Current News

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. News & World Report has named Rutland Regional Medical Center a “Best Regional Hospital” for 2017-2018. Out of 4500 hospitals evaluated nationwide, only 545 achieved “Best Regional Hospital” status, and Rutland Regional was the only “Best Regional” in the state of Vermont. Additionally, Rutland Regional was the only hospital in the state to achieve “high performing” status in four procedures and conditions which include: Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Hip Replacement, and Knee Replacement.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Arts Council announced 71 grants totaling $438,408. Awards were given in the categories of Cultural Facilities, Arts Impact, Arts Partnership, and Creation. Through these programs, a college will receive assistance in providing a physically accessible ramp, a choreographer will have support to create a new work, and a rural arts organization will offer ticket subsidies to make their programs available to all. The projects funded through these grants are as varied as the state's creative sector.

Vermont Business Magazine Meeting in Waterbury today, the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, Thomas D. Anderson, and the Director of the Vermont State Police, Colonel Matthew T. Birmingham expressed their sincere condolences to the families who have lost loved ones on Vermont’s highways this year. Of the 9 fatalities that occurred over the last 4 days, 7 occupants were not wearing seatbelts, with 1 ATV death. Law enforcement can point to many studies that indicate when a seatbelt is used, occupants of a vehicle are more likely to survive a traffic crash.

The Vermont State Police recognize the following critical areas as priorities within Vermont’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan:

by Louis Josephson, PhD For nearly 200 years the Brattleboro Retreat has been a valuable healthcare resource and an important economic driver here in southern Vermont. That’s why one of my primary goals as hospital CEO is to ensure that the decisions we make today will allow the Retreat to continue serving the mental health and addiction treatment needs of people for generations to come.

Recently our board of trustees approved our new three-year strategic plan, which represents the culmination of lots of hard work over the previous winter and involved the energy and talents of many individuals. Together we gathered input from a variety of sources including our employees, community supporters, consumers/patients, other hospitals and providers, elected officials and government stakeholders. What we learned became the roadmap for our new strategic plan.

Vermont Business Magazine Susan Rand, owner and founder of Sojourn Bicycling and Active Vacations, announced the acquisition of this leading North American active travel company by fellow Vermonters, Raja and Bibi Mukherjee. Founded in 2004, Sojourn Bicycling and Active Vacations is an award-winning company specializing in exceptional active vacations in extraordinary destinations throughout the United States and Canada. The Vermont-based company currently offers nearly two dozen boutique active vacations and has garnered accolades from Condé Nast Traveler, Forbes, Frommer’s, and Fodor’s.

Raja and Bibi Mukherjee at the Hacienda Del Sol on a Sojourn Arizona bicycling vacation

Vermont Business Magazine Employers looking to create or improve a workplace wellness program can apply for a financial boost from the Vermont Department of Health. The Health Department is offering grants of $3,000 to six worksites around the state to build sustainable wellness programs that focus on increasing physical activity and healthy eating opportunities for employees. The grants are supported through the department’s Local Health Offices.

Because of limited funding, the department alternates which areas of the state are eligible for a grant each year. This year, worksites with between five to 100 employees in the Local Health service areas of Bennington, Brattleboro, Burlington, Middlebury, Morrisville and Newport are eligible to apply. The other regions were eligible in 2016.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has issued Executive Order 13-17, forming the Vermont Interagency Committee on Chemical Management. The committee is charged with reviewing State chemical regulation and policies to ensure compliance and further reduce risks posed by the use or storage of unsafe chemicals. The committee will incorporate the expertise of State agencies and outside experts who will participate in the citizen advisory panel.

Vermont Business MagazineHow do you help a homeowner who has lived in the same community for more than 50 years feel comfortable in a 49-unit apartment building? Can building design help convey that downsizing doesn’t mean sacrificing privacy and autonomy but enjoying new opportunities in a vibrant neighborhood? These are the questions Project Architect Heidi Davis and Principal David Roy of Weimann Lamphere Architects (WLA) asked themselves when designing Gifford’s new Independent Living facility at Morgan Orchards Senior Living Community in Randolph Center (openingAugust 15, 2017).

Vermont Business Magazine E4H Environments for Health Architecture, a top-ranked architecture firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, has been selected to design Ellis Medicine’s Facility Master Plan. Ellis Medicine, which features a 438-bed hospital in Schenectady, NY, will study siting solutions for the reorganization of the entire campus. Following a recent Emergency Department expansion and addition of a new parking structure at Ellis Hospital, Ellis Medicine issued a Request for Proposals for a Facility Master Plan to identify how it should evolve to meet changing healthcare needs and requirements, specifically on its main campus. E4H Architecture was selected for its deep healthcare experience, collaborative planning process,and Lean operational mindset.

by Sena Meilleur I had a conversation with a client recently about the rising cost of health care. This CFO, like many, has seen his health plan costs go up every year, and like many, his first instinct was to blame the insurance company. We discussed how the lion’s share of his costs is actually his plans’ claims, and because of the way we pay providers, costs increase every year with no end in sight. Our current fee-for-service model pays providers for every service they perform, meaning the more they do the more they get paid. And since there are no regulations around what a provider can charge, the fees get higher every year. There is no other product or service we pay for in quite this way. “We have to change the way we pay providers,” I said to the CFO. “What other way is there?” he asked.

Vermont Business MagazineSouthern Vermont College (SVC) is pleased to announce that the College’s 2017 pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduates had a 100% first-time pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). The NCLEX is the national standardized examination required for nurses to receive a license to practice their profession.

SVC’s cumulative first-time pass rate for the 2016 and 2017 pre-licensure BSN classes is 94.4%, surpassing the 2016 national average of 84.5% and the 2015 Vermont average of 84%.

Vermont Business MagazineBrattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) was recently granted a Gold Standard of accreditation by the American College of Radiology (ACR) for quality and safety. This is a continuation of the department’s accreditation for another three years.The ACR Gold Standard of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Parameters and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field.

Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs are assessed.

The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the department with a comprehensive report that can be used for continuous practice improvement.