The tweak in Vermont’s criminal code would not significantly change the law, but should help with enforcement, proponents say.
Health care providers seek legislative action to curb workplace violence
Author: Kristen Fountain
Kristen Fountain covers health care and human services for VTDigger. She has lived in Vermont for 18 years, currently in the Northeast Kingdom. She previously was a staff writer at the Valley News and at the Stowe Reporter/Waterbury Record.
Final Reading: Legislators try to revive universal health care plan
The bill calls for “incremental implementation of Green Mountain Care” starting with publicly financed primary care in the first year, adding preventative dental and vision in the second, with no deductibles or copayments.
Vermont’s largest health care union will almost double in size
Support staff at UVM Medical Center voted overwhelmingly to unionize this week. The new bargaining unit will bring 2,200 more employees under representation by the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.
New numbers highlight Covid-19’s impact on inpatient mental health care and emergency departments
Discharge totals from Vermont psychiatric inpatient facilities show how the overflow from an already strained statewide mental health care system fell on emergency departments.
Ena Backus and Harry Chen departing Agency of Human Services
Backus, the state’s director of health care reform, is moving to Sen. Peter Welch’s office. Chen, the interim commissioner of the Department for Children and Families, plans to leave the role next month.
Final Reading: Vermont’s health care system is a ‘village on fire’
Two health provider groups brought disturbing anecdotes and statistics to the House Committee on Health Care this week, causing one new lawmaker to compare the state’s health care system to a village on fire.
Brattleboro Retreat to ramp up inpatient care and transport capacity
Vermont’s largest provider of inpatient mental health services plans to return to pre-pandemic inpatient numbers and is starting a new dedicated EMS transport service.
Garnet Health, private ambulance service and Covid response vendor, to close in 2 weeks
The company, which staffed high-volume testing and vaccination sites in northwestern Vermont, announced Tuesday it plans to end all of its operations.
Need for youth psych beds prompts unusual budget request for Southwestern Vermont Medical Center
The Scott administration requested fast-tracked funding for a new inpatient adolescent psychiatry unit at the Bennington hospital, a project still in the planning stage.
Government Ops committee to look at expanding state auditor’s reach
The new proposal, which would give the auditor’s office explicit authority to obtain records from private companies that have contracts with the state, is in direct response to a Vermont Supreme Court decision last year.
