Current News

Vermont Business Magazine A report released last week recognized the University of Vermont Health Network as one of the most transparent health systems in the country based on its efforts to make pricing available publicly. Turquoise Health analyzed nearly 5,000 hospitals and health systems based on how well they are following a federal requirement to publish their negotiated rates with private insurers. Categories included whether hospitals have complied with federal requirements by posting a machine-readable pricing file with negotiated, cash and list rates. The UVM Health Network was one of 104 hospitals or health systems to receive the top score.

Vermont Business Magazine A majority of states, including Vermont, saw scores decline for fourth- and eighth-graders in mathematics and reading between 2019 and 2022, according to the latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation's Report Card, released today by the US Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The national average score declines in mathematics for fourth- and eighth-graders were the largest ever recorded in that subject.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) announced today the release of a request for applications (RFA) for farmers, producers, and organizations to apply for Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) funding. Approximately $200,000 will be awarded to farms and organizations that demonstrate an ability to purchase and distribute local food from socially disadvantaged producers to underserved community members across Vermont. Funds must be used to start new programs or expand existing offerings to purchase local food and move to neighbors in need. Farmers and producers who fall under USDA’s definition of socially disadvantaged will receive priority for funding.

Vermont Business Magazine Joe Wiah was honored with this year’s $15,000 Con Hogan award. The annual award recognizes Con’s life’s work by rewarding a community leader who shares his vision of a better Vermont and who seizes the responsibility for making that vision a reality. The award, to be used however the recipient chooses, is given to a leader who shows deep community involvement, generosity, enthusiasm, a collaborative approach, and a focus on data and outcomes in his or her work. Wiah, a former refugee from war-torn Liberia, is Director of the Ethiopian Community Development Council’s (ECDC) Multicultural Community Center in Brattleboro where he coordinates with community organizations, government, and individuals to help refugees integrate into community life in Southern Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The DeltaClimeVT climate economy business accelerator is seeking innovative, early-stage, energy companies addressing the decarbonization of buildings, transportation, heating and industrial processes through electrification, biofuels or other renewables. Entrepreneurs will work directly with Vermont utilities to contribute to Vermont’s 90% renewable by 2050 and Burlington’s Net Zero by 2030 goals over three months of intensive work sessions, including two online and two in-person intensive sessions (each 2-4 days in duration), weekly assignments and bi-weekly webinars as well as frequent 1:1 engagement.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Changemakers Table is a cohort of young Vermonters seeking to drive positive change in Vermont and its communities through relationship building and collective action. The program is a collaboration between Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) and the Vermont Community Foundation (VCF) and has connected and empowered six cohorts of changemakers from across Vermont since its inception in 2016. The 2022-2023 Changemakers Table program will convene a group of 20 changemakers under the age of 35 with diverse backgrounds, occupations, and experience for a 7-month series of in-person and virtual gatherings to discuss challenges and opportunities facing Vermont communities and how to utilize levers of change within their spheres of influence.

by Michael Del Trecco, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer You've probably noticed a disturbing trend. Our hospital emergency departments (EDs) are stretched to their limits. This reality is not limited to any one hospital and sadly, this is anything but new. Since last year, hospitals have struggled to care for more and sicker patients and they have been doing so during an ongoing pandemic, while managing staffing shortages, and with fewer resources. To say this trend is unsustainable is a massive understatement.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets Are you a primary producer of farm or forest products looking for funds to support market development, research and design, infrastructure improvements, energy projects, or workforce training and development? Applications for the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative Primary Producer Impact Grant, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), will be available soon! The request for applications will be released on October 28th, and the application portal will be open from November 9 - December 16. The application is a two-stage process, and applicants who advance to the second round will be notified in early February 2023. The estimated project start date is early summer 2023.

by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine Three-plus months since Amtrak and the Vermont Agency of Transportation extended the northward reach of the Ethan Allen Express by 68 miles, from Rutland to Burlington, patronage on the train is exceeding expectations. The addition of the new mileage to the existing 200-mile New York City-to-Rutland route – roughly a 33% increase – brought with it a ridership boost of 51% in August, the new service's first full month, relative to ridership in August of 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. VTrans and Amtrak had projected that the extension would add 2000 to 2500 riders per month to the patronage, according to Dan Delabruere, director of the agency's Rail and Aviation Bureau.