Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Student Assistance Corp released a study this week that examines postsecondary enrollment and completion patterns among Vermont students at two-year schools. This follow-up study of the Vermont high school class of 2012 examines such themes as preparedness for college, full-time versus part-time enrollment, and barriers to degree completion. The study also identifies some significant areas of opportunity for future investment, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine Northern Counties Health Care (NCHC) and Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) are pleased to announce the grand opening of Northern Express Care – St. Johnsbury on Monday, November 30, 2020. Located at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Railroad Street, Northern Express Care will provide immediate, walk-in primary care access to community members requiring care.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is urging anyone who attended Sunday services at New Hope Bible Church in Irasburg on November 22 to get tested for COVID-19. Health officials learned that at least one person attended services that day while infectious with COVID-19. The Health Department today reported 99 new cases of COVID-19, for a total 4,005 cases. To date, 67 Vermonters have died from the novel coronavirus, 8 in the last two weeks. As the state experiences a steady increase in cases, Vermonters are strongly urged to avoid unnecessary travel, including for the upcoming holidays, and avoid social gatherings with people you do not live with.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network said today that it has restored access to the MyChart online patient portal for existing users, as well as EpicCare Link, an interface that allows community providers to have read-only access to the health information of shared patients. These important milestones are critical steps forward in restoring normal operations for our patients and communities. MyChart was unavailable to patients following the recent cyberattack. All patients at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and most ambulatory patients at Central Vermont Medical Center, Porter Medical Center and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital now have access once again to the system.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott is encouraging families and businesses to help show Vermont Lights the Way, an effort to literally brighten communities and neighborhoods around the state by decorating homes, businesses, trees or other creative ideas to help celebrate the holidays during the pandemic. In addition to decorating, Vermonters should share pictures of their displays - or favorites from around the community - on social media using the hashtag #VTLightsTheWay. This will allow those who are not able to tour the lights to take part in the holiday celebration.

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine For Dan Groberg of Montpelier Alive, if there is one word that comes to mind that sums up this year it’s resiliency. “I would say businesses are hanging in there and they’re certainly demonstrating resiliency and I credit that to the community really stepping up and supporting local businesses right now,” said Groberg, executive director of the downtown organization. But Groberg also didn’t sugar coat the difficulties businesses are facing.

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine A sober indication of how the pandemic has affected residents of Washington County is the assistance rendered by Capstone Community Action.

Capstone, one of five community action agencies in the state, provides food, housing and fuel assistance to disadvantaged Vermonters. It also operates a small business development program.

Capstone Executive Director Sue Minter said her agency has seen a dramatic demand for its services, especially in the area of food and housing.

“We created a whole command center and did a very significant provision of food,” Minter said. “At Capstone we’re actually preparing the food at our community kitchen academy.”

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine Seven months after its initial response to COVID-19, Central Vermont Medical Center has made the necessary adjustments and daily life at the county’s largest employer and health care provider has returned to normal.

The hospital, part of the UVM Health Network, also appears to have weathered a cyberattack that hit the UVMHN at the end of October.

Since May, the hospital is back performing elective surgeries, a significant revenue stream, to pre-COVID levels, said CVMC President Anna Noonan. Patient volumes at the hospital’s clinics have returned to normal as well, she said.

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain United Way and a consortium of economic development officials, social service providers, educational institutions and private employers are on a mission to develop a stable workforce and in so doing lift people out of poverty.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine There aren't many people in Vermont who have accomplished as much and been publicly recognized so little as Roger Allbee. His life has been defined by being the quiet insider, not seeking glory but working hard to preserve the agricultural heritage of his beloved Vermont. He's been a cranberry exporter, an agricultural banker, a congressional staffer in Washington, DC, Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, and CEO of the Grace Cottage Family Healthcare and Hospital in Townshend. And that's just for starters.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has launched his eleventh annual State of the Union essay contest. Each January, the President of the United States delivers the “State of the Union” address to a joint session of Congress, which outlines priorities for the coming year. Because Senator Sanders knows that great ideas can come from everyone – not just those in power – and wants to encourage young people to become engaged in the political process, he created the State of the Union Essay Contest. The contest is an opportunity for Vermont high school students to describe a major issue facing our country and propose what they would do to solve it.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement: “As we pause to give thanks this year, a once-in-a-century pandemic weighs heavily on each of us. It has added stress to our lives and strained our patience. But from the very beginning, Vermonters have stepped up to face this battle with service and sacrifice, digging deep to maintain discipline as the crisis grinds on. Make no mistake: Your willingness to meet this challenge head on has helped make our response the best in the nation. You are why we are positioned to emerge faster, stronger and with fewer lives lost than any other state.