While housing shortages are common across Vermont, Addison County is particularly strapped. According to research done by Rights and Democracy, the Addison County housing vacancy rate was 2.4% in 2021; a 6% to 8% rate is considered healthy.

Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center has been operating at 110% of its capacity for several weeks amid a surge of respiratory viruses and short staffing, and as it continues to be difficult to discharge patients to lower levels of care, such as nursing homes.

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).

Two health provider groups brought alarming 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. Unlike the evacuation of the Statehouse earlier in the week, this was not a drill.

Dr. Sunil Eappen has taken the helm of Vermont’s largest health system, the University of Vermont’s Health Network. He replaces John Brumsted, who retired in November after more than 10 years leading the system. As the new president and CEO, Dr. Eappen will be responsible for the oversight of all operations, including all five community hospitals, the academic medical center, the children’s hospital and home health and hospice agency. His leadership comes at a time when staffing shortages and financial issues present immediate challenges.

Vermont’s Covid-19 community levels remained “low” in the past week, the state Department of Health reported Wednesday.

Lori Boisjoli has been named senior vice president and CIO of Burlington-based University of Vermont Health Network.

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.

The Brattleboro Retreat and Rescue Inc. signed a one-year contract to help transport voluntary mental health patients from emergency rooms to the retreat.

It’s long past time to stop the scourge of workplace violence in our community hospitals and health care settings. These are places for health and healing, peace and recovery.

A 22-year-old man accused of causing multiple altercations at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital was arraigned Friday and released on the condition he receive another mental health evaluation.

The small room is part of the Journey to Recovery Community Center in Newport, located in a woodsided office building, across the street from North Country Hospital and a short walk from the eastern shore of Lake Memphremagog. The space opened six weeks ago to provide an option for short-term, 24-hour peer support for people in crisis from substance use who want to begin their recovery. The first day was, so far, the busiest.

Making your medication cheaper and battling addiction-- that was the focus of top Biden administration officials who visited Rutland Monday.

VAHHS is proposing that workplace violence, and the threat of workplace violence, against health care workers result in immediate removal of the perpetrator from the facility by law enforcement.

The state Department of Health plans to end walk-in Covid and flu vaccine clinics by Jan. 31.

Some area hospitals in Vermont and New York will no longer have employees screening visitors before entering for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started.