Current News

by Representative Heidi E Scheuermann (R-Stowe) As we return this week for the last ten weeks of the 2020 legislative session, it is appropriate to examine our accomplishments thus far, and to share my thoughts and concerns about some of the policy decisions being made, so that we can prepare for progress from now until adjournment. Toward that end, I offer the update below.

Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems If you're following the news, you have very likely heard a lot about COVID-19, a new coronavirus. Across the country, people scramble as they try to follow the guidelines set forth by health officials, which can change by the day. Additionally, social media articles and pictures can easily distort the truth, making it even more difficult to tell fact from fiction. Here's what you need to know about COVID-19 now.

Vermont Business Magazine On the evening of March 7, 2020, health officials announced the first case of COVID-19 in Vermont. Officials are awaiting confirmation of the presumptive positive test result by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The adult patient is a Bennington County resident, currently hospitalized and in an airborne infection isolation room at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday, March 5, 2020, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) in Bennington had an adult individual present to its Emergency Department (ED) with fever, cough, and shortness of breath. The person was admitted, immediately placed in isolation in a negative-pressure room, and tested for COVID-19. Early testing results from the Vermont Department of Health came back as presumptive positive. Conclusive results are expected from the CDC on Monday. The individual is stable and currently hospitalized in an airborne infection isolation room.

Health officials are investigating the person’s travel history and are conducting contact tracing for anyone who has been in close contact with the person. Those individuals will be assessed for their exposure risk and provided with guidance for testing, their health, and recommendations for self-isolation or other restrictions.

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine There is no underestimating the impact of travel and tourism on the Lamoille County economy. The county is home to several major resorts including Stowe Mountain Resort, Smugglers’ Notch, Top Notch at Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge and Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa.

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine Two major economic drivers of almost any local economy are hospitals and higher education. Both have large budgets, employ hundreds of people, and spend locally which has a multiplier effect. In Lamoille County, that means Copley Hospital and the Johnson campus of Northern Vermont University.

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine There’s no shortage of jobs in Lamoille County. However, finding workers to fill those jobs continues to be a problem not only in the county but statewide. Exacerbating the worker shortage is a housing shortage or at least affordable housing for the average worker. In Lamoille County, addressing the affordable housing issue falls on a number of organizations and at the top of that list is the Lamoille Housing Partnership and its executive director Jim Lovinsky.

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine It’s perhaps Vermont’s most iconic and legendary resort – Trapp Family Lodge. The story of the Trapp family is well documented in the movie “The Sound of Music” which still helps draw visitors to the Stowe resort situated on 2,600 acres. With another winter season under way, Sam von Trapp said the business forecast is looking positive.

by Amanda Kuhnert For the first time in history, the number of employed physicians exceeds the number of doctors who own practices, according to the American Medical Association (AMA). But this physician movement toward hospital-owned practices, which began in the late 1980s, may be slowing.

Vermont to get hike in minimum wage

On February 25, the Vermont House overrode Governor Scott’s veto of S.23, increasing the state’s minimum wage effective in 2021. The vote passed 100-49, and followed the Senate’s Feb. 13 vote to override the veto 24-6. The bill will raise the state’s minimum wage to $11.75 in 2021 and to $12.55 in 2022, and ties minimum wage increases to inflation after those years. The current minimum wage in Vermont is $10.96 per hour. The federal minimum wage for 2020 is $7.25.

After hours on the floor debating the merits and economic impacts of the legislation a roll call vote commenced and on a razor thin margin of 100-49, the House joined the Senate in voting to override the governor’s veto. This was only the 11th time in Vermont history that a veto override has been successful.