Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters who receive their pharmacy benefit through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont will have coverage for certain FDA-authorized take home COVID-19 antigen tests beginning in December. As cases rise to alarming levels in our state, we need to use every tool at our disposal to stem the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. At-home testing is just one component and must be part of a suite of health precautions to keep our families and community safe this winter.

Vermont Business Magazine At the invitation of President Joe Biden, Governor Phil Scott today was one of two US governors to address the Summit for Democracy. The virtual Summit, which has brought together hundreds of world leaders, heads of state and other advocates for democracy and human rights, comes at a critical time for democracies around the world, as authoritarianism is on the rise across the globe. Governor Scott emphasized that, in a well-functioning democracy, there needs to be healthy debates, give and take, and that no one person or one party has all the answers.

Vermont Business Magazine Councilor Chip Mason announced today that he will retire from the Burlington City Council. The Ward 5 Democrat also announced that he is endorsing Ben Traverse to take his place in Ward 5 in the upcoming election. The election will be held on Town Meeting Day on March 1, 2022.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont (UVM) and UVM’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS) announce that the Health Sciences bachelor’s degree program is an applicant through the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) to become the first accredited undergraduate public health program in the State of Vermont. The Health Sciences B.S. curriculum provides a population-level perspective on health that includes improving access to health care, preventing and controlling chronic and infectious disease, assessing emerging health threats, communicating during crises, advocating for underserved populations, and confronting social determinants of health.

Vermont Business Magazine Dr John Saroyan has been appointed as the Executive Director of Vermont’s Blueprint for Health Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program, a long-standing and widely recognized health care reform initiative. The Vermont Blueprint for Health (Blueprint) was established to promote the integration of high-quality primary care with human services that impact health and wellbeing.

Ahead of its time when established in 2006, the Blueprint has since been recognized as a national model for enhancing and improving primary care. The program also supports primary care clinicians in providing medication-assisted treatment and wrap-around supports for opioid use disorder as part of the Hub and Spoke model.

Mission-Driven Educator and Champion of Career-Focused Education to Lead One of America’s Most Innovative Colleges

Vermont Business Magazine The Champlain College Board of Trustees announced today that Alejandro (“Alex”) Hernandez will become the tenth President of Champlain College. Hernandez currently serves as the Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) and Vice Provost of Online Learning at the University of Virginia (UVA). He will begin his new role on June 6, 2022, and relocate to Burlington this summer.

Vermont Business Magazine Efficiency Vermont recognized seven large commercial & industrial partners for their leadership in energy efficiency, helping to reduce Vermont’s carbon emissions and reducing their operating costs with lower energy bills. The Energy Leadership awards are traditionally announced as part of Efficiency Vermont’s annual Best Practice Exchange, a conference for large commercial and industrial customers, supply chain partners, and energy experts to share ideas and build professional relationships. Although this year’s conference was canceled due to surging COVID-19 cases, Efficiency Vermont offered three online workshops to help facility managers at large operations continue learning about key technologies.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health on Wednesday reported 404 cases of COVID-19 (up 104 from yesterday). Hospitalizations, which have been increasing, broke its record today with 92 statewide, one more than the previous record set just Tuesday. ICU stays also are elevated at 28, three short of yesterday's 31, which is the record high. The VDH also today reported six additional COVID-related deaths, which stand at 425 statewide. This more than doubled the number of deaths in December, which are now 11.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Wednesday announced changes made by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the dairy safety net program that will benefit Vermont’s small dairy farms. As it opens enrollment of the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program for 2022, changes to the program sought by Leahy will deliver additional payments to Vermont producers. A change in how feed costs are calculated will mean an additional $3.1 million in retroactive payments will be distributed to Vermont farmers who were enrolled in DMC in 2020 and 2021.

Vermont Business Magazine Evernorth, RuralEdge, New Depot Square Commercial Properties, LLC, funders, elected officials and community members were among those that celebrated the much-anticipated re-opening of New Avenue that is already bringing new life and vitality to downtown St. Johnsbury. Originally constructed in 1897 as the “New Avenue House,” the building was one of the grandest hotels of its day. The hotel stopped operating in 1970 and the upper floors were converted into apartments while the street level floor was converted to commercial space, all of which suffered from years of neglect thereafter.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that he has appointed Kristin Clouser as secretary of the Agency of Administration and Douglas Farnham as deputy secretary. Clouser served as deputy secretary since November 2020, before being named interim secretary last month, following the retirement of Secretary Susanne Young. Farnham currently serves as chief operational officer of the Agency.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) today released a video and toolkit alerting Vermonters of the dangers of imposter romance scams—a scam involving the formation of a relationship or friendship followed by requests for “financial help.” Imposter scams continue to be among the top scams reported by Vermonters to CAP. In 2020, “phony relationships” were the fifth most reported scam, resulting in a total loss of $349,166. Today’s video and toolkit are the first to be released in a three-part series on imposter scams.