Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Howard Center will present its fifth annual conference, Vision, Visionaries and Voices virtually on April 7 from 9 am – 4 pm, featuring international speakers, Mary Bassett, MD, MPH, Anita Hill, Byron Katie, Ethan Nadelmann and Tara Westover.

by Megan Sullivan, Vermont Chamber of Commerce As the pandemic approaches the two-year mark, businesses continue to experience a severe workforce shortage. The harsh reality is that even if every young Vermonter committed to staying here into adulthood, we still wouldn’t have enough people to fill all 23,000 open jobs. While funding workforce development and capital investment opportunities remain crucial, there is only one ultimate solution. We need more people to call Vermont home.

by John McClaughry Are you ready for the coming carbon tax on your home and business heating bill? The Vermont House is working at flank speed to enact the “Clean Heat Standard” (CHS) concocted by the Climate Action Network and adopted by the Vermont Climate Council. Of course, none of the House backers will describe the CHS as a carbon tax, because most Vermonters want nothing to do with a carbon tax.

by Jeff Tieman, CEO, VAHHS When I think of sustainability, the first thing that comes to mind is partnership. Whether it is a marriage or a mission, a policy or a plan, making it sustainable requires collaboration. Rarely does major progress occur because someone acted alone. In the space of our health care system, sustainability requires all stakeholders to play their part: It is the duty of our hospitals and their governing bodies to ensure that they meet community need. It is the responsibility of our elected officials to enact smart policies that move us toward a stable, safe, accessible and affordable health care system. And it is our regulator’s role to make sure hospitals have the financial wherewithal to treat their patients and serve their communities.

Vermont Business Magazine Brett Smith, President and CEO of One Credit Union, has presented the Credit Union’s annual donation to James Hathaway, President and CEO of Make-A-Wish Vermont. Through member donations and employee contributions, One Credit Union raised $7,000 for Make-a-Wish in 2021. Traditionally, the Credit Union matches all contributions to Make-a-Wish. Given the difficulties of the last couple years, One CU decided to put a cherry on top, for a grand total of $15,000 to Make-a-Wish.

Vermont Business Magazine The endoscopy team at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), was the recipient of the DAISY Team Award for Extraordinary Nurses in November. The Endocsopy Department is made up of nearly 20 full- and part-time staff members. Together with medical staff, they offer screening and repeat colonoscopies, Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS), and other emergency procedures, like food impactions, to approximately 65 patients each week.

Vermont Business Magazine As with many societal challenges we have all faced in the past two years, the pandemic uncovered vulnerabilities in Vermont’s food system, while at the same time highlighting our capabilities and strengths. In response, Governor Scott appointed a Commission on the Future of Vermont Agriculture to grow our food economy. This includes establishing a $20 million VAAFM Strategic Infrastructure Grant Program with $10 million dedicated to storage, distribution, and other infrastructure needed to increase producers' access to Vermont distribution networks and out-of-state markets, and the remaining $10 million directed toward investments in the meat processing and waste industry.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters have a new pathway to high-wage, high-demand careers in accounting and bookkeeping through the Community College of Vermont’s (CCV) certified public bookkeeper apprenticeship program. The earn-while-you-learn program pairs on-the-job training with four college-level courses. Apprentices also earn four certifications from the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB) and earn their license as a certified public bookkeeper (CPB).

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 149 cases of COVID-19 for Sunday. Excluding the Thanksgiving and Christmas reports, this is the lowest daily total since October 24 and the first time daily cases have been under 200 since November. The VDH today also reported no additional deaths since last Thursday and stands at 553 statewide. Deaths had not been falling even as case counts subsided in January, which had the second most COVID-related fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic. Hospitalizations, which like deaths is a lagging indicator, have also fallen over the last week.

Vermont Business Magazine The Lake Champlain Chamber and KeyBank are pleased to announce a grant of $150,000 from the KeyBank Foundation in support of the Bobby Miller Opportunity Fund and LaunchVT. The funded project aims to create economic opportunity for small- to medium-sized entrepreneurial founders and accompanying jobs, with a focus on historically underserved populations and female founders. The project will accelerate over 100 small and medium businesses throughout the state in the next three years through skill development, leadership training, and assistance with accounting, marketing and branding, sales, and more.

​Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network Board of Trustees has voted to elect three new members, who bring experience in nursing, health care education and research, and business to the board. Trustees voted to elect Noma Anderson, PhD; Carol Haraden, PhD; and Betsy Vicencio. They will each serve four-year terms on the 22-member board, which oversees the UVM Health Network.

Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS Last week, Vermont officially implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact. This licensure compact came after years of advocacy from VAHHS and other health care provider associations, as well as extensive work from the Office of Professional Regulation. It is all too easy to jump to the next emerging policy issue without taking a beat to properly acknowledge this type of accomplishment. Also, the House Health Care Committee heard testimony from Vermont’s higher education system on ways to support and expand nurse education. Current proposals include $1.5 million to expand K-12 education pipeline programs and Governor Scott’s FY ’23 budget proposal, adding $2 million to the nurse loan repayment program. The Vermont State Colleges system hopes to obtain $7 million to reduce its $7,000-per-semester tuition to more closely match the national average of $4,500 per semester. All of the representatives from higher education coalesced around increasing salaries for faculty and creating more opportunities for clinical placement.