Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced today that Brattleboro OB/GYN and Four Seasons Midwifery, a member of the BMH Medical Group, will change its name to Four Seasons OB/GYN and Midwifery effective Monday, May 3, 2021. Four Seasons OB/GYN and Midwifery offers two practice locations in Brattleboro and Springfield, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s (SVHC) Medical Matters Weekly with Dr Trey Dobson, a weekly interactive, multiplatform medical-themed talk show, will feature Natalie Kwit, public health veterinarian with the Vermont Department of Health, as a guest on its May 12 show. The show will air at a special time, 11 a.m., and will cover everything you need to know about ticks and tick-borne disease.

by Devon Green, VAHHS Vice President of Government Relations Have you ever done a hike with a false peak? You think you’ve reached the top only to realize there is more to climb. The end of the legislative session is in sight now that legislators have been assigned to a conference committee to hammer out the remaining differences between the House and the Senate on the budget bill, but with talk of a veto session and a possible October session to determine spending of federal funds, the view from mid-May could be more mountain.

by Jeff Tieman, VAHHS President and CEO On May 6 began the annual recognition of nurses that has taken place in one form or another since 1954. National Nurses Week honors the caregivers who fuel the compassion of our health care system, treat us when we are sick, speak with our families while we recover, visit us at home, keep careful track of our status, revive us when we crash and hold our hands when we die.

Vermont Business Magazine According to the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), “approximately 48 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss.” The prevalence of hearing loss is twice as common as diabetes or cancer. In recognition of May being Better Hearing and Speech Month, North Country Otolaryngology and Audiology will be offering the community free hearing screenings in May.

by Rob Roper Vermont is on the cusp of having the least secure election system in the nation. The bill that passed the Vermont senate 27-3 (S.15) is now under consideration in the house. It would make permanent the temporary, COVID-emergency provisions adopted for the 2020 general election, including the policy of mailing “live” ballots to all voters who are active on the voter checklist, regardless of whether or not the voter requests an absentee ballot.

Vermont Business Magazine The work search requirement for unemployment insurance has been reinstated and is effective beginning May 9 – May 15. This means if you are fully or partially unemployed, you will be required to conduct work search activities and report those activities when filing your weekly claim unless you meet one of the work search exemptions explained below. To receive unemployment insurance benefits, you are required to actively search for work and accept work when it is offered to you.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement: “With the FDA‘s approval to expand eligibility for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to those 12-15 years old, the country takes another important step towards defeating this virus and getting back to doing all the things we enjoy..."

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is reporting today 33 new cases of COVID-19 after only six on Sunday. Deaths are still holding at 249 statewide. All Vermont residents age 16 and older are eligible to be vaccinated! College students and some residents of another state are now eligible for vaccines. Whether a Vermont resident or qualified non-resident, there are numerous opportunities to sign up for a vaccine or simply go to a walk-in clinic.

$285 million from 2010 and $35 million in 2019 alone

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer today released a first-ever comprehensive accounting of Vermont state government’s total annual spending in support of Vermont’s dairy industry. From State fiscal year 2010 to 2019, the State Auditor’s Office estimates that Vermont taxpayers spent more than $285 million on programs and policies to support the dairy industry and/or address adverse environmental impacts caused by some dairy practices. In fiscal year 2019, the most recent year of the analysis, spending totaled more than $35 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Strengthening the connection between people and place, the five award-winning projects of the Vermont Art Council’s 2021 Animating Infrastructure grants worth $60,000 promise to bring vibrancy and vitality to their communities through public art.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont and its full-time faculty union, United Academics, have finalized an unprecedented 4-year labor contract that values the faculty and their contributions to the university, and recognizes the need for ongoing fiscal prudence, the UVM administration said in a statement announcing the agreement. The union said it was able to hold off cuts to base pay and benefits during the negotiations, which lasted virtually through the pandemic.