In the News
GMCB hospital budget hearings begin August 18
Vermont Business Magazine

The Green Mountain Care Board has scheduled the FY21 hospital budget hearings to be held in August 2020. These meetings will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams and conference call-in number. The information on how to attend the hearings will be posted here once the August schedule is posted. The first hearing is August 18 and run through August 28.
CVMC to use thermal imaging camera for temperature screenings
WCAX

Eliminating long lines and close contact, a local hospital launches a thermal imaging camera to scan for your temperature.

Since March, anyone entering the Central Vermont Medical Center has had to pass a temperature screening.

But now instead of waiting in a line for a one-on-one interaction with a hospital worker, an imaging camera will do the work automatically.

The hospital's vice president of HR says this keeps everyone safer and lets hospital workers get back to patient care.
Gloved and gowned: Innovative observer system prevented infections
Saint Albans Messenger

When the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic set in, a key part of NMC’s preparations revolved around safety: the safety of patients, family, the public … and the safety of hospital staff. It was critical that staff safety was of highest priority, for without them, we could not care for our patients.

One of the concrete outcomes of the intense safety discussions was the creation of a new clinical role – that of a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) “observer” who oversees nurses and providers when they enter patient rooms, instructing them in how and when to put on and take of gowns, gloves, hair coverings and masks. It sounds like a simple change, but it’s one that had enormous impact.

“We are all aware of how many healthcare workers had become infected with COVID-19 in other areas,” said Anneke Merrit, NMC’s Director of Quality. “This role was critical in protecting our staff. It was also critical in preventing spread of COVID-19 from positive patients to COVID-19 negative patients.”

According to a Reuters report with data from the International Council of Nurses, at least 90,000 health-care workers worldwide are believed to have been infected with COVID-19.

Confused About Antibodies? Let Our Comic (Featuring Many Llamas) Explain
VPR

Got questions about serology?
Antibodies? What llamas have
to do with it? Let Vermont
cartoonist Stephanie Zuppo
guide you through some answers.











Michael Costa: ACO model can make health care costs more predictable
VTDigger

The Covid-19 lockdown reinforced two major health care reform goals. First, Vermont needs strong and innovative partnerships with community organizations to make sure Vermonters are physically healthy, mentally healthy, well nourished, well housed, and financially secure. Second, Vermont needs a health care system that can promote health in our communities no matter how many patients walk through the doors of our health care institutions.

Community partnerships are more important than ever. Hunger, despair, and economic insecurity have an enormous impact on health. Each car in line, waiting for miles and hours to pick up food, tells a story of the precariousness of our population’s health and well-being. Vermont’s health care organizations know this truth, and were collaborating with the rest of the health and human services care continuum to act upon it when Covid-19 hit.
People in the News