Thursday, March 5, 2020
That was the message from Gov. Phil Scott, who assembled members of his cabinet at a press conference Thursday to discuss the state's response to the infectious disease.
“Please know we are ready to respond if it does spread, because we have to be realistic,” Scott said at the Pavilion Building in Montpelier. “Given the global and national cases we’re seeing, it’s only a matter of time.”
Vermont still has no confirmed cases of COVID-19, the coronavirus that originated in China in December and has since infected 90,000 people worldwide. The Vermont Department of Health lab this week has tested five specimens from Vermont patients, all of which came back negative. Seven more are in progress, according to Health Commissioner Mark Levine.
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Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon, Leahy, who was the proposal’s lead negotiator, implored his colleagues to set aside their political "squabbles" and support the package.
"We should deal as what we are. We are Americans. We are U.S. senators," said Leahy, who is vice chair of the Appropriations Committee. "The 100 of us have to speak to our own conscience, and in a time of crisis in our nation's history, the Senate has proven its ability to be the conscience of the nation, the steady guiding hand. That's what we have to do now."
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Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Updated on March 4, 2020.
The Vermont Department of Health Lab has confirmed that three Vermonters tested for coronavirus on Tuesday do not have the infection — meaning the state had no confirmed cases.
State epidemiologist Patsy Kelso said the state expects to perform more tests in the coming days as Vermonters return from regions known to have coronavirus cases. Tuesday’s tests marked the state’s first, though dozens of Vermonters were being monitored for the virus.
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Monday, March 2, 2020
“As this virus continues to spread globally, ensuring we stay ahead of it with a long-term mitigation plan is an important step in our response process," Gov. Phil Scott said, "and I appreciate the expertise and leadership of this interagency group.”
Vermont had no known cases as of Monday but some were reported close to the state. Monday morning, New Hampshire announced its first case of coronavirus, involving an employee of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover — just over the Connecticut River from Vermont. Many Vermonters use the hospital.
That hospital employee had recently returned from Italy, whose northern region has been hit by an outbreak. The employee was in isolation at home, exhibiting mild symptoms. A case has also been reported in New York State.
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Thursday, February 20, 2020
Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced the settlement, which stems from incidents at three facilities in 2018 and 2019, at a press conference Thursday afternoon. The agreement settles claims relating to the state’s vulnerable adult statutes and the False Claims Act.
“Here is the bottom line," Donovan said. "We will not tolerate substandard care in the state of Vermont for the most vulnerable of our state.”
The three facilities — St. Johnsbury Health & Rehab, Berlin Health & Rehab Center and Burlington Health & Rehab Center — rank among the lowest rated in the state, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Nursing Home Compare system. The St. Johnsbury and Berlin homes both have one out of five stars, based on metrics that include three years' worth of health inspections, staffing levels and clinical outcomes for residents. The Burlington facility has two stars. The statewide average for nursing homes is 3.2 stars, while Genesis-owned homes average 2.6.
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Monday, February 17, 2020
The advisory, issued Saturday, affected much of Burlington and parts of South Burlington that rely on Burlington's municipal supply. It was lifted early Monday.
The Department of Public Works posted the update on its website in English, Swahili, French, Somali and Nepali.
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Saturday, February 15, 2020
The City of Burlington is advising residents to boil drinking water following a water main break and depressurization of the system.
The advisory is citywide, except for what the city calls its "high service area," which includes the University of Vermont and the UVM Medical Center. It extends to South Burlington residents who are on Burlington's municipal water supply. The city published a map of the affected area.
"We are currently working on the required sampling protocol to ensure all drinking water is safe to ingest," says the advisory, issued Saturday. "At this time, the precautionary boil water advisory is likely to last through most of tomorrow."
Some city businesses were affected. City Market, Onion River Co-op closed both of its Burlington stores.
For updates, check the Department of Public Works' Facebook page. You can also sign up to receive alerts.
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Friday, February 14, 2020
On Monday, after twice going to the University of Vermont Medical Center for treatment and being discharged, the 62-year-old homeless man headed to Burlington City Hall. Inside, he lit newspapers on fire and broke historic windows with a hammer. He asked police who arrested him to take him to a hospital.
He wound up jailed on arson and felony criminal mischief charges. There, his behavior seemed to worsen, Chittenden County Sheriff's Department employees would later report. He smeared feces around his cell and, when sheriff's deputies attempted to take him to court, made animal-like sounds.
Those details were enough to convince prosecutors and his public defender, Sara Puls, that Phillips needed inpatient psychiatric care.
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Monday, February 10, 2020
It happened Monday morning, shortly after Dennis Phillips, 62, was released from the crisis center at the University of Vermont Medical Center, according to an affidavit filed in criminal court. He'd visited the emergency department twice since the previous evening and was released both times.
Around 9:45 a.m. Phillips allegedly called 911 from inside the building and threatened to burn it down. He told the police dispatcher that he was lighting a fire because "the fucking hospital lets me go every time to [sic] go up there they won't help me," the affidavit said.
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Wednesday, January 15, 2020
A negotiating team made up of three senators and three representatives hammered out the deal during two days of what Rep. Tom Stevens (D-Waterbury) called “rough and tumble” negotiations.
While he was disappointed that a key disability insurance provision was not included in the bill, Stevens said he was nevertheless proud of the committee’s accomplishment.
“I think we have to start, and this is a great starting place,” Stevens said.
That theme — that the compromise was the beginning and not the end of the quest for agreement — ran through the remarks of the negotiating team.
Sen. Michael Sirotkin (D-Chittenden) said he wished they could have found ways to make the program stronger.
“We just had to deal with the realities of the building, at this point,” Sirotkin said. “We couldn’t get everything we wanted, but I do think this is a meaningful step.”
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