Selected Category:

Vermont’s home health and hospice agencies are implementing the new Regulations for the Designation and Operations of Home Health Agencies, the first major overhaul to the regulations since 2007. Over the last several years, the VNAs of Vermont has actively advocated for the rule to be consistent with…

This week, I was interested to see long-term care and independence at home get injected into national politics. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders shared a Washington Post piece on Twitter about the challenges facing Maine’s long-term care system (lots of older people, fewer young people) and naming Vermont…

State update A new home health designation rule goes into effect on October 1, 2019. The rule is essentially a licensing regulation and covers the core services home health and hospice agencies provide including skilled home health (i.e., nursing and therapy services), hospice and long-term care at…

Last week, I had the honor of speaking at a celebration for the 50thAnniversary of Franklin County Home Health Agency (FCHHA). The line-up of speakers included the creative and dedicated nurses who founded the agency and the first executive director to lead the agency. They shared stories about hatching…

1969.Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. The first Gap store opened.Elvis Presley made a comeback.The price of a gallon of milk was 36 cents.The price of a postage stamp was four cents.And the dream of building a home health agency in Franklin County came to fruition.  That’s the way Franklin County Home…

Last week, I had the privilege of joining Addison County Home Health and Hospice at the Town Hall Theater in Middlebury to celebrate their 50th anniversary. I confess that the last thing I wanted to do on Thursday at 3:00 in the afternoon was get in the car. It had been a long workday that required all…

As has been widely reported, the 2019 legislative session came to surprise ending when the House and Senate failed to reach a deal on two key priorities – minimum wage and paid family leave. That outcome leaves both bills in limbo until January when – because 2019 was the first year of a two-year biennium…

Last Friday marked the beginning of the end of the 2019 legislative session. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted their version of the budget bill out of committee, which usually means there are about two weeks to go – time enough for the full Senate to consider the bill on the floor, followed by…

Over the last two weeks, I have spent a lot of time in the State House talking about S.23, the minimum wage bill. At every opportunity, I have asked legislators to protect vulnerable Vermonters by ensuring that if they pass the bill, they also fund the Medicaid programs that will be impacted by the bill. At…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 15, 2019Contact: Amy Bodette, 802-847-7364 Two Reports Show Early, Significant Health Care Reform Progress in Vermont:Access to early childhood developmental screenings are up, emergency department visits and inpatient admissions are down, and $97 million in Medicaid savings…