Southwestern Vermont Health Care has debuted a new policy to prevent aggressive and violent behavior toward its healthcare staff, the Bennington, Vt.-based system said Feb. 2. Like many hospitals across the nation, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center has seen an increase in the proportion of staff reporting violent behavior from patients and visitors.

The M&T Bank Charitable Foundation has donated $25,000 to the Southwestern Vermont Health Care Foundation.

Christopher Petry, RN, a nurse in the Emergency Department at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), was the December recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC).

The midyear administrative budget adjustment that absorbs the first weeks of every Vermont legislative session usually involves requests to transfer money between already existing programs. And normally a hospital will take several years to launch a new service.