Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Over the past several weeks, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), has experienced an increase in patients who need to be admitted to the hospital for illnesses not related to COVID. It is likely that the increase is due to delaying care for chronic conditions out of fear of exposure to COVID-19 in a medical setting. Doctors and nurses would like to reiterate that SVMC is open, ready, and safe.

Vermont Business Magazine Food insecurity in Vermont has reached record levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly 30 percent of Vermonters experiencing food insecurity since March, new University of Vermont research finds. With Thanksgiving approaching, the research is the most comprehensive study of COVID-19’s impacts on food security in the Green Mountain State to date.

Vermont Business Magazine Aqua ViTea, a Middlebury-based kombucha company and the largest producer of kombucha on the East Coast, is utilizing its resources to donate 20 cases - 480 bottles - of the brand's handcrafted hand sanitizer to the state’s largest hunger relief organization, Vermont Foodbank, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Vermont Business Magazine The Jingle Bell Express, a virtual holiday-themed fundraising event to benefit Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), will kick off on Friday, November 20th. The centerpiece of the event is a grand raffle. It includes ten packages worth $1,300 – $5,000 each. Prizes include $5,000 cash and a vacation in the French Riviera, with no expiration date, along with spectacular packages including dining at 13 restaurants, a stunning diamond bracelet, golf at 10 courses, and much more. Tickets are $100 each, and only 500 will be sold.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today reported 85 new cases of COVID-19 for 3,714 cases statewide. There are 18 hospitalized with three in the ICU. Do not get together or socialize with anyone you don’t live with (see more details and allowances here). Avoid traveling when possible, even within Vermont. Anyone travel to or from Vermont must quarantine. The only exception is for essential travel. Wear a mask. If you’re sick, stay home.

Vermont Business Magazine Commissioner Michael Pieciak announced today that the Department of Financial Regulation issued an order requiring Krista Scruggs and Zafa Wines LLC (Zafa), of Burlington, Vermont, to cease and desist from offering or selling securities. The Department’s investigation thus far has found that Scruggs marketed Zafa in investment materials without disclosing certain material risks as required by Vermont law.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police has begun outfitting all uniformed troopers with body-worn cameras, culminating a multi-year process to secure the necessary funding and fulfilling a commitment to Vermonters to deploy the devices. The state police launched an effort in 2015 to add body-worn cameras for all troopers to supplement the dashboard camera systems that have been in cruisers since 2000. State police leaders have been working with the Legislature ever since to acquire the body-worn cameras along with the required companion systems to store the video footage.

Vermont Everyone Eats Raisins in your stuffing. Running 3.2 miles at your town’s Turkey Trot. A shared Thanksgiving meal at your community church sitting next to a person you just met. Each of us has our own holiday traditions, many of which will look very different this year. This is a loss, and we all feel it. But abundance remains in our community—an abundance of love, food and people taking care of each other.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network was able to successfully restore access to the electronic medical record system at inpatient and ambulatory sites at UVM Medical Center over the weekend – an important milestone that will improve the efficiency of the care we provide and the experience of our patients. They were also able to restore the system to ambulatory sites at Central Vermont Medical Center this morning and we expect to bring Epic back online to ambulatory sites at Porter Medical Center tomorrow and at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital as quickly as possible this week.

by Suresh V Garimella At a late October press conference, the University of Vermont announced some good news. For the 2021/22 academic year, UVM would freeze tuition and room and board and cut student fees, the third year in a row the university has held its tuition increase to zero. The announcement was noteworthy for two reasons. By setting the cost of attending UVM in 2021 at a rate lower than it was in 2020, it bucked national trends, making the university more—not less—accessible for students and families. It also demonstrated, in concrete terms, that the university is beginning to deliver on a series of ambitious commitments.

Vermont Business Magazine Ronald J Cioffi, RN, and CEO of the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region (VNAHSR), one of the state’s largest providers of skilled home health and hospice services, announced plans to retire in June of 2021. Cioffi, a registered nurse, and native Vermonter joined the VNA (then known as the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association) in 1980 as a dialysis nurse. In 1992 he was promoted to the Chief Executive Officer role and oversaw the agency through unprecedented financial growth and an expansion in areas served and breadth of services. Cioffi led the agency in establishing new services and partnerships including specialty clinical programs such as pediatric rehabilitation, pediatric high-tech services, wound care, hospice and palliative care, and telemonitoring.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Senate Democratic Caucus has nominated Senator Becca Balint (D-Windham) to serve as Vermont Senate President Pro Tempore for the 2021-22 legislative session. She is the first woman and first openly gay person in Vermont history to receive this designation. Senator Balint will be joined in Senate leadership by Senator Alison Clarkson (D-Windsor), who has been elected Vermont Senate Majority Leader, and by Senator Cheryl Hooker (D-Rutland), who has been elected Vermont Senate Majority Whip. This also marks the first time in Vermont history that all three elected positions are to be held by women.