Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Farmers Food Center (VFFC), Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC), and Community Health Clinics of the Rutland Region (Community Health) are celebrating the Farmacy Project’s (Farmacy) tenth year this month. Farmacy, which began at VFFC as Health Care Shares, is a produce prescription program that provides fresh locally grown produce to people facing chronic diet-related health conditions. The program was launched in 2015 with a grant from RRMC’s Bowse Health Trust grant to support this community model intersecting healthcare and local agriculture. 

Vermont Business Magazine Age Well has received a 2024 Aging Achievement Award from USAging, one of the highest honors presented by USAging to its members. “Reducing the Stigma—Food Insecurity” was selected in the Home and Community-Based Services category, which was among 22 local aging programs to receive achievement honors during USAging’s 49th Annual Conference and Tradeshow, July 8–11 in Tampa, FL. The 2024 USAging Aging Innovations & Achievement Awards, supported by Caregiving.com and Cumulus.care, recognizes USAging’s Area Agency on Aging members that have found new and innovative ways to support older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers as they live in their homes and communities.

Vermont Business Magazine Union Mutual Insurance Company was recently recognized by the Vermont Department of Health and the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports with a 2024 Governor’s Excellence in Worksite Wellness Award – GOLD Level. This is the Company’s sixth consecutive top-tier wellness honor. According to the Vermont Department of Health, the annual Worksite Wellness Awards create a standard of excellence for worksite wellness initiatives and recognize Vermont employers’ efforts to enhance productivity, bolster a healthy environment and improve employee wellbeing. The roughly 100-question survey addresses all aspects of an organization’s wellness program – from availability of healthy food options and on-site fitness opportunities to occupational safety and accessibility measures.

Vermont Business Magazine Rutland Regional Medical Center has been named by U.S. News & World Report to its 2024-2025 Best Hospitals list as a High Performing hospital for both Hip and Knee Replacements. This is the highest distinction a hospital can earn for U.S. News’ Best Hospitals Procedures & Conditions ratings. RRMC is one of only two hospitals in the state to receive High Performing ratings for both procedures. The annual Procedures & Conditions ratings are designed to assist patients and their health care providers in making informed decisions about where to receive care for challenging health conditions or elective procedures. For close to a decade, Rutland Regional Medical Center has consistently ranked among the highest performing hospitals for both hip and knee replacement.

Vermont Business Magazine University of Vermont Medical Center, the anchor academic medical center for UVM Health Network, has again earned recognition as Vermont’s top hospital, with 10 high performing procedures and conditions by U.S. News & World Report, which released its annual “Best Hospitals” rankings this week. In addition, two of the health system’s community hospitals in Vermont and Northern New York – Central Vermont Medical Center and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital – were again recognized for high performing procedures and conditions. Of the more than 4,500 hospitals that U.S. News evaluated, only 38% earned even a single “High performing” rating.

Vermont Business Magazine The American Red Cross urges donors to give blood or platelets now to reinforce the blood supply as much as possible before the summer winds down. Type O blood donors and those giving platelets are especially needed to help keep hospital shelves stocked through August. Donors remain critically needed to support the Red Cross delivery of vital blood products, which are in demand around-the-clock as hospitals work to save lives this summer. When fewer people answer the call to donate, the blood supply can quickly shrink. Help safeguard necessary care for patients − book a time to give blood or platelets by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App. In thanks, those who come to give Aug. 1-31, 2024, will get a $20 Amazon.com Gift Card.

Vermont Business Magazine Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) received a donation of 80 blankets from Saint J Subaru, which partnered with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) as part of the Subaru Loves to Care program, on July 9, 2024. This is the 9th consecutive year that Subaru has partnered with LLS. Since 2016, Subaru and LLS has delivered nearly 350,000. Also delivered with the blankets were messages of hope written by local Subaru customers and staff during the month of June, Subaru’s Loves to Care month. NVRH Med-Surg Educator Teresa Farr-Messenger witnesses the impact of these blankets firsthand.

Public Assets Institute Vermont’s average annual wage rose 3.7 percent in 2023, to nearly $62,000. But the wage in 12 of the state’s 14 counties came in below that average. Chittenden County, which held a third of the state’s jobs, showed the highest average annual wage: $70,269. Washington County, another large employment hub, was second, at $64,682. Vermont’s labor force—those working and those available for work—grew during the first six months of 2024. Growth in June marked 44 months of gains and brought the total labor force up to 357,568 people, a level not seen since 2011.

Vermont Business Magazine The state of Vermont will be opening State Flood Recovery Centers in Barre, Hinesburg, Lyndonville, and Plainfield. While the state is still awaiting a determination on whether any counties are eligible for FEMA public assistance or individual assistance, these centers will help those impacted by this month’s floods navigate the recovery process. These centers are open to all residents from throughout the state. The first center will open in Plainfield on Wednesday, July 24. Flood Recovery Centers serve as a one-stop shop location where public and private organizations come together to provide state-level assistance to those affected by disaster. 

Vermont Business Magazine Nurses employed by University of Vermont Medical Center who are part of the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (VFNHP) voted to ratify a new three-year contract for nursing staff this past weekend. The contract includes a 23% wage increase for nurses over the next three years. The successful contract agreement also averted a five-day strike that would have carried substantial additional costs for UVM Medical Center’s people, patients and community. 

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today released the following statement ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint meeting of Congress this week: "As I stated last month, I will not be attending the address of Benjamin Netanyahu to Congress on Wednesday. I agree with both the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations independent commission that both Benjamin Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar are war criminals. Hamas, under Sinwar’s leadership, began this war with a horrific attack against Israel, which killed 1,200 innocent men, women, and children, and took over 240 captives. In response, Netanyahu and his right-wing, extremist government have waged total war against the Palestinian people, killing at least 39,000 Palestinians and injuring 89,000 – sixty percent of whom are women, children, or elderly people."

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets is partnering with the Northeast Regional Food Business Center to announce the launch of the first round of funding for technical assistance providers, aimed at bolstering the capacity and economic potential of local and regional food systems across Vermont and the Northeast. Funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, the Northeast Regional Food Business Center is part of a nationwide initiative to strengthen food supply chains while supporting historically underinvested producers and food business owners.