Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan today announced that Georgia-based retailer The Home Depot, Inc. will pay the State of Vermont $354,000 as part of a $17.5M settlement with a coalition of attorneys general of 45 other states and the District of Columbia. The settlement announced today resolves a multistate investigation of a 2014 data breach that exposed the payment card information of approximately 40 million Home Depot consumers nationwide. In addition to the $17.5M payment to the states, Home Depot has agreed to implement and maintain a series of data security practices designed to strengthen its information security program and safeguard the personal information of consumers.

Vermont Business Magazine Opioid company Purdue Pharma LP pleaded guilty today in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, to conspiracies to defraud the United States and to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Purdue pleaded guilty to an Information charging it with three felony offenses: one count of dual-object conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and two counts of conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. The Vermont investigation revealed that, from April 2016 through December 2016, Purdue made nearly $1 million in payments to Practice Fusion, Inc., an electronic health records company, in exchange for Practice Fusion installing a prompt in its software intending to cause doctors to refer, recommend, and arrange for the ordering of Purdue’s extended release opioid products – OxyContin, Butrans, and Hysingla.

Vermont Business Magazine The Washington County Substance Abuse Regional Partnership (WCSARP) today announced that they have tapped Eva Zaret to run the partnership’s new $1 million, three-year “Building Safe Harbor in Central Vermont” project intended to increase access to affordable treatment for substance abuse in Central Vermont while learning about new challenges presented by COVID-19.

by Jill Mazza Olson, Executive Director, VNAs of Vermont November is Home Care and Hospice Month, a time to celebrate the work of home health and hospice agencies. Usually it’s an opportunity to remind the public about the critical role home health and hospice agencies play in “normal” times—providing high quality health care at home, preserving the independence of individuals who would otherwise be in nursing homes and supporting individuals and their loved ones at the end of life. This November, I’d like to highlight the role of home health and hospice agencies in the pandemic response. It’s been an honor to watch home health and hospice agencies serve Vermonters throughout the pandemic—including people who are known to be COVID-19 positive. 

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont State Colleges System announced that the $2.3 million dollar Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) Workforce Initiative established by the state made free courses and trainings possible for 971 Vermonters. Many participants enrolled in multiple courses and a total of 1,398 classes and trainings are being taken this fall across all four institutions – Castleton University, the Community College of Vermont, Northern Vermont University, and Vermont Technical College – thanks to the investment in this initiative by the State.