SPRINGFIELD, VT. — “Southern Vermont AHEC is thrilled to have such a high caliber of health professionals join our board,” said Jennifer Scott, PsyD, ABPP. “Many have deep connections to AHEC and will be instrumental in helping us move our vision and mission forward.”

Meet Our New Board Members:

Mindy Dame, MS, RN, is the Director of Intensive Care and Women’s and Children’s Services at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) in Bennington, Vermont, responsible for the operations and management of a 10 bed ICU that provides critical care to patients with varying diagnoses, and to pediatric, obstetric, and gynecological patients. Her accomplishments include establishing the first Baby Café at SVMC-a free, drop-in, informal breastfeeding support group offering ongoing professional lactation care and intervention. Mindy’s Women’s and Children team, and ICU team, were recipients of the Daisy Award for outstanding clinical excellence and compassionate care delivered by nurses. Mindy is an instructor with Vermont State University and currently enrolled in a doctoral nursing program.

Carlie Felion, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, BC-ADM, is the Community Health Team Lead with North Star Health in Springfield, Vermont and triple-board certified as a family nurse practitioner, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, and in advanced diabetes management. Carlie’s impressive academic credentials include a PhD in Nursing from the University of Arizona, majoring in precision science and minoring in nursing education. Her area of clinical and research interest is healthcare-related psychological trauma. Carlie was the recipient of the prestigious University Fellows Program award, and the Alumni Council Award, and member of the 2020-2022 Arizonia AHEC Scholars Program. Carlie holds a Post-Masters Certificate (Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in 2020 from Duke University School of Nursing, an MSN (Family Nurse Practitioner) from Duke University School of Nursing in 2013, BSN in Nursing from Chamberlain College in St. Louis, MO in 2010, where she earned to President’s Honor, and ADN from Vermont Technical College in 2009 graduating Summa Cum Laude. Carlie is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, an international honor society of nurses, and 2014 Vermont Educational Loan Repayment recipient.

Laura Lober, APRN, FNP-BC is a Nurse Practitioner at Mountain Valley Health in Londonderry, Vermont with 25 years of nursing experience. As a board-certified nurse practitioner for the past nine years specializing in family medicine, Laura’s primary focus is to deliver high-quality, patient-centered healthcare. Her philosophy of care is to deliver a comprehensive approach encompassing one’s physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. A lifelong Vermonter, Laura enjoys hiking, kayaking, gardening, and spending time with her family and friends. Her daughter Emma, a Bellows Falls Union High School graduate, participated in Southern Vermont AHEC’s MedQuest Program in 2018, and is currently pursuing an RN credential. Laura was a Vermont Educational Loan Repayment recipient in 2020 and 2022.

Heddy Pomazi, MHCM, is the Information Services Project Manager at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) in Brattleboro, Vermont. She brings over 10 years’ experience into the realm of hospital and medical practice IT project management. Heddy has earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in healthcare management. She also has a radiology clinical background and educated and trained at the Radiology Technical College in Budapest, Hungary as an advanced radiologic technologist. Heddy worked as a staff Radiologic Technologist and PACS Administrator at BMH for many years before joining their Information Technology Department as Radiology Systems Administrator and then took on the role of EMR Clinical Analyst and later became IT Projects Manager. Heddy’s son Oliver participated in both Southern Vermont AHEC’s MedQuest and CSHIP Programs. Her daughter Eve, a dental student at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine, is also an alum of the MedQuest and CSHIP Programs. Eve even created a series of children’s oral health videos that are featured during National Dental Health Month in February.

For more information on Southern Vermont AHEC visit www.svtahec.org

Vermont’s Catholic church has filed for bankruptcy protection as it faces more than 30 lawsuits alleging child sex abuse by clergy decades ago, according to a filing in federal bankruptcy court.

Since 2006, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, the state’s only diocese, has settled 67 lawsuits for a total of $34 million, Bishop John McDermott said in the court filing on Monday. Twenty of those were settled after the Legislature in 2019 removed the statue of limitations on when a claim could be made and the diocese faces 31 more, according to McDermott’s affidavit.

A 2019 report released by the diocese found there were “credible and substantiated” allegations of the sexual abuse of minors against 40 priests in the state since 1950. All but one of those allegations occurred prior to 2000, and none of the priests was still in ministry, the report said. Most of the priests who were named in the report were dead.

To pay the settlements going back to 2006, the diocese, which has 63 parishes and currently employs approximately 54 people, has sold church property, received some insurance funds and more recently used its investments and operating funds, the affidavit states.

“Due to the lack of insurance coverage and the Diocese’s depleted assets, the Diocese is concerned that too large of a settlement with a select group of pending cases or a judgment in favor of a single plaintiff could leave the Diocese with insufficient assets to fairly compensate other survivors and creditors, resulting in a disproportionate allocation of the limited funds available to the Diocese,” according to the affidavit.

The Vermont diocese says the goals of the bankruptcy case is “to fairly and equitably fulfill the Diocese’s obligations to all survivors of sexual abuse.” It says the civil court litigation and claims have been costly and will likely increase with the number of claims it faces.

John Evers, a lawyer representing some of the plaintiffs, said Tuesday that he and other attorneys in the cases, look forward to getting more information about the church’s assets.

“We expect there will be a fair amount of litigation through the bankruptcy proceeding where efforts are made to try and get the full picture of what the assets are and not just what the diocese has said or has listed in their financial statements or has said otherwise publicly,” he said.

In addition to Vermont, 32 U.S. dioceses and three religious orders have filed for bankruptcy protection, according to the group BishopAccountability.org.

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont and the rest of the country are in the midst of Drive Electric Week, a time to learn more about what it takes to go electric.

Whether it’s the grocery store, post office or public library, most people nowadays don’t bat an eye at electric vehicle charging stations because they are all around us. Still, experts say there’s a long road ahead to meet state EV goals.

Before a dotted line or even a test drive, many prospective EV drivers turn to Drive Electric Vermont’s David Roberts for advice.

“Will it work for me in winter? You know, is the range going to be enough? And generally, the answer is yes,” Roberts said.

He says more models fit for Vermont mud and snow seasons have hit the market in recent years, giving more drivers the EV green light.

“We’re seeing more availability,” he said. “So it’s great that more people are able to make the switch.”

According to Drive Electric Vermont, the state has more than 15,000 electric vehicles, a nearly 50% increase from 2023. Despite the jump, Patrick Murphy with VTrans says Vermonters will need to do more to meet the goals laid out in the state’s Climate Action Plan, which calls for 27,000 EVs by 2025 and 126,000 by 2030.

“We’re making good progress, but we’re still not there, and we know we have quite a bit to do,” said Murphy.

Murphy believes continued funding for popular state incentive programs is essential to meeting the state’s EV goals, but he estimates the $18 million appropriated in 2022 and meant to last until 2025 will dry up by the calendar year’s end. He says it’s a double-edged sword — Vermonters are opting into EVs but millions more are needed to keep up the momentum.

“Funding is needed to make sure that the transition to electric vehicles doesn’t leave anybody behind. Because we do know that these vehicles cost more on average, and a key piece of being able to make this affordable for Vermonters is providing these incentive programs,” said Murphy.

While the state looks for solutions, you can learn more about EVs this Drive Electric Week at an event on the Statehouse lawn on Wednesday and a ride and drive in Stowe next Tuesday.

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