Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Monday night the Burlington City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling on the Administration to reach agreement with the support staff union “that is in the best interest of the community and respects the worth and dignity of UVMMC’s support staff and leads to greater pay equity, increased salaries and a livable wages with a healthy work life balance, protecting and improving worker safety and patient care, which will help with attracting and retaining quality staff.” 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced two initiatives to support cleanup efforts in Vermont following this summer’s severe flooding. On Saturday, August 26, Green Up Vermont, with support from the state and other partners, will hold a statewide Clean Up Day, which will operate very similarly to the annual May Green Up Day. Additionally, the state is finalizing a plan to assist those living in mobile homes that were destroyed by flooding to safely deconstruct and remove the condemned structures, at no cost to the flood victim. Support of these efforts is being made possible in part from a $250,000 contribution from Subaru of New England, which has a long history of philanthropic support in Vermont. 

Vermont Business Magazine Just 30 days after President Joe Biden declared a major disaster for the state of Vermont following the July severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides, more than $27.9 million in federal assistance has been provided by FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to support the state’s recovery. The state and FEMA have staffed and operated 11 Disaster Recovery Centers in nine counties to provide one-on-one assistance to survivors. A total of 1,372 survivors have visited these centers.  

Vermont Business Magazine Evernorth Rural Ventures and Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC) have announced the closing of $11.4 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation for the redevelopment of the iconic “Yellow Barn” in Hardwick. The NMTC funding supports the construction of a new 25,137 square foot food business accelerator building and the adaptive reuse of the vacant, historic 4,762 square foot yellow dairy barn for use as a retail shop, collectively called the Yellow Barn Business Accelerator. The project is an innovative public/private partnership, the culmination of a six-year effort spearheaded by the Town of Hardwick, the Northeast Kingdom Development Corporation, and the Northeast Vermont Development Association. 

Vermont Business Magazine The VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region, (VNAHSR), one of the state’s largest providers of skilled home health and hospice services, has recognized two exceptional employees of the quarter, Jessica Eynon, RN, Clinical Employee of the Quarter and Patty Andrews, Administrative Assistant as Non-Clinical Employee of the Quarter. Employees of the Quarter are selected from nominations submitted by peers and acknowledge employees who go above and beyond their typical job duties and best reflect the agency values of honesty, excellence, accountability, teamwork, leadership, and helpfulness.

Vermont Business Magazine Bank of Burlington has confirmed that a recent data breach experienced by a 3rd party partner has not put customer sensitive personally identifiable information (SPII) at risk. On July 12th, the bank was notified by Darling Consulting Group (DCG), of a breach incident that occurred on DCG MOVEit servers. Bank of Burlington responded immediately and confirmed no SPII was compromised or ever at risk. A recent article published by local media outlets references a data breach specific to PBI Research Services. This was a separate, isolated incident; neither Bank of Burlington nor DCG are affiliated with PBI Research Services’ MOVEit file transfer systems.      

Vermont Business Magazine On Saturday, September 2nd, Bennington, Vermont will embrace its title of “Garlic Town, USA” once again. This renowned celebration of garlic and agriculture, previously the award-winning Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival, is brought to life by the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce with presenting sponsor M&T Bank.  In 2022, over 7,500 participants flooded downtown Bennington for the agricultural event. The local businesses experienced an economic boost, with an estimated $140,000 spent in one day. 

by NVRH CEO Shawn Tester Two years ago, I turned fifty. And although celebrating that half-century mark during the pandemic meant there was no big birthday bash, there was one ritual that I could not miss: my first colonoscopy. This routine procedure involves complex systems and highly trained professionals. Although the actual procedure takes a couple hours, it requires an Operating Room, supportive nursing staff, diagnostic imaging technicians, a nurse anesthetist, and surgeon. 

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Medical Center and UVM Health Network – Porter Medical Center have earned a 5-star quality rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which announced its annual hospital ratings in late July. The ratings, found on Medicare’s Care Compare website, rate hospitals based on more than 45 quality measures over five categories: safety of care, readmissions after treatment of common conditions, patient experience, mortality, and timely and effective care. CMS reviewed data from the 2021 and 2022 calendar years for the ranking determinations.

by John McClaughry John Klar, the lawyer/farmer from Brookfield has just published his book “Small Farm Republic: Why Conservatives Must Embrace Local Agriculture, Reject Climate Alarmism, and Lead an Environmental Revival.” While the subtitle is clearly intended to speak to “conservatives”, including libertarians and various types of decentralists across the political spectrum, those concerned about Vermont’s future who don’t consider themselves “conservatives” should read it nonetheless

Vermont Business Magazine Dartmouth Health’s Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) is one of only 483 hospitals in the country—including just three in Vermont—to receive a coveted five-star Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Intended to provide information to consumers to help them make informed choices about where to get their health care, the Star Rating system evaluates over 4,500 Medicare-certified hospitals nationwide based on their performance across 46 quality measures divided into five quality categories: mortality, safety of care, readmission rate, patient experience, and timely & effective care.

Vermont Business Magazine Walmart invites Vermont residents to prioritize their health ahead of a new school year by joining us this Saturday, Aug. 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Customers can receive free glucose, cholesterol, BMI and blood pressure screenings as well as affordable immunizations like flu, RSV, HPV, tetanus, hepatitis, COVID-19 and more at pharmacies nationwide.