At Northwestern Medical Center, staff have been spit on and screamed at, in the room when a patient has thrown equipment or punched a wall.

Health insurance rates are on the rise for thousands of Vermonters after state regulators earlier this week approved a rate hike for the state’s two major carriers. Officials say the double-digit increase should be a wake-up call for fundamental reforms in the health care system.

In a region hit with multiple bouts of flooding last month, workers at Northern Counties Health Care have struggled to reach vulnerable residents — from those who were marooned at home to those who couldn’t get their prescriptions or had to reschedule surgeries.

Vermont hospitals are seeking the Green Mountain Care Board’s permission to increase commercial insurance charges and their revenue from patients, an annual process that comes amid widespread concern over hospitals’ financial health.

For months, Bruce Hamory, a physician and consultant with the firm Oliver Wyman, has been engaged in a fact-finding process to determine what is and isn’t working in Vermont health care. In a series of public meetings across the state, Hamory has repeatedly highlighted the fragility of the state’s health care institutions and the need for change.

Vermont hospitals Wednesday begin their budget presentations to Vermont regulators and one conclusion was clear -- there was no show of improvement in the hospitals’ financial strain.

Three Vermont hospitals have signed on to a new partnership, agreeing to work together towards long-term sustainability.

The celebration of Thomas Dee, president and CEO of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, touched almost as much on his impact on the wider community as on his 14-year tenure as leader of the hospital.

Area residents got a detailed look Thursday at the “unsustainable” health of the state’s hospital and overall health care systems, and it was not an encouraging picture.

Time is running out to keep Vermont hospitals afloat. That’s according to research presented in a community hospital transformation meeting in Middlebury on Tuesday.

An outpatient emergency mental health urgent care center is coming to Burlington.

An outpatient emergency mental health urgent care center is coming to Burlington.

Veterans and their family members can learn more about how to apply for benefits during an event scheduled for next week.

A decade ago Northwestern Medical Center had 360 days cash on hand, the most of any hospital in Vermont. NMC also routinely proposed the smallest rate increase of all the state’s 14 hospitals.

BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont is seeking to raise health insurance premiums by an additional 4.3% next year, further increasing a request for already near-record-high rate hikes.

Federal officials have selected Vermont as one of three states to participate in the AHEAD program, a new health care reform initiative, the state announced Tuesday.

More Vermonters should have access to free or discounted health care at hospitals and other large health care facilities under a law that went into effect Monday.

Mental health care is not always easily accessible living in rural parts of our region. That’s why places like the Brattleboro Retreat are offering more therapy alternatives online.

Last week’s heat wave saw the most heat-related emergency room visits of any Vermont heat wave in the past six years.