Current News

Consistent with other demographic information, the US Census has released a report indicating that Vermont trends below the US average in several key birth metrics. Vermont has been one of the slowest growing states by population in the nation and was the only state to lose population between 2011 and 2012. The Census report describes the fertility patterns of women in the United States, patterns which have changed sig­nificantly over time. The average number of children ever born has dropped from more than three children per woman in 1976 to about two children per woman in 2012. Recent years have also seen drops in adolescent childbearing and increases in non-marital births.

Leaders of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council T-9 and Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1400 have scheduled a strike authorization vote for July 11-13 to take place across the FairPoint service area, according to a statement released Tuesday. The two unions represent nearly 2,000 employees of FairPoint Communications across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Their contracts expire on August 2 and union representatives have been in negotiations with management since April 25.

“The doctor will see you now” has a whole new meaning in Bennington. Southwestern Vermont Medical Center is now offering a high-tech telemedicine program that allows patients to be seen by Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) specialists without having to drive two hours to Lebanon, NH. Thanks to a partnership with the D-H Center for Telehealth, several SVMC rheumatology patients are now receiving care via telemedicine, using real-time video for their medical appointments. During the inaugural round of virtual appointments in late June, D-H rheumatologist Daniel Albert, MD, had video consults with more than a dozen SVMC patients.

For patients whose conditions are more complex, Albert makes twice-monthly visits to SVMC to see patients in person.

“I think this hybrid model of me going to Bennington intermittently and doing telemedicine intermittently is absolutely the right model,” says Albert.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Vermont’s second largest hospital says its rates are likely to grow by 8.4 percent next fiscal year, because payments from government programs that cover health care services aren’t keeping up with inflation.In a letter to the 1,100 employees of Rutland Regional Medical Center, CEO Tom Huebner said the hospital board recently approved a fiscal year 2015 budget, which includes a 2.9 percent increase in spending. “Even with our costs only going up 2.9 percent, our rate – our prices – will have to go up 8.4 percent,” Huebner wrote. “Medicare and Medicaid are only giving us about a 1 percent increase, so we have to make up for this by charging our commercial payers (Blue Cross, MVP, etc.) more.”

by Morgan True vtdigger.org There are thousands of inconsistencies in the information Vermonters provided to enroll in health insurance through the state exchange, according to a federal audit. That could mean hundreds, or even thousands, of Vermonters who received tax credits for their premiums or subsidies to lower their out-of-pocket costs could find they owe money at tax time. A report from the Inspector General of the federal Health and Human Services Department released Tuesday found that the federal and state exchanges failed to properly check applicants’ eligibility for coverage and subsidies. Federal investigators found exchanges were mostly unable to reconcile inconsistencies between the information people provided and government data on income, citizenship and other criteria.

Burlington College has been put on probation for two years because of finances. According to a statement from the college, it was its move from a small property in the Old North End to a sprawling campus along North Avenue which has stretched its finances. In 2011, Burlington College moved from the 16,000-square-foot Colodny building up North Avenue to its current location.

NASA is awarding $11.25 million to 15 colleges and universities across the United States, including the University of Vermont, to conduct basic research and technology development in areas including climate change, nanotechnology, astrophysics, aviation and other areas relevant to the agency's missions. The awards, each valued at $750,000, are made through NASA's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

One proposal was selected from each of the following universities and organizations:

by John McClaughry Three June decisions of the US Supreme Court carry important messages to America, and one in particular is likely to have an impact in Vermont. The decision that attracted the most national attention came in a case (Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby) defining religious freedom. In 1993 Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Vermont Sens. Leahy and Jeffords voted Yes.) It provided that when a government action raised a question of religious liberty, the government must present a “compelling interest”, and that interest must be furthered by the “least restrictive means”.

ObamaCare requires employer health insurance must cover “essential benefits”, or else the employer will be taxed or fined. The Obama administration – not Congress – decided that those benefits must include twenty different varieties of contraception as free “preventive care.”

VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations has once again been ranked among the World’s Best Tour Operators in Travel + Leisure’s readers’ poll for 2014. This is the fifth consecutive year that the company has received this award, jumping up two spots to the second highest spot in its category. “This award is due to the valued customers who continue to book cycling and walking vacations with VBT and spread the word about our large travel portfolio,” says VBT President, Gregg Marston. “We thank each and every voter for including VBT in their submission, along with the worldwide VBT family who work hard to provide excellent active travel experiences.”

Two nurses from the southwestern Vermont region, John Green, BSN, RN, of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) and Eileen Rice, Ph.D., RN, Assistant Professor in the Division of Nursing at Southern Vermont College (SVC) have been selected to be Vermont Nurse Leadership Fellows by the Vermont Action Coalition, part of Governor Peter Shumlin’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Nursing.

The program “prepares nurse fellows to lead and inform health-care decision-making by leveraging their frontline perspective and providing additional insight into the business and financing of health care,” according to Mary Val Palumbo, DNP, APRN, associate professor of nursing, University of Vermont, and co-lead of the Vermont Action Coalition. More than 50 Vermont nurses were nominated for the program and 25 were selected.

In the past twelve months, 250 young Vermonters received babysitter training as a result of a partnership between the American Red Cross and the J Warren and Lois McClure Foundation. This partnership, now completing its fourth year, has trained a total of 900 babysitters. A fifth year of the grant has been approved, ensuring another 250 kids will receive training over the next year.

“Vermont has been incredibly fortunate to have the support of the McClure Foundation to bring these vital, and potentially lifesaving, skills to youth across Vermont,” said Larry Crist, Regional Executive of the Vermont & the New Hampshire Upper Valley American Red Cross. “The Foundation’s generosity is bringing opportunity to young Vermonters by providing skills and teaching them about responsibility.”

In the neighborhood targeted for renewal, Governor Peter Shumlin today announced a $1.25 million Vermont Community Development Program award to the City of Rutland. In partnership with the Rutland Redevelopment Authority, NeighborWorks of Western Vermont will use the funds to improve blighted properties and create homeownership opportunities. The funding is one element of a broader revitalization effort that also includes infrastructure improvements, a new vacant building ordinance, municipal tax stabilization, public safety measures, community building and gardens.

Casella Construction with Governor Shumlin preparing for Pine Street tear down in Rutland.