Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Special Olympics Vermont President & CEO, Lisa DeNatale has announced she will retire, effectiveDecember 1, 2017. For the past six years, DeNatale has led the state-wide non-profit organization that provides inclusive sports training and competition opportunities to children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Vermont is an accredited program of Special Olympics, Inc,which globally reaches 5.3 million athletes in over 170 countries.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Legal Aid staff attorney Sean Londergan has been selected as Vermont’s new State Long-Term Care Ombudsman (SLTCO). Starting May 1, Londergan began leading the Vermont Long-Term Care Ombudsman Project (VOP), a team comprised of six regional ombudsmen and local volunteers. The VOP helps residents of Vermont’s long-term care facilities across the state, as well as people receiving home-based long-term care services through the Choices for Care program.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation is seeking public input on three draft plans being released today to strategically improve water quality in the Lake Memphremagog watershed. A series of public meetings will be held this month to discuss the plans and hear suggestions from citizens. The waters of Lake Memphremagog are shared with the province of Quebec, but most of the ponds and rivers that feed it are located in Vermont. The watershed includes the Black, Barton and Clyde Rivers, and many lakes and ponds such as Great and Little Hosmer Lakes, Lake Parker, Crystal Lake, Lake Willoughby, Island Pond, Great and Little Averill Ponds, Norton Pond, Holland Pond and Seymour Lake.

Vermont Business Magazine Perrigo Nutritionals, a leading USinfant formula makerwith a plant in Georgia, Vermont, has released findings from a nationwide surveyof 2,000 moms with children one to three years of age. The survey, which gained insights into moms' thoughts on baby during the first year, found millennial moms differ greatly from other generations in countless ways. This was especially true in what they expected (when they were expecting) and the reality of feeding baby infant formula with confidence.

Vermont Business MagazineSouthwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) and United Counseling Service (UCS) have partnered to improve patients’ access to mental health services. As of May 1, UCS prescribing practitioners have started consulting on patients at in the emergency department or hospitalized at SVMC.

Vermont Business Magazine The Community College of Vermont (CCV) will hold its 50th commencement ceremony at Norwich University’s Shapiro Field House in Northfield, Vermont on June 3, 2017. The ceremony will begin at 2 pm. This year, nearly 500 students from across the state will be awarded associate degrees. Students representing all 14 Vermont counties will be graduating along with students from 11 other states and 9 countries. Also among the graduates are 44 veterans and active duty military. The youngest graduate is 17 and the oldest is 62.

Vermont Business Magazine Acute respiratory disease (ARD) due to infection with adenovirus is a major cause of morbidity at military training centers. In addition to ARD, adenovirus infection can cause sore throat, pneumonia, conjunctivitis, and urinary infections. Military recruits are particularly susceptible to illness due to their close living quarters, physical stress, and lack of sleep. When the infection is severe, it disrupts training schedules, can lead to hospitalization, and increases medical costs. This spring, the Vaccine Testing Center at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont (UVM) will test a modernized vaccine to protect troops against adenovirus.

Vermont Business MagazineLast week, representatives from Long Trail Brewing Company and Farrell Distributing visited the Vermont Foodbank to present a check for $12,285 to fight hunger in Vermont. During July and December 2016, Long Trail Brewing Company donated $1 for every case of Long Trail sold at Hannaford Supermarkets throughout New England.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc (VITL), operators of the Vermont Health Information Exchange (Vermont HIE), and Medicity, the leading provider of population health management solutions, has announced that VITL has launched its external connection to the Veterans Health Information Exchange (VHIE), also known as the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) program. This makes it easier for providers inside and outside the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to share health information for the more than 48,600 veterans who live in Vermont.

Vermont Business MagazineHome Care Assistance of Greater Burlingtonhas announced the grand opening of its office in Essex Junction. The Grand Opening Event will be held onWednesday, May 24thfrom 5pm to 7pm. The Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce will be present for a ribbon cutting ceremony at5 pmfollowed by an office tour, light hors d’ oeuvres and beverages, professional networking and a special presentation on Home Care Assistance’s exclusive programs.

“I am excited to share what makes Home Care Assistance unique in the home care industry,” said Tom Lee, co-owner.

Vermont Business Magazine Howard Center’s Career Connections supported employment program for adults with mental health challenges recently received high marks from the Vermont Department of Mental Health. Based on the December 2016 review, Career Connections was awarded the highest rating in Vermont at this time, 118 out of a possible 125. Because of its exemplary rating, Career Connections has been recommended to other states and countries as a model for similar programs.

Vermont Business Magazine A statewide survey of Vermont CEOs suggests optimism for the state's economy has waned somewhat from the previous quarter's survey, especially in regards to labor, cost of living andthe health care industry, while the information sector retains strength. There appears to be an overall uncertainty in the economy.Today, Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced the Q2 2017 outlook results of their joint initiative, the VBR-EPR Business Conditions Survey and Index.

Overall Finding

The latest survey, which was conducted during the first two weeks of April 2017, achieved a response rate of 70 percent overall and included a 50 percent or greater response rate from 12 of 14 represented sectors within the membership. Survey results show that: