Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice (CVHHH) is thrilled to share that its first-ever Giving Tuesday campaign was a success. Thanks to the support of many donors, and a generous $1,500 match from Fall Honorary Appeal Chairs Rubin and Shaline Bennett of East Montpelier, CVHHH brought in $6,295 on Giving Tuesday.

VNAs of Vermont A number of studies ordered by the legislature in 2019 have been published or are in the final stages of development. Taken together, these report touch on the major priorities of the VNAs of Vermont – financial sustainability and workforce recruitment and retention. 

Vermont Business Magazine Bringing more than 30 years of health care executive experience, Pamela M. Duchene, PhD, APRN, has joined the executive management team at Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) as its Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer. Duchene has served as the chief nursing officer at Hallmark Health System in Melrose, MA, a 368-bed facility, and at St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, NH, which is a Magnet Center for Nursing Excellence and has 208 beds. In addition, she has had extensive experience in the long-term care and rehabilitation industries, serving as a vice president of Harmony Healthcare International in Massachusetts, SunHealth Care Group in New Mexico, and HealthSouth New England in Massachusetts. Duchene is a practicing adult/gerontological nursing practitioner. She attained her Doctor of Nursing Science at Rush University in Illinois.

Vermont Business Magazine The Annual Meeting of the Southern Vermont Health Services Corporation and its subsidiary, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) held on December 6, 2019 featured special guests, an overview of 2019 hospital initiatives and achievements, as well the election of new board members. Keynote speaker Cheyanne Warren, DDS, MS is the Dental Therapy Program Director at Vermont Technical College.  Dr. Warren provided an overview of the role of dental therapists and the growing national need for the profession.  Vermont Technical College has been a longtime supporter of dental therapy in Vermont and played a critical role in the passage of legislation. 

Public Assets Institute Vermont’s labor force shrank for the fourth straight month in November, hitting its lowest point since May 2002. In fact, the labor force has declined steadily since the Great Recession. Last month it was down to 343,104 workers—a drop of more than 18,000 from its peak in 2009.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Commerce and Community Development is preparing for the launch of the New Worker Relocation Grant Program on January 1. The program offers reimbursement grants of up to $7,500 to new residents who move to Vermont and take a job with a Vermont business. During the 2019 legislative session, the Legislature and Governor Scott worked together to pass, Act 80, which allocated nearly $2 million to fund the new worker relocation grant program. This new program follows the launch of the state’s remote worker program in 2019, which has seen 135 applications approved and 359 people, in total, move to Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Walter Cerf Community Fund (WCCF), a component fund of the Vermont Community Foundation, announces $112,380 in 2019 grants to 29 organizations to support work through summer 2020. Alongside many multi-year grants currently benefiting local organizations, these new grants will support a range of organizations and projects focused on social services, historic preservation, arts, education, and the needs of local residents experiencing poverty—reflecting the pattern of giving established by Walter Cerf during his lifetime.

Vermont Business Magazine The Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho will receive $30 million for a new facility as part of the defense budget signed by President Trump on Friday, December 20. Groundbreaking will most likely take place in late 2020.

Vermont Business Magazine President Trump has signed into law a fiscal year 2020 spending bill that includes bipartisan legislation introduced by Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vermont) to promote Vermont and other states as a destination for international tourists. Welch’s bill reauthorizes Brand USA, a successful public-private partnership funded at no cost to taxpayers through a user fee on international visitors. Welch’s bill renews the program through 2027 and resolves a funding glitch that threatened its existence.

Vermont Business Magazine South Burlington-based PC Construction was recognized by building industry leaders in three states for its work on major projects in 2019. The company earned awards from Associated General Contractors chapters in Vermont, New York, and Maine for its work on three large, innovative projects that helped to modernize and expand educational opportunities on academic campuses.

“These awards mean a lot to us,” said Jay Fayette, PC Construction President & CEO. “PC is doing tremendous work throughout the Northeast, and our Burlington, Poughkeepsie and Portland offices are thriving. We have great people building great projects, and it is an honor to be recognized for those efforts by the Vermont, New York and Maine AGC Chapters. These awards belong to our employee-owners, who continue to build facilities safely, with the highest level of quality, and to the complete satisfaction of our customers.”

by Paul Costello The temptation with bad news, like that of the closing of Green Mountain College, is to sit on one’s hands, paralyzed by structural change beyond immediate local control. The alternative is to come together, line up strategies and do what is in your power to move your community forward. That is just what the community of Poultney has done and is doing. They deserve a great deal of credit and a lot of praise for their dedication, collaboration, leadership, and hard work.

Vermont Business Magazine Health policy expert and entrepreneur Meg Hansen of Manchester has formally announced her campaign for lieutenant governor. Progressive Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman is expected to seek reelection. Hansen is trained in medicine (MBBS – British equivalent of a US MD) and graduated with an MA from Dartmouth College. She owns a small communications firm. The Hansen campaign also announced that Stephen F Kenney, Chief Financial Officer of Central Vermont Medical Center, will serve as campaign treasurer. Early supporters have helped raise $35,000 so far, according to a statement released by the campaign Friday.