Current News

Vermont Business Magazine This Saturday November 3, more than 200 people throughout Vermont and Northern New York will try to top each other, and competitors around the world, playing Dungeons & Dragons, Mario Brothers and many other video games for 24 hours straight. Players have been hard at work raising money from friends, relatives and community members to sponsor their efforts in the annual “Extra Life” event, with the proceeds supporting programs and services at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Telecom has gifted some critical equipment for major events and competitions to the Champlain College Esports club. Esports are a form of organized multiplayer video game competitions. While skeptics may scoff at the idea of a competitive arm of online gaming as a “sport”, this past August, CNN called esports an “explosive billion-dollar industry” with over 380 million spectators worldwide. By offering degrees in game design, programming, and production management Champlain College is positioned to attract top esports student talent.

Vermont Business Magazine A nurse-led initiative to provide consistent safe sleep education for all new families at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital has led to national recognition for the hospital, and nurses are encouraging Vermonters to take steps that will keep their infants safe. Through a partnership with Cribs for Kids, a National Infant Safe Sleep Initiative, all new families will receive “sleep sacks” for their infants, and some eligible families will receive portable cribs.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, and Michael Feulner presented The University of Vermont Health Network - Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) with the Michael Feulner Award on October 22. The award is presented annually to the organization with the most participants in May’s Vermont Corporate Cup & State Agency Race by the Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. In 2018, 525 CVMC staff members participated. It is the third time CVMC has earned the distinction.

Vermont Business Magazine Consolidated Communications, Inc, (NASDAQ: CNSL) announced on Monday that more than 365,000 residents and businesses across Northern New England now have faster broadband speeds as the company works to upgrade 500,000 total customer locations this year. “We made a commitment to increase broadband speeds throughout Northern New England and we’re on track to complete these upgrades to 500,000 homes and small businesses by the end of 2018,” said Bob Udell, president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Communications. “We’re working hard to bring faster speeds and new products and services to Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, and we’re also making great strides to improve network reliability and stability.”

Vermont Business Magazine A pioneering program at the University of Vermont Medical Center to offer women the option of receiving care from certified nurse-midwives is marking its 50^th year, making it the second-oldest hospital-based midwifery program in the nation. Since 1968, the Midwifery Service has managed 13,000 births at the Burlington hospital and grown to the point of having certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) attend nearly 20 percent of deliveries, a rate more than double the national average.

“The high rate is meaningful because studies show better outcomes are associated with deliveries attended by nurse-midwives, including lower rates of emergency caesarean sections, fewer inductions and greater success with breastfeeding,” said Marti Churchill, CNM, who leads the hospital’s program.

Vermont Business Magazine KeyPoint Partners, LLC (KPP) the Burlington, MA-based commercial real estate service firm, has announced that Target and H&M have held grand openings at University Mall in South Burlington – the first in the state for both retailers. The new Target store occupies a prominent 60,000-square-foot anchor space formerly occupied by The Bon-Ton. KPP Vice President of Leasing Don Mace negotiated the leases. KPP manages and leases UMall on behalf of the owner. Target officially opened October 21.

Vermont Business Magazine The following is a statement issued by The University of Vermont on Monday: “It’s Ok to be White” signs once again appeared on the UVM campus and at Champlain College over the weekend. In the past the signs appear to have been posted as part of a national effort. They were removed because they were posted in violation of University posting policy. To the extent that the signs are intended to promote a white nationalist ideology, as news reports have suggested, we condemn the activity in the strongest possible terms, as it is completely antithetical to our core University values.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan moderated a panel of experts at the business expo TechJam October 19 designed to walk the attendees through a data breach scenario. The workshop, called “Anatomy of a Data Breach,” demonstrated best practices and showed participants the different elements of a data breach – from the technology to governmental reporting requirements to FBI reporting to public relations approaches. The scenario involved spear-phishing and ransomware, as well as a reportable data breach. TechJam is presented by Seven Days.

Vermont Business Magazine Mount Snow, which was recently named Best Snow and Best Grooming in The East by Ski Magazine, officially opened this morning as lifts began spinning at 8:00 a.m., marking the earliest opening day in its 64-year history.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general and 5 cities, to oppose the federal government’s plan to roll back federal greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emission and fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. The federal plan also seeks to bar California and states which have adopted California’s standards, including Vermont, from using state standards to reduce GHG emissions. If adopted, the plan would weaken requirements to reduce GHG tailpipe emissions that are the most significant step the nation has taken to fight climate change, and weaken requirements to make fuel economy improvements that save drivers money on gas. The coalition includes every state attorney general from jurisdictions that have adopted California’s standards.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington-based HIMSS Analytics has announced the newest maturity model to enter the market, the Infrastructure Adoption Model or INFRAM. The INFRAM measures the technical infrastructure used within in a health system. By identifying specific benchmarks for organizations to reach before they go live with Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems, the INFRAM ensures that a health system’s infrastructure is stable, manageable and extensible. Through this, organizations can improve care delivery and create a pathway for infrastructure development tied to business and clinical outcomes.