff tested positive.

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Loren Senna, 37, of Burlington, Vermont, was arrested on Friday evening and has been charged by federal complaint with possessing with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing cocaine base. Investigators have preliminarily linked Senna to a white Jeep from which multiple gunshots were discharged earlier Friday evening near Murray Street and Allen Street in Burlington.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today announced that on Thursday, March 25 at 11 am, the Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing "on ending our rigged tax code and ensuring the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share." The United States today has more income and wealth inequality than almost any major country on Earth, and it is worse now than at any time since the 1920s. Over the past forty years, there has been an enormous transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthiest people in America.

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets It was around this time last year that "pivot" became a regular part of our vocabulary. Farms and food businesses across Vermont worked to adapt to supply chain and market disruptions amid uncertainty of how to protect ourselves and our communities from COVID-19. Pandemic pivots came at a cost to businesses, and the Vermont COVID-19 Agriculture Assistance Program (VCAAP) was one of many relief programs set up to help offset expenses and lost revenues due to the public health emergency.