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Vermont Council on Rural Development Your village is an essential part of your community and of Vermont’s identity and future. The Village Trust Initiative is a new program offering expertise and funding to help towns with populations under 2,500 create or bolster a local community trust organization (a 501c3 nonprofit organization that supports the vitality of the community) to support a revitalization project in their village. These projects could be the revitalization of a general store, the creation of a community center, improvements to the accessibility of an old town hall, renovation of a large historic home into village-scale housing, and more. There are many possibilities, so bring your creativity and vision to the table! The selection process begins with the completion of a simple intake form due Friday May 24, 2024 by 4pm.

by Cari Kelley May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time for all of us to think about ways we can support each other while also checking in on our own mental health. Over the past year I’ve been thinking about this a lot through my experiences as a certified instructor of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and QPR, a suicide prevention training program. If you take away nothing else from reading this commentary, please remember this: If you are struggling with your mental health and/or concerned about the mental health of someone you care about, you are not alone. And help is available. I have been the primary support person for over 20 years of someone in my family who has struggled with suicidal ideation. I have sat in the Emergency Department for hours waiting to see what resources are available. I have helped my loved one navigate services, listened nonjudgmentally and offered reassurance. In moments of crisis when I was worried about their safety and didn’t know what more to do, I called 988 and asked for help.   

Vermont Business Magazine Patients in our region are benefitting from class leading surgical care close to home as Healthgrades, a prominent online resource for consumers seeking information about doctors and hospitals, has named University of Vermont Medical Center among the top 10% in the U.S. for outpatient orthopedic surgery and recognized the academic medical center with its prestigious Outpatient Joint Replacement Excellence Award for 2024. As an academic health system, UVM Health Network is committed to continuous improvement and implementing new technology that enables advances in care, evident with the adoption of contemporary technology such as robotics at UVM Medical Center, and more recently, at UVM Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin. 

Vermont Business Magazine Canaan Schools has been awarded a $5,000 grant to support classroom technology upgrades from Consolidated Communications’ Consolidated Connects Educational Grant Program. Consolidated joined students, teachers and faculty in celebrating the grant award at a check presentation during a school assembly on Friday, May 10. This grant will allow Canaan Schools to enhance technology available in the classroom, providing students with increased opportunities to engage with one another through interactive programs and lesson materials that focus on exercise, movement and balancing skills.  

Vermont Business Magazine Sam Allaire, RN, MSN, recently assumed the role of Chief Nursing Officer at Copley Hospital. Lori Profota, Copley’s former Chief Nursing Officer, accepted a full-time position as Chief Operating and Chief Nursing Officer at Springfield Hospital. Allaire joined Copley in the fall of 2021 as Nursing Education Program Manager. Previously, she worked as a Med-Surg Nurse and as a Labor and Delivery Nurse and has held leadership roles at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and Central Vermont Medical Center. As CNO, Allaire is focused on supporting Copley’s nursing and clinical staff. She is engaged in regular process review to ensure her team has what it needs to optimize the time they spend with patients at the bedside. 

Vermont Business Magazine Community Health CEO Mike Gardner and Board Chair Nancy Morlino honored and thanked 39 Community Health employees for their years of service ranging from five to 20 years. During an annual recognition event, HR Director Sami Davis highlighted the commitment and enduring quality of care that the clinical and administrative workers have shown during their time with the health network that provides medical, dental and behavioral health services at eight locations in Rutland and southern Addison counties.

Vermont Business Magazine Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union students and educators will spend the remainder of this school year learning how they can keep spreading HOPE (Hold On, Possibilities Exist) in their classrooms — and beyond. Pat Fish, of Sweethearts & Heroes, is working in the FNESU for three days a week (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) throughout this month and until June 7. Sweethearts and Heroes is a student empowerment and empathy activation team that aims to prevent hopelessness, bullying and suicide with a focus on the basic components of social-emotional learning (SEL). Sweethearts & Heroes offers a profound, engaging signature presentation that calls for HOPE, Empathy and Action; Circle, which is built on the ancient ritual of communicating in a circle to build empathy; and the B.R.A.V.E. Youth Leadership Program, which trains older students in bully drills that they, in turn, teach to students in lower grades.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters are again facing steep upward premium growth for 2025 due to the cumulative impact of hospital costs, drug prices and state health care policy choices. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont projects that these trends will continue and will require rate increases of 16.3% for individual health plans and 19.1% for the small group health plans to pay for the cost of the care for Vermonters covered by Vermont Health Connect. MVP in the small group is proposing a 9.3% increase and in the individual plans, MVP has proposed an average increase of 11.7%. The Green Mountain Care Board, which regulates rates, typically reduces rate increases, often substantially. The GMCB will release their decisions in the late summer. The premium rates are effective between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. 

Vermont State Police On February 2, 2024, the Vermont State Police were contacted by the Assistant Superintendent, Michael Dounetos, of the Marble Valley Correctional Facility, and informed that Correctional Officer David Orvis, had been relieved of duty pending an investigation. Through investigation, it was learned that Orvis had coordinated with at least two separate incarcerated individuals to transport contraband, specifically tobacco, into the Marble Valley Correctional Facility.  Orvis received electronic payment for the tobacco and his efforts, which was facilitated by the same two incarcerated individuals. During the investigation, the Vermont State police were informed that Orvis had resigned from his position as a Correctional Officer with the Vermont Department of Corrections.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas announced that Seán Sheehan joins her office this week as the new Director of Elections and Campaign Finance. Having worked for the State of Vermont for twelve years, most recently as the Director of Performance Improvement in the Agency of Human Services, Sheehan will now play an important role in overseeing the critical mission of administering elections in Vermont. The Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s Office protects the integrity of campaigning and elections in Vermont. It administers Vermont’s elections, oversees campaign finance reporting and lobbyist disclosure laws, and encourages civic participation.

Vermont Business Magazine In a Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security hearing last week, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) highlighted the need to establish a new and independent federal agency through the Digital Platform Commission Act to regulate the tech sector to better protect consumer data and address emerging cybersecurity concerns. Senator Welch also questioned experts about ways to help individuals and small businesses implement affordable cybersecurity protections to safeguard their data.   

Vermont Business Magazine Technology for Tomorrow (T4T) wrapped its inaugural year of the Microsoft TechSpark partnership with the completion of its digital literacy series. T4T, a nonprofit based in Williston, was the Vermont organization selected for the inaugural Microsoft TechSpark Fellow Program to foster inclusive economic opportunity, job creation, and innovation in the state. Vermont, like many parts of the nation and world, experiences a deep digital divide. According to the National Institutes of Health, the pandemic only reinforced the digital divide. T4T developed “TechSpark Wednesdays,” a series of free digital literacy courses. The two 10-week cohorts centered on basic skill building and advanced AI understanding. The 90-minute hybrid classes met weekly in the Digital Lab at the South Burlington Public Library. Participants also were able to join virtually, ensuring access via digital learning.