Vermont
As UVM Health Network cuts services in Vermont, it expands in New York – VTDigger
Last month, the University of Vermont Health Network announced a slate of wide-ranging cuts to its Vermont facilities.
Those cuts — which drew a swift and furious outcry — included closing an inpatient psychiatric unit at Central Vermont Medical Center, ending kidney transplants at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and shuttering a primary care clinic in Waitsfield.
Across Lake Champlain, however, the situation looks very different. Over the past few years, UVM Health Network’s facilities in northern New York have added capacity and increased the volume of certain procedures.
Over the past two years, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, in Plattsburgh, has worked to increase the number of surgeries it performs, according to Annie Mackin, a network spokesperson. During that time, Elizabethtown Community Hospital’s Ticonderoga campus has expanded clinics in women’s health and dermatology. Late in 2023, a primary care clinic operated by another health care organization opened at Alice Hyde Medical Center, in Malone. And earlier this year, Alice Hyde hired a general surgeon, the network announced in October.
The network hopes to add even more capacity in the state in the coming years, leaders say.
“In New York, we’re doing our very best to expand services, to grow opportunities, to be able to have more opportunities to see patients over there,” Steven Leffler, president and chief operating officer of UVM Medical Center, said in an interview last month.
“We’re hoping they’ll have more inpatient access to cover patients who can’t stay here,” Leffler said, referring to the Burlington hospital. “We’re hoping we can move more surgical cases there as a way to make sure that access is maintained for people who may have, unfortunately, more (of a) challenge getting access here.”
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‘Patient-centered and patient-focused’
Leaders of the six-hospital network said the additions in New York are simply part of ongoing efforts to help patients access more care more easily — similar to what the network seeks to do in Vermont.
The University of Vermont Medical Center, Central Vermont Medical Center and Porter Medical Center, in Middlebury, are all part of the UVM Health Network.
The recent cuts on this side of the lake, administrators say, were due solely to the actions of the Green Mountain Care Board, a state regulator that capped network hospital budgets and ordered UVM Medical Center to reduce its charges to private health insurers earlier this year.
Additions at New York hospitals, which are not under the board’s jurisdiction, have nothing to do with the board’s orders and often predate them, network leaders said.
That work “is totally independent and unrelated to regulatory action here,” Sunny Eappen, the president and CEO of UVM Health Network, said in an interview.
Expanding services in New York, however, does benefit Vermont’s hospitals. In the 2023 fiscal year, New York residents contributed roughly 14% of the University of Vermont Medical Center’s patient revenue, to the tune of $245 million, according to financial documents submitted to the Green Mountain Care Board.
In Vermont, the care board places limits on how much hospitals can bring in from patient care — limits that UVM Health Network officials have said are onerous and harmful. By adding capacity in New York, the network can keep some of those patients in their communities and out of Vermont hospitals.
Owen Foster, the chair of the Green Mountain Care Board, declined to comment, saying he did not know the details of the network’s New York hospital services.
In 2025, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital plans to add operating room capacity for general surgery, urology, ear nose and throat procedures and orthopedics, according to Mackin, the network spokesperson. The network has invested in some “anesthesiology resources” for that expansion and is recruiting urology and orthopedics clinicians, she said.
The network has also informed about 370 New York patients that they have the option of getting imaging procedures — such as x-rays — in-state, rather than in Vermont, Mackin said. UVM Health Network is also “evaluating opportunities” to add gastroenterology, cardiology and infusion procedures in New York, she said.
“It’s patient-focused and patient-centered, right?” Lisa Mark, the chief medical officer of Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital and Alice Hyde Medical Center, said in an interview. “So they don’t have to travel across the lake if they don’t need to.”
Vermont and New York
Over the past few months, UVM Health Network has drawn scrutiny for the movement of money between its Vermont and New York hospitals.
That attention was sparked by the revelation, during the Green Mountain Care Board’s annual hospital budget review process, that Burlington’s UVM Medical Center was owed $60 million by Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh.
That has led to fears that Vermonters are subsidizing New York medical facilities. In comments submitted to the Green Mountain Care Board in August, Vermont’s chief health care advocate Mike Fisher and his staff members charged that the network “has consistently weakened its financial position by choosing to transfer monies to the New York hospitals.”
Network leaders have repeatedly denied that those transfers — which have paid for pharmaceuticals, physicians’ salaries and other expenses — had any impact on Vermonters. Those transfers affect a hospital’s cash on hand, leaders said, but do not affect margins or Vermonters’ commercial insurance rates.
“We’ve been very, very clear on that,” Rick Vincent, the network’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in an interview. “The Vermont commercial rates are not impacted by those New York hospitals.”
Last month, the care board asked the network for more information about the New York hospitals’ finances, including their operating margins and cash on hand.
UVM Health Network initially declined to provide that information. But Eappen said in an interview he does intend to share the hospitals’ financial information with the board.
According to publicly available nonprofit tax forms, some of the network’s New York hospitals have struggled in the past years. Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital lost nearly $30 million in its 2022 fiscal year and nearly $40 million in the 2023 fiscal year, according to tax records, and Alice Hyde Medical Center lost about $20 million in those two years, as well. Elizabethtown Community Hospital, meanwhile, has reported positive margins for the past decade.
Eappen said that Champlain Valley and Alice Hyde have grown more stable in the past year, although financial data is not yet publicly available.
There are “not yet” plans to shift more services to New York as a result of the Green Mountain Care Board’s orders, Eappen said. But keeping care close to home for residents of northern New York is a win-win, he said.
“If New Yorkers stay in New York, it doesn’t contribute to that Vermont revenue piece,” Eappen said, referring to patient revenue, which is capped by the Green Mountain Care Board. “And so if we do it well and keep New Yorkers in New York, it’s a positive on both ends.”
Score: UAlbany 4, Vermont 14
Location: Virtue Field | Burlington, Vt.
Records: UAlbany (10-5, 5-1 America East) | Vermont (8-6, 4-1 America East)
Short Story: UAlbany women’s lacrosse fell to the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday afternoon.
Key Stats
- Grace Cincebox recorded a total of 14 saves with 13 goals allowed for a .565 save percentage.
- Ravan Marsell led the Great Danes with two points on one goal and one assist.
- Four different UAlbany players scored in the contest.
- Reggie Williams was the team’s leader with three ground balls.
- Delilah Mile caused a team high three turnovers.
How It Happened
- The Catamounts came out of the gates hard and heavy, scoring all three goals between both sides in the first quarter.
- Vermont would take an 8-0 lead in the second quarter before Amanda Williamson found the back of the net on a women-down goal to put the Great Danes on the board and make it 8-1.
- The Great Danes would allow one more goal in the first half to trail 9-1 after 30-minutes of play.
- Grace Cincebox would enter the half with 10 saves.
- Riley Forthofer started the Great Danes off in the second half to make it a 9-2 game, before Vermont put up three more goals to take a 12-2 lead entering the final quarter of play.
- Mya Carroll and Ravan Marsell both scored on back-to-back free-position goals to make it a 12-4 game.
- The Catamounts finished the game with two more goals to take the win 14-4.
Up Next
The Great Danes will next have a bye week and wait to see the outcome of next week’s Vermont vs UMass Lowell game to see who will host the America East Tournament.
Social Central: Stay up to date with UAlbany women’s lacrosse by following the team on Instagram (@UAlbanyWLax), Facebook (UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse), and X (@UAlbanyWLax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.
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Here’s another reason Vermont is the best New England state: It’s home to one of the top 5 happiest cities in the United States.
Plus, it has another within the top 15.
Massachusetts, on the other hand, doesn’t even break the top 50. Nor, does Connecticut or Rhode Island.
The personal finance website analyzed 182 of the largest cities in the country, and ranked Boston 63rd overall. Although the city is home to some of the nation’s top universities, high-ranking hospitals, and well-regarded companies, it didn’t break the top 50.
To get the rankings, WalletHub compared the cities using 29 metrics, including life-satisfaction index, depression rate, poverty rate, job security, and acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, and cities were assigned an overall happiness score.
Here’s a look at how the cities ranked.
South Burlington is No. 4 happiest city, Burlington is No. 11
South Burlington came on top for Vermont in WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in the United States, ranking at No. 4. In scored very high for emotional and physical well-being coming in at the No. 4 spot, which made up for coming in No. 48 for community and environment. It was No. 9 for income and employment ranking. That gave it a total happiness of score of 70.15
Burlington wasn’t far behind at all, taking the No. 11 spot on the list and a happiness score of 67.54. It’s highest score was for income and employment ranking where it came second. It ranked No. 13 for community and environment and No. 21 for emotional and physical well-being.
Happiest cities in the US, per WalletHub
Here are the 25 happiest cities in the U.S., and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- Fremont, California – 74.09
- Bismarck, North Dakota – 73.11
- Scottsdale, Arizona – 71.36
- South Burlington, Vermont – 70.15
- Fargo, North Dakota – 69.36
- Overland Park, Kansas – 68.45
- Charleston, South Carolina – 68.44
- Irvine, California – 67.99
- Gilbert, Arizona – 67.96
- San Jose, California – 67.79
- Burlington, Vermont – 67.54
- Madison, Wisconsin – 66.35
- Columbia, Maryland – 66.28
- Chandler, Arizona – 65.69
- Seattle, Washington – 65.62
- Plano, Texas – 65.34
- San Francisco, California – 64.99
- Lincoln, Nebraska – 64.90
- Portland, Maine – 64.59
- Tempe, Arizona – 64.30
- San Diego, California – 64.30
- Raleigh, North Carolina – 63.47
- Peoria, Arizona – 63.38
- Durham, North Carolina – 62.84
- Huntington Beach, California – 62.80
Least happy cities in the US, per WalletHub
Here are the 25 least happy cities in the U.S., and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- Detroit, Michigan (#182 overall) – 29.55
- Memphis, Tennessee (#181 overall) – 34.39
- Shreveport, Louisiana (#180 overall) – 34.93
- Cleveland, Ohio (#179 overall) – 36.50
- Huntington, West Virginia (#178 overall) – 37.20
- Toledo, Ohio (#177 overall) – 37.21
- Augusta, Georgia (#176 overall) – 38.24
- Fort Smith, Arkansas (#175 overall) – 38.66
- Dover, Delaware (#174 overall) – 39.08
- Akron, Ohio (#173 overall) – 40.11
- Baltimore, Maryland (#172 overall) – 40.28
- Birmingham, Alabama (#171 overall) – 40.37
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana (#170 overall) – 40.47
- Columbus, Georgia (#169 overall) – 40.61
- Montgomery, Alabama (#168 overall) – 41.35
- Gulfport, Mississippi (#167 overall) – 41.65
- Charleston, West Virginia (#166 overall) – 42.18
- Jackson, Mississippi (#165 overall) – 42.60
- St. Louis, Missouri (#164 overall) – 43.53
- Knoxville, Tennessee (#163 overall) – 44.04
- Wilmington, Delaware (#162 overall) – 44.34
- Little Rock, Arkansas (#161 overall) – 44.48
- Mobile, Alabama (#160 overall) – 44.85
- New Orleans, Louisiana (#159 overall) – 45.19
- Tulsa, Oklahoma (#158 overall) – 45.33
Where New England cities ranked
Here are the 12 happiest cities in New England, and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- South Burlington, Vermont (#6 overall) – 70.15
- Burlington, Vermont (#11 overall) – 67.54
- Portland, Maine (#19 overall) – 64.59
- Nashua, New Hampshire (#27 overall) – 62.49
- Manchester, New Hampshire (#51 overall) – 59.10
- Boston, Massachusetts (#63 overall) – 56.88
- Warwick, Rhode Island (#66 overall) – 56.59
- New Haven, Connecticut (#95 overall) – 54.14
- Bridgeport, Connecticut (#96 overall) – 54.01
- Providence, Rhode Island (#98 overall) – 53.52
- Worcester, Massachusetts (#116 overall) – 50.12
- Lewiston, Maine (#145 overall) – 47.28
A tornado touched down in Vermont Thursday, when a strong storm system moved through the area, the National Weather Service said.
Winds are believed to have hit 90 mph when the tornado churned through Williamstown at about 9:15 p.m., the agency said Friday. That makes it an EF1 tornado on the Fujita Scale, which goes from 0 at the weakest to 5 at the strongest.
Lasting three minutes, the twister traveled for more than four-tenths of a mile, with a maximum width of 100 yards, according to the National Weather Service’s preliminary assessment. It damaged a pair of buildings and numerous trees, shearing tree tops. Golf ball-sized hail was also reported in the area.
Severe thunderstorms popped up across the North Country Thursday night, including in central Vermont — Williamstown is south of Montpelier.
The town thanked its road crew, firefighters and locals who spent hours in the wake of the storm cleaning up.
“We appreciate all that you do to keep the town functioning though an emergency situation,” the town said.
People in the area told NBC affiliate WPTZ that the storm was shockingly powerful, and National Weather Service staffer Marlon Verasamy said that while tornadoes in Vermont are rare, they’re even rarer in this part of the state.
“Generally, when we do see tornadoes around the area that they’ve been in Addison County and not here, so it make it really, really unique to get a tornado in this kind of terrain in this part of the state,” Verasamy said.
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