Current News

​by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine In a letter to supporters released this morning, Republican Governor Phil Scott announced he would seek reelection to a fourth term. He previously told VermontBiz that he would announce his decision about the time the Legislature adjourned, which they did last Thursday. Scott has been elected and reelected by wide margins. His handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has been praised here and across the nation, including by Dr Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to President Biden. Scott has also been a counter-weight to some of the bills passed by the Democratically controlled Legislature.

Vermont Business Magazine Rutland Regional Medical Center recently reopened 5 West as a dedicated negative pressure COVID Unit. This action was taken to accommodate and balance the needs of COVID positive patients and the high patient census in the ICU. The COVID-dedicated unit will be closed to all visitors. Currently, visitation elsewhere in the hospital remains unchanged.

Vermont Business Magazine In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic – as much of the world went into lock-down – Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) recognized that some community members lacked access to the technology required for telehealth services. After reaching out to the Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care (VPQHC), a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization designated by the Vermont Legislature as an independent, peer review committee, the hospital received 10 iPads to distribute to individuals whose health would benefit from increased healthcare access.

Vermont Business Magazine It is week two of Nurses Month and the theme is Recognition. This week we recognized and celebrated nurses by presenting the DAISY Team Award, the DAISY Individual Award, and the DAISY Leader Award. Throughout the year, nurses are nominated by patients, families, and colleagues. All nominations are thoroughly reviewed through a blinded process by the Nursing Shared Governance Council and the Council selects each year’s Individual, Team, and Leader DAISY winners.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Federal Credit Union was recently awarded the Governor’s Excellence in Worksite Wellness Award, and achieved the highest level recognition – Gold Level. The award highlights worksites around the state and their efforts to promote the health and wellness of employees. Ongoing wellness programs at the Credit Union include wellness challenges, nutrition classes, CSAs and farm sharing, discounted gym memberships and local Employee Assistance Programs.

Vermont Business Magazine On Wednesday, May 4, 2022, students in the St. Johnsbury School’s afterschool program, the Sunshine Squad, handed out about 100 grab-n-go snacks for Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) frontline staff to show their appreciation. This is the second year of the Sunshine Squad. This year the group received a $5,000 grant from Vermont Community Foundations NEK Fund. Throughout the school year, the group meets once a week to work on spreading happiness within the community.

​Vermont Business Magazine Dartmouth Health’s new Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Teresa Malcolm, MD, FACOG, MBA, will be the next guest on Medical Matters Weekly at noon on Wednesday, May 18. The show is produced by Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) with cooperation from Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV). Viewers can see Medical Matters Weekly on facebook.com/svmedicalcenter and facebook.com/CATTVBennington. The show is also available to view or download as a podcast on svhealthcare.org/medicalmatters.

Vermont Business Magazine The Bowse Health Trust will start its 2022 grant cycle with Letters of Intent (LOI) due on June 15, 2022. Recognizing that health starts before medical care is needed, the Bowse HealthTrust is interested in funding new projects that focus on providing residents in the Rutland Region an opportunity to live a healthy life where we live, learn, work and play. Successful letters and projects will address the priority areas identified in the 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment and will center any proposed work on health equity. Priority areas include, housing, childcare and parenting, supporting the aging community, and mental health.

by John McClaughry On May 11 the short life of the Clean Heat Standard (CHS), promising “clean heat for a cooler planet”, came to sudden but probably not final end. To understand how the CHS originated, let’s go back to September 2020. The legislature, over Gov. Scott’s veto, enacted the Global Warming Solutions Act. The Act declared that the “climate crisis is both caused by and exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions that result from human activity.” Therefore Vermonters must be made to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from combustion of fossil fuels – heating oil, natural gas, gasoline, diesel, and propane – by 26% below 2005 levels by 2025, and by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont State Colleges System announced the creation of a new Workforce Development Division designed to enable the VSC to build stronger collaborations between students and employers, and to strengthen the program alignment between Vermont State University and Community College of Vermont.

The Workforce Development Division will bring into alignment the program offerings, administrative support services, operational processes, and systems to meet Vermont’s critical talent and workforce needs in key industry sectors such as health care, manufacturing, mental health, education, broadband communications technology, and many more. This will create a clear point of entry with a “no wrong door” philosophy. In addition to providing this unified entity for employees and Vermonters seeking to upskill, this new structure will provide a single point of contact for employers seeking further education for their employees.

​by Betsy Bishop, President of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, and Megan Sullivan, Vice President of Government Affairs Each year, the end of the legislative session coincides with warmer weather, signaling peak tourism season just around the corner. For many Vermont businesses, however, this will be the third summer in a row that they are overwhelmed with uncertainty instead of anticipation. While elected officials resumed in-person operations at the State House, the Vermont business community is still working to determine their “new normal.”

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton University celebrated the accomplishments of members of the Class of 2022 at its 235th Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 14. This year marks the first in-person, university-wide commencement in three years. Mia Schultz, president of the Rutland Area Branch of the NAACP, addressed the more than 3,500 guests in attendance and those watching the ceremony live from home. She shared her journey to community activism and her lived experience with racism. She encouraged students to become leaders in their communities and push for positive change whenever they can.