Current News

by Devon Green, VAHHS, Vice President of Government Relations That collective itch in the air isn’t allergies—it is Vermonters dying to get outside into the warm temperatures and sunshine, and our legislators are not immune to it. Welcome to what could be the last week of the legislative session! Last Week: Children waiting in EDs for mental health treatment: The House Health Care Committee sent a letter to the Agency of Human Services, the Department of Education, and VAHHS with a framework for addressing long wait times for children in emergency departments waiting for mental health treatment.

Vermont Business Magazine The USDA is now accepting applications for three different grants that support the development, coordination and expansion of direct producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets and enterprises and value-added agricultural products. Over $93.5 million dollars is available in total.

by John McClaughry In three lawsuits currently in process, plaintiff parents ask that public funds follow their children to the school of their choice. The impetus for those suits was the US Supreme Court’s decision in the landmark case of Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, announced last June. In that case the Court held that if the State of Montana provided tax credits for contributions to a nonprofit organization which supported scholarships for students at independent schools, the organization could not exclude students at religious schools.

Vermont Business Magazine Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) nurses Melissa Blanchard and Jackie Osanitsch were honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses for their compassionate care at the two latest DAISY award ceremonies, held on Thursday, May 6 and Friday, May 7. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate care nurses provide their patients and their families every day.

Vermont Business Magazine On Friday, April 30, Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) Auxiliary presented Scholastic Achievement Awards, which totaled $9,000, to six students. The awards were presented by Scholastic Achievement Award Committee Chair, Beulah McGinnis. The NVRH Auxiliary provides Scholastic Achievement Awards annually to both high school and adult students who are pursuing a career in healthcare.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s (SVHC) Medical Matters Weekly with Dr Trey Dobson, a weekly interactive, multi-platform medical-themed talk show, will feature David Furman, MD, a gastroenterologist with SVMC Gastroenterology, as a guest on its May 19 show. The show will air at noon and will explain what gastroenterology is, the common issues of the digestive system, and how gastroenterology may be able to help.

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard National Bank recently donated $1000 to West Central Behavioral Health in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and in recognition of their important programming and services that treat mental illness and substance use disorders, while working to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness in our society in the Upper Valley. Ledyard is proud to support West Central Behavioral Health’s mission, as we both strive to strengthen our community’s health and well-being.

Vermont Business Magazine Subcommittee Chairman Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today announced that the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security will hold a hearing Thursday, May 20 at 10 am on the health care workforce shortage facing our country titled, “A Dire Shortage and Getting Worse: Solving the Crisis in the Health Care Workforce.”

Vermont Business Magazine Throughout Vermont, more than 100,000 requests for Emergency Medical Service (EMS) response are answered on an annual basis. Add to that the unprecedented challenges required of the state’s individual emergency responders and 168 licensed ambulance and first responder services during the pandemic, and you come up with 2,800 of our fellow Vermonters who deserve every moment of the EMS Week recognition that started on Sunday. As of May 14, based on updated CDC guidance and Vermont’s progress in vaccination, Vermont has new guidance around mask-wearing, cross-state travel and gathering sizes. Also, the VDH is reporting 29 new cases of COVID-19 and no additional deaths since last week which are holding at 252 statewide. Over 70 percent of Vermont adults have received at least one dose of vaccine.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Northern Vermont University President Elaine C. Collins announced she will be seeking new professional challenges and will be resigning from her presidency late this summer. President Collins said: “I will step down from my presidency in August of this year. With NVU’s future bright, the time is right for me to pursue new challenges. Building Northern Vermont University—with the dedicated faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members—is one of the proudest accomplishments of my career. I am honored to have had the opportunity to create NVU. Our unification achieved its goals and the transformation of the Vermont State Colleges System has begun."

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Downtown Board has allocated $498,320 in grants to Brattleboro, Middlebury, Montpelier, Newport, Poultney, Springfield and St Albans. This funding will support projects to improve the safety, access, and comfort for people walking and riding bicycles in downtowns. Grants will support access improvements to trail stations in Brattleboro and Middlebury, new wayfinding signage in Springfield, enhanced lighting in Newport, new sidewalks in St Albans, and create new public spaces in Poultney and Montpelier.

Vermont Business Magazine As the response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues, The University of Vermont Health Network has seen some progress toward its financial recovery, thanks to state and federal provider relief funding, cost control measures, and an increase in patient visits for necessary health care services during the month of March 2021. The Network announced today financial results from the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2021 and for the year-to-date of the fiscal year – which runs from October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021.