August 12, 2025

NEED TO KNOW

Final Call to Nominate a Vermont Leader for VMS' Leadership Awards

Nominations are open until tomorrow, August 13th for the VMS' Leadership Awards! We invite members to recognize Vermont leaders who have made outstanding contributions to the medical profession, health organizations, and the welfare of the public.

Submit your nominations here. 

Nomination deadline: August 13, 2025

Awards include:

• Distinguished Service Award
• Physician of the Year Award
• Physician Award for Community Service
• Citizen of the Year Award
• Founders’ Award

The awards will be presented on the evening of November 7, 2025 during the 2025 Collaborative Meeting.

AHS Regional Health Care Transformation Planning Moves Forward

The Agency of Human Services is moving forward with their work to help develop Regional Health Care Transformation Plans.   The goal is for AHS to convene and facilitate teams of key regional leaders to plan for availability of services within regions based on whether the services are ones every community requires and should be accessible at the local level within each Hospital Service Area (Tier 1) or if they are services that are essential but, due to demographic challenges, may not be feasible to provide within every HSA (Tier 2).  Currently, obstetrics/labor and delivery, general surgery and orthopedic surgery are categorized as Tier 2 and are being considered for “consolidation and alignment.”  See the slides from AHS giving further details.  The goal is to convene the regional taskforces between now and January.  VMS is helping to facilitate additional input to AHS from clinical leaders in OBGYN, general surgery and orthopedics in areas such as what procedures might be appropriate for regionalization and what data should be considered in making decisions regarding regionalization of services. In addition to planning for the appropriate regionalization of services, AHS and consultants with the Rural Health Redesign Center are supporting each hospital in developing its own transformation plan.  These plans will be developed by September.

Hospital Budget Hearings Continue this Week

This week, the Green Mountain Care Board continues with hospital budget hearings.   On Monday, UVM, CVMC and Porter all gave their budget presentations; today Northwestern and Gifford will present; Springfield and Copley’s hearings are both scheduled for Wednesday.    The agendas and links to listen to the meetings virtually can be found on the Green Mountain Care Board website here.   Individual budget information submitted by each hospital can be found here.  The Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems continues their roundup of news articles covering hospital budgets here. 

Vermont Steering Committee for Comprehensive Primary Care to Hold First Meeting August 19^th

The Vermont Steering Committee for Comprehensive Primary Health Care will convene its first meeting next Tuesday, August 19^th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. (view agenda here. This meeting will be held at the Waterbury State Office Complex, Waterbury Vermont and via Microsoft Teams (click to join the meeting).  These are public meetings and are open to the public.

This committee was created as part of Act 68 (S.126) with the goal of informing the efforts to reform health care in Vermont as it relates to access to, delivery of, and payment for primary care services.  The committee consists of 16 members representing a diverse range of organizations, geographies, practice settings and perspectives.  More information on the committee members and future meeting dates/information can be found here.

MISC.

3 Common Mistakes to Avoid Before Signing a Contract

Physician employment contract review can be overwhelming due to the length of documents, confusing language, and legally-binding terms contained in an agreement. To make sure you sign with confidence, avoid these common mistakes, addressed by VMS’ partners at Resolve, who specialize in employment contract reviews and salary data.  To learn more about Resolve’s services, click here.

Tickborne Diseases Update

Last Thursday, Natalie Kwit, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, the State Public Health Veterinarian in the Division of Laboratory Sciences & Infectious Disease provided a webinar update on tickborne diseases in Vermont for VMS’ Public Health Update.  The slides from the August 7th presentation with all topics covered in detail can be viewed here. 

The next VMS Public Health Update will be on September 4^th from 12:30-1pm. 

Register Now for the Vermont ACP Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting

The Vermont ACP Chapter's Annual Scientific Meeting is scheduled for Friday, October 3, 2025. This will be an in-person meeting at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT. We will again host a poster competition for resident and student members.

The ACP is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The American College of Physicians designates this live activity for a maximum of 5.25 AMA PRA Category 1 credits (s).

Successful completion of this CME Activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 5.25 medical knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credit claimed for the activity. It is the CMA activity providers responsibility to submit participant information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Visit the Meeting Hub for registration, agenda, and details of the meeting here.

EVENTS

Vermont Suicide Prevention Coalition Meeting

August 21st from 11am to 3pm

Capitol Plaza Hotel, Montpelier, VT

The next statewide Vermont Suicide Prevention Coalition meeting will provide suicide prevention grant activity updates from state partners, discuss resources for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, receive information and provide input to Strategic Plan activities, and launch a concerted effort in developing and supporting a network of regional suicide prevention groups in Vermont.

If you are someone interested in championing or getting involved with local suicide prevention efforts in your area, join us on the 21st to be part of the discussion, exchange ideas & resources, and identify concrete next steps.

Facing Suicide Together Through Stories of Hope and Healing

August 21st from 4pm to 6pm

Capitol Plaza Hotel, Montpelier, VT

Learn more and register here.

VAHHS Annual Meeting: Era of Change: Healthcare Transformation, Challenges & Opportunities

September 25 - 26, 2025

Please join VAHHS at our Annual Meeting on September 25^th and 26^th at Jay Peak!

Our theme is Era of Change: Healthcare Transformation, Challenges and Opportunities

Sessions include:

• Transforming Rural Healthcare Through Purposeful Regionalization
• What the Heck is Interoperability, and How Do We Get It?
• Mobile Integrated Health (MIH): Where Leveraging Community Partnerships, Population Health and the Quadruple Aim Meet

Learn more and register here.

Clinical Quality Symposium: Building & Expanding Collaborative Systems for Maternal Health

October 28, 2025

Join us for a one-day symposium focused on strengthening partnerships across maternity care, primary care, and public health. Designed for maternity providers, primary care clinicians, public health professionals, and community organizations, this event will explore collaborative models to improve maternal health outcomes—particularly in the face of growing maternity care deserts in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Sessions will include:

• Innovative approaches to integrating maternity and primary care
• Dedicated breakout tracks for maternity and primary care providers
• Strategies to support postpartum care and mental health
• Practical tools for building cross-sector collaboration

Register here.

For more information about offerings from UVM CMIE, visit here.

Vermont Medical Society

134 Main Street

Montpelier, VT 05602

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