Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Federal Credit Union is offering an unprecedented array of consumer products and loan options to aid its members during the COVID-19 crisis. Some of the offerings include a Relief Loan of up to $2,500 for members who are experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19. This loan is available for qualified members and has an annual percentage rate of 1% and a 24-month term.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan today announced that his office will file motions to continue for 90 days all economic services cases where they provide counsel to the State of Vermont. These motions will postpone all pending cases between the State and Vermonters involving the termination or reduction of existing benefits. Affected programs include over 20 different benefit programs across divisions of the Vermont Agency of Human Services, including the popular benefits programs 3SquaresVT (formerly known as food stamps), Reach-Up (Vermont’s TANF program), and Vermont Health Connect.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Health Department announced today three more positive tests for COVID-19 for a statewide total of 22. The Health Department is prioritizing contact tracing and response efforts to cases of those who are hospitalized, residents of long-term care facilities, people who are incarcerated, and those who are immunocompromised.

Vermont Business Magazine As widespread testing for COVID-19 becomes increasingly critical for the health of our communities, Inntopia has released TestLink, a free scheduling platform that allows patients to search for testing locations and times across individual or multiple locations. The system, built on Inntopia’s activity booking platform, is typically used for scheduling ski lessons or tee-times. However, as the challenges of testing escalated in Vermont, where Inntopia is headquartered, its CEO, Trevor Crist, saw an opportunity to help.

Vermont Business Magazine New England Federal Credit Union sent a statement today saying their priority is to continue to offer all members the banking services they need during the crisis. This will involve taking new precautions to protect members and staff from getting or spreading the virus. Effective Friday, they are implementing a new delivery plan for each location.

Vermont Business Magazine At a time when Vermont’s safety net health care delivery system is being tested, home health, hospice and other medically necessary services provided by The University of Vermont Health Network – Home Health & Hospice continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. At this time, only two agency programs are closed — adult day care sites in Colchester, Essex and South Burlington, and community and private foot clinics. The decision to close these programs was driven by leadership’s commitment to reducing the spread of the virus.

Vermont Business Magazine In accordance with the Executive Order issued by Governor Scott, Rutland Regional Medical Center will restrict visitors to the hospital and all Rutland Regional off-site clinic locations. This plan began March 18. These restrictions apply to all visitors except for legally authorized individuals and essential support people who are necessary to assist with a patient’s care such as pediatric, obstetric, end-of-life, and dementia care.

by Hal Wentworth, Senior Vice President for Retail Banking at Community Bank NA At Community Bank, NA, the safety and comfort of our customers, employees and communities will always remain our top priority. We’ve been closely monitoring updates and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) about the evolving situation of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Based on the current information provided, we’ve made the proactive decision to close all branch lobbies and operate solely through our available drive-thrus, starting Thursday, March 19. Branches without drive-thru capabilities will close temporarily. All branch lobbies will be available by appointment only, including locations with and without drive-thru. Community Bank, NA, has branches across Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Earlier today, North Star Leasing in Burlington took action to help alleviate the current stress its 3,800 customers are experiencing during this difficult time by offering the North Star Leasing Coronavirus (COVID-19) Deferred Payment Plan. The plan, being rolled out throughout the day, allows for customers to defer their next payment if they choose. The company will evaluate the program over the coming weeks to determine if a second deferment is warranted.

"We recognized the need to act and take this step for our customers in order to help them bridge the gap during these very stressful times," Dan Feeney, CEO said. "Being proactive and offering a little peace of mind to our customers is our top priority as we work through the developments of this outbreak. Our bank group and board fully support this extraordinary measure."

About North Star Leasing Company

Vermont Business Magazine KeyBank, with branches across Vermont, today announced additional steps it will take across its network to support clients and help protect its teammates and our communities from the spread of coronavirus. Starting March 19, 2020, all KeyBank branches will move to serving clients by drive-thru or in its lobbies by appointment only. This move will allow KeyBank to continue to offer full-service to its clients while also instituting appropriate social-distancing guidelines as recommended by local, state, and federal health authorities.

Agency of Natural Resources Due to the anticipated spread of the COVID-19 virus and the current state of emergency declared by Governor Phil Scott, effective immediately the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will temporarily stop pursuing enforcement action against retailers or redemption centers who fail to redeem beverage containers subject to Vermont’s bottle bill law (10 VSA §1523).

Vermont DEC has taken this step in allowing retailers and redemption centers to temporarily stop redemption services to reduce unnecessary person-to-person contact and possible virus transmission and to let grocers to focus on restocking food shelves and other needed work to assure availability of groceries.

This temporary period will end on April 30, 2020 unless extended by DEC. Decisions about whether to close or stop redeeming during this time are solely at the discretion of the retailer/redemption center.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation today issued a memo regarding COVID-19 and Telemedicine Services urging health insurers to expand coverage and reimbursement of telemedicine services, including audio-only telephone, email, or facsimile where clinically appropriate. Telemedicine services are an important tool in practicing social distancing, preventing the spread of COVID-19, and protecting our healthcare workers.