Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Throughout the month of August, the nurses of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), participated in the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) RN Survey, which measures nurse job satisfaction. The results are in. SVMC’s nurses scored SVMC higher than the national average in all categories. Studies link high nurse satisfaction with improved patient outcomes.

Vermont Business Magazine After a lengthy hiatus, Gifford is re-starting its Sexual Assault/Forensic Nursing Program, also known as SANE. The team is made up of eight forensic nurses. Three are certified in adult/adolescent SANE care and five are dual-certified in both adult and pediatric SANE care. Forensic nurses specialize in caring for patients who experience health issues associated with violence. They typically see patients in an emergency room after the patient’s involvement in a violent crime, such as sexual assault, intimate partner violence or strangulation. Forensic nurses also work closely with an interdisciplinary team that includes law enforcement, advocates, and crime victim services.

by John McClaughry Searching for an arresting metaphor for the approaching legislative session, I found a compelling example, as described by contemporaneous reports. In the afternoon of May 31, 1889, 14 miles above Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the South Fork Dam gave way. In less than forty-five minutes, twenty million tons of water poured into the valley below. Roaring down the narrow path of the Little Conemaugh River, a seventy-foot wall of water, filled with huge chunks of dam, boulders and whole trees, smashed into the small towns of Mineral Point and Woodvale and swept away all traces of their existence.

Vermont Business Magazine Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC), a member of Dartmouth Health, hosted a successful charity art auction featuring work from prolific artist Deborah K. Ellis, which was originally gifted to the hospital by Ellis’ spouse, Sarwar Kashmeri. The auction, led by auctioneer Bill Smith, raised proceeds that will go toward health and wellness programs and clinical services at MAHHC. Prior to the auction, a reception was held to remember and celebrate Ellis’ life and work. It was well attended by Ellis’ and Kashmeri’s friends, family, neighbors, and associates.

Vermont Business Magazine Ivette Guttmann, MD, a sports medicine physician with SVMC Orthopedics, part of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) and Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) in Bennington, has something in common with the best athletes in the world; she has a dream to make it to the Olympic Games. Her hope is to serve the athletes as a volunteer physician.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger and Burlington Fire Fighters Association (BFFA) leaders signed a new three-year contract. With the BFFA contract, the Administration completes a twelve-contract run without arbitration over three rounds of bargaining with the City’s four unions: the American Federation of State, County, Municipal, Employees (AFSCME), Burlington Fire Fighters Association (BFFA), Burlington Police Officers’ Association (BPOA), and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Vermont Business Magazine Lawson’s Finest Liquids is continuing its annual tradition of charitable support on Giving Tuesday with donations totaling $10,000 to 59 nonprofit organizations statewide as part of the brewery’s Social Impact Program (SIP). Each donation of up to $5,000 will be made to previous applicants to the brewery’s Sunshine Fund, collectively representing the largest annual contribution by Lawson’s Finest in honor of Giving Tuesday. The funds will support a range of causes across Vermont, from sustainable recreation to mental health advocacy, community development, animal rights and much more.

Vermont Business Magazine Technology for Tomorrow (T4T) has announced a new partnership with the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation to expand its digital literacy education across Vermont. Technology for Tomorrow is a non-profit organization that provides various digital technology training programs to older adults, New Americans, and other local communities. In 2022, it has served over 500+ Vermonters with in-person and remote instruction. The Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation partnership will allow T4T to continue bridging the digital equity gap and double its impact and programming over the next year.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.84 per gallon, down 5.4 cents per gallon from last week's $3.90/g. Vermont prices are down 5.6 cents from a month ago and are up 51.4 cents from a year ago. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 13.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.51/g today.

by Anson Tebbetts As autumn winds down and our Green Mountain fields and forests prepare to rest, we give thanks for the bounty of the seasons. In the coming weeks, Vermont food will be at the center the table as many of us celebrate with family and friends. Maybe the meal will begin with an appetizer plate arranged with Vermont’s award-winning cheeses, crackers, pickles, jams, and jellies; perhaps stacks of tasty local vegetables and meats grown and produced by our Vermont farmers and producers.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort hosted the women’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup for the sixth time over Thanksgiving Weekend. Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami won the giant slalom under sunny skies on Saturday and in a shocking finale Sunday, Anna Swenn-Larsson (SWE) and Wendy Holdener (SUI) tied for the slalom win. Though she logged the fastest time in run one, five-time Killington Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin finished the slalom in fifth. After a slow start to the Audi FIS Ski World Cup season, marred with cancellations in Europe, Killington Resort pulled off the impossible by taking the racecourse from grass to FIS snow control approval in a matter of days.