Current News
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by Carolyn Shapiro, UVM No two patients with lung cancer are exactly alike – some are former smokers and others have never smoked – and often, different genetic mutations are responsible for their disease. While treatments exist to target many of these mutations, cancer cells can be tricky to treat: they can adapt and sneak around the targeted drugs and continue to grow. Next month, the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Vermont Medical Center will launch a test that will help physicians better understand the specific molecular pathways of these types of cancers, and – more importantly – determine a personalized treatment for each patient.
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Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell has reached an agreement with Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc that addresses concerns with the 2014 price increase of the opioid antidote drug Naloxone. Amphastar, the manufacturer of Naloxone, has agreed to provide the drug to Vermont state and local governments and associated agencies at 20 percent less than the wholesale price. Under the agreement, Amphastar will provide a $6 per dose rebate for each syringe purchased over the next year, and increase the rebate to match any increase in Naloxone’s wholesale price.
“Opioid addiction is a battle we are fighting hard in Vermont on several fronts,” said Attorney General Sorrell. “Naloxone has already saved the lives of Vermonters. Affordable access to this drug is a critical component of addressing the opioid crisis.”
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Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center’s new ExpressCare in Waterbury Center is scheduled to open Jan. 4. Located at 76 McNeil Road, off Route 100 near Pete’s Greens Waterbury Farm Market, it offers quick and easy walk-in medical care with no appointment required. The 6,000-square-foot Waterbury Center clinic is the hospital’s second ExpressCare facility and is similar to the Berlin clinic on the Barre-Montpelier Road, which opened in 2014. Designed as a safety net for adults and children with minor illnesses and injuries who cannot access their primary care provider, ExpressCare will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, 365 days a year. All insurances will be accepted. All Vermonters and visitors to Vermont are welcome.
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by John McClaughry In two short weeks the Vermont legislature will be back in Montpelier. The central issue will be contriving some way to produce a balanced General Fund budget for 2017 – without any visible increases in taxes. Every year for the past five the legislature has faced nagging deficits. For the current fiscal year (FY16) the legislature will have to find at least $28 million to fill the gap, plus withdrawing at least $10 million from the Human Resources Reserve Fund. But solving the FY16 budget problem will be a minor chore compared with the FY17 problem, especially since Gov. Shumlin has (so far) ruled out new taxes for that purpose.
The Joint Fiscal Committee, the legislature’s budget monitor, projects what’s called “the hungry alligator”: a FY17 deficit of $58.5 million. For FY18: $80 million. For FY19: $75 million. For FY 20: $95 million.
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Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) has attained its fourth Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the highest honor an organization can receive for excellence in nursing. SVMC was the first hospital in Vermont to receive the designation. This fourth consecutive recognition places SVMC in an elite community of only three four-time designees in New England and one of only 31 four-time designees in the world. Obtaining Magnet recognition requires the integration of the program’s concepts: transformational leadership, structural empowerment, exemplary professional practice, innovation, and the measurement of outcomes. The concepts are evidenced in departmental organization and governance. Nurses work with the support and guidance of their supervisors and in collaboration with other departments to improve care.
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Vermont Business Magazine Members of the local chapter of the American Academy of Professional Coders gathered to present a check to staff at the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center. More than $1,000 was raised through several fundraisers in 2015, including a bake sale, Sip and Swirl painting events, and a PartyLite candle sale. The funds will be added to the Cancer Center Patient Resource Fund, which is used to assist cancer patients with the expenses related to their diagnosis.
“Donations like this one are so important this time of year. Many patients are struggling to buy heating fuel, gas, and groceries or to pay their bills,” said Wendy Petitt, practice manager of the Cancer Center and the person who administers the fund. “Thanks to the Coders work over the past year, many patients will feel some relief from the financial stresses that come up during their diagnosis and treatment.”
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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Community Loan Fund, (VCLF) a 501(c)3 nonprofit, mission-driven lender, has been named the 2015 Vermont Mission Lender of the Year by the US Small Business Administration (SBA) Vermont District Office. VCLF Executive Director Will Belongia accepted the award at the SBA Annual Meeting and Awards Breakfast in Montpelier on Thursday, December 9. The award was presented by SBA Region 1 Administrator Seth Goodall and SBA Vermont District Director Darcy Carter.
“Financial institutions that made SBA loans in FY15 played a key role in supporting small business and economic development in Vermont,” said Carter. “SBA loans provide low-cost capital to start-ups and small businesses on reasonable terms,” she added.
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Vermont Business Magazine Today, North American Breweries announced that Mark Hegedus, a beer industry veteran, will lead the Magic Hat Brewing Company as general manager. This newly created position is part of North American Breweries’ plan to re-invigorate and grow Magic Hat’s position as an established craft brewery with a 21-year history. Magic Hat also will add new brewing equipment, re-locate its brand team to Burlington, Vermont and increase its sales staff in key markets across the country. These investments are a part of North American Breweries’ ongoing commitment to strengthen its craft beer business.
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Vermont Business Magazine During calendar 2015, the Vermont Economic Progress Council (VEPC) authorized job creation incentives totaling $4.3 million under the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI) program, which will encourage the creation of 332 new, well-paying jobs for Vermonters, with an average compensation of $48,250. These projects will also create about $13.5 million in new, full-time payroll for Vermonters, and the companies plan to invest $47.7 million in facilities and machinery and equipment in Vermont between 2015 and 2019.
2015 VEGI INCENTIVE AUTHORIZATIONS
Company
Cabot Hosiery Mills, Inc.
Flex-A-Seal, Inc.
National Hanger Company, Inc.
Precyse Solutions LLC
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Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Public Service announced Friday that the Public Service Board has approved the Memorandum of Understanding entered into between FairPoint and the Department that will benefit customers who suffered service outages during 2014. Under the terms of the MOU, approximately 22,000 FairPoint customers will receive credits on their telephone bills for disrupted service. In addition to the bill credits, FairPoint commits to accept over $52 million in federal Connect America Two (CAFII) funding to extend high speed broadband access to 28,400 Vermont addresses. Terms of the MOU also bring enhanced security to the state’s E911 system infrastructure.
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by Mike Smith The Washington Post recently conducted an analysis to fact-check a statement by Senator Marco Rubio when he said that “none of the major shootings that have occurred in this country over the last few months or years that have outraged us, would gun laws have prevented them.” The Post developed a list of 12 mass shootings, starting with the horrific Newtown, CT, shootings that killed 26 people, mostly children, at an elementary school in 2012, and ending with the recent shooting in San Bernardino, CA, that occurred just weeks ago and left 14 people dead and many more injured. The conclusion: Rubio’s comments stand up to the Post’s scrutiny. His statement is correct.
So why are politicians rushing to institute gun control laws that may have little effect on reducing this type of violence? Because in politics, when you can’t really do anything, you must look like you’re doing something.
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Vermont Business Magazine The Norwich University Sullivan Museum and History Center presents “Saddle Up! Norwich Cavalry: Training, Touring and Tactics on Horseback,” with an opening reception to be held on Friday, January 22, from 3:30-5:30 pm. The state’s only Smithsonian Affiliate, the Sullivan Museum and History Center is free and open to the public. The story of the Norwich Cavalry and its establishment is full of wonderful images of the days when equines were part of the daily life at the University. Fascinating facts and “firsts” at Norwich come to life with life size imagery, sounds and objects from Norwich’s cavalry history. This exhibition looks back at the time when Norwich ruled on the Polo fields and made history in the new sport of endurance racing.