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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…

We’ve entered the home stretch of the 2019 legislative session. While there are still many weeks of debate ahead, several recent milestones delineate the framework of the debate for the remainder of the session. VNAs of Vermont staff have compiled a “crossover” report outlining the bills that are in…

Vermont Update In the Statehouse, policy committees raced to finish up their work on policy bills that will head to the the floors of the House and Senate this week. This is an annual mid-session scramble to meet the “crossover” deadline set by House and Senate leaders. Policy committees in one body…