How to stay safe while voting in this election
More than six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, we have experienced changes in our normal routines and daily activities, with health and safety now top of mind. We have watched summer fade into autumn, and cooler days alert us of another significant activity just around the corner – Election Day....
We celebrate Vermont’s Abenaki, others on Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Vermont, home of the Abenaki for 13,000 years, joins six other states in marking Indigenous Peoples’ Day today. Learn more about Vermont’s recognized tribes, the local observance’s origins, and how celebrities, including Sierra Teller Ornelas and Adam Beach, view the ways Native Americans are represented in film and media. “You...
Gratitude Update: Essex Cares in a very big way
“We won’t forget, because Essex Cares.” For nearly four years, that motto has guided Essex Cares, founded by Phil Phillips and Vern Konzal to memorialize a close friend who received end-of-life care from Home Health & Hospice caregivers. The sentiment poignantly captures their aim of supporting neighbors in need. Essex...
Meet our new nurse educator: Melinda Hess, RN
“I knew at some point in my career I would enter home health/hospice, but was just waiting for the right time,” Melinda Hess, our new nurse educator, reflects, acknowledging the transition was influenced by her own personal experience. “I lost my mother to lung cancer when I was in nursing...
Equity, diversity and inclusion at UVM Health Network
John R. Brumsted, MD, UVM Health Network president and chief executive officer, pledges that the health system will be committed to ongoing, careful and meaningful action in the effort to create a culture that is equitable, diverse and inclusive for our employees, patients and the communities we serve. Read Dr....
Reinvention, generosity among themes of this pandemic
Reinvention may be one of this pandemic’s overarching themes. One meaningful example is Laura and Eric Sorkin and their crew at Runamok Maple in Fairfax, pictured. Like so many companies, Runamok pivoted to meet shifting demand as concerns about COVID-19 grew. Runamok and several other Vermont firms continue making the most...
Your generosity in this ‘new normal’ keeps our spirits high
Since the earliest days of this pandemic, you’ve been showing up for us in profound and remarkable ways — in caring messages of support, in lovingly handmade and donated masks and other personal protective equipment, and through your incredibly generous financial gifts. Each continues helping us meet the challenges of...
A colleague’s journey: Community Health Worker Maddie Ruth
“Up until a year ago, my life centered around farming: raising and growing food, turning my hands in the soil, and collecting eggs before they froze on bitter winter days,” Maddie Ruth, one of Home Health & Hospice’s community health workers, tells us. “When my maternal grandparents both died a couple...
President Judy Peterson retiring after 8 years at helm
Board of directors announces search for next chief executive Judy Peterson, president and chief operating office for the University of Vermont Health Network – Home Health & Hospice, today announced her plans to retire in January 2021 after eight years of leadership in the role. Peterson, a registered nurse and...
Congratulations to Colby Phillips, board-certified chaplain
Please join us in congratulating Colby Phillips, BCC, who recently became the first Home Health & Hospice chaplain to earn board certification from the national Association of Professional Chaplains. He joins a small cadre of board-certified chaplains within UVM Health Network. Board certification entails, among other requirements, multiple essays, 2,000 hours in the field,...