Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The National Life Group Foundation has granted $200,000 to the Champlain Housing Trust to fund the renovation of the Old North End Community Center. The Center is a historic building that currently houses several nonprofits from across Northwest Vermont. The current tenants include Robin’s Nest Children’s Center, the Family Room, Burlington Parks & Recreation Department, and AALV.

Vermont Business Magazine Woodridge Rehabilitation and Nursing, a certified 153-bed facility, recently received top marks—a deficiency-free certification survey—during its annual reinspection by the state’s Agency of Human Services, Division of Licensing and Protection. The unannounced on-site certification survey, conducted June 11-13, found Woodridge meets federal and state requirements for skilled nursing facilities participating in Medicare/Medicaid programs. Woodridge, part of The University of Vermont - Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC), is located at 142 Woodridge Drive on the CVMC campus. It provides long- and short-term care to individuals in need of nursing and rehabilitation services.

Vermomnt Business Magazine The VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region (VNAHSR) has been recognized with four awards from the New England Society for Healthcare Communications (NESHCo) to honor achievements in healthcare marketing, public relations and communications.

Vermont Business Magazine For the second year running, The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) has been named one of the nation’s Top 20 Rural & Community Hospitals by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA).

The ranking is based on indices including quality (such as the median time from emergency department arrival to hospital admission), clinical outcomes (including rates for 30-day heart failure, pneumonia and hospital-wide readmissions), and patient perspective on the care and services they receive.

Rural & Community Hospitals are defined as short-term, acute care, non-specialty, non-federal hospitals with fewer than 200 beds in ZIP codes designated rural by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. This study examined 811 rural and community hospitals nationwide.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch issued the following statements Monday after President Donald Trump announced he is nominating Brett Kavanaugh to be an associate justice on the US Supreme Court.

Vermont Business Magazine The Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) will hold hearings open to the public concerning the proposed 2019 Vermont Health Connect insurance rates on Monday, July 23^rd (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont) and Tuesday, July 24^th (MVP Health Plan, Inc.) in Room 11 of the Vermont State House beginning at 9:00 a.m. each morning.

Vermont Business Magazine In partnership with Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Avera Health, a national leader in telemedicine services, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) will launch eICU CARE, an around-the-clock monitoring service for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). The new capability will allow patients with certain conditions that would have required a transfer to larger medical centers to be treated here.

“Our hospitalists and Magnet nurses provide excellent care for intensive care patients,” said Trey Dobson, MD, SVMC’s chief medical officer and medical director of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians. “With additional support from these partners, we will be able to expand the options available to patients experiencing serious illnesses in our community.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Family Network (VFN) is pleased to announce the election of three new members to its Board of Directors. Kevin Kelleher, UVM Medical Center and Tom Borys, OneCare VT were elected onto the Board in January 2018, and Vasanthi Meyette, Champlain Valley School District, was elected at the organization’s Annual Meeting last Thursday, June 14. The following VFN Board members were unanimously elected to Executive Committee roles: President; Ellen Zeman, Champlain College, Vice-Chair; Craig Giles, Husky, Secretary; Kim Keiser, Turrell Fund, Treasurer; Tom Stretton, McSoley and McCoy.

Laurie Gunn, UVM Medical Center, stepped down after six years of service on the VFN Board, and was recognized for her many contributions to the organization as Board Secretary.

Vermont Family Network is a state-wide non-profit organization that empowers and supports all Vermont families of children with special needs.

Vermont Business Magazine The State of Vermont has received a decision from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) terminating regional center designation for the Vermont Regional Center (VRC). The July 3, 2018 decision was received by the VRC on July 6, 2018 and will be available on DFR’s website.

UPDATE: Late Monday night UVM Medical Center President Eileen Whalen sent the following statement: “We negotiated face-to-face with the nurses’ union tonight for several hours. The discussions were productive and we will resume negotiations Tuesday at 4pm. We will do our best to reach a fair agreement and avert a strike.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Treasurer’s Office announced today that a record 17,665 unclaimed properties totaling $6.7 million were returned to their rightful owners in the fiscal year ending June 30. The number of dollars paid out rose 24 percent over the previous year, setting a new record. With a growing list of Vermonters claiming their missing money, Treasurer Beth Pearce reminded residents that it only takes moments to visit MissingMoney.Vermont.gov to check to see if you or a loved one have unclaimed property.

Vermont Business Magazine Secretary of State Jim Condos announced today that the United States Department of Labor has awarded the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) $450,000 to support occupational licensing reform. OPR, a Division of the Secretary of State’s Office, protects the public by regulating 50 professions and approximately 60,000 licensees.

Secretary Condos stated, “Vermont has been at the forefront of national efforts to modernize and streamline occupational licensing. With bipartisan support from the Legislature and Administration, we have undertaken ambitious efforts to cut red tape, making it more convenient and less expensive for qualified professionals—from the beauty professions to the medical sciences—to live and work in Vermont. Federal funding for these efforts will be a huge help.”