Vermont
Repeat ER visits due to opioid overdose grew during the pandemic, Vermont health department finds
From 2018 by 2021, 237 Vermonters had been handled in an emergency room not less than twice for an opioid overdose, in accordance with a brand new state report — and almost 1 / 4 of repeat ER journeys occurred inside 30 days of the individual’s first go to.
The speed of overdose-related repeat visits to an ER inside a 30-day interval elevated from 2% of all overdose emergency visits in 2019 to 4% in 2021.
The report, launched Wednesday, marks the primary time the Vermont Division of Well being has analyzed patterns of repeat emergency room visits resulting from an opioid overdose. It comes because the state is seeing a sustained enhance in each deadly and nonfatal opioid overdoses, because the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020.
The latest well being division tally reveals that as of June, 94 Vermonters have died this yr of an opioid overdose. In June of 2019, that yr’s working complete was 48 deadly opioid overdoses — roughly half the present determine.
For nonfatal overdoses, one issue the state tracks is emergency room visits after an overdose. As of this June, the statewide charge was 28.5 overdose-related visits per 10,000 emergency room visits. In the identical month three years in the past, the speed was simply 10.3 per 10,000 ER visits.
The well being division stated the ER go to evaluation would information the state in its efforts to forestall extra overdoses. Well being officers would additionally prefer to see extra individuals who’ve overdosed go to emergency rooms, the place they’ll obtain not solely medical care however referral to different help providers.
“We actually wish to guarantee people are getting the care that they want,” stated Nicole Rau Mitiguy, the division’s substance misuse prevention supervisor. “So if our general variety of overdoses is growing in Vermont, we respectively would wish to see that variety of visits or repeat visits, no matter which will seem like, to extend on the emergency division.”
The report states that follow-up care is essential given the “lethality of fentanyl and elevated chance of novel substances comparable to xylazine within the drug provide.” Xylazine is an animal tranquilizer that’s more and more turning into linked with opioid overdose deaths.
The report analyzed emergency room visits solely in Vermont hospitals, and solely counts a number of visits to the identical ER as repeat visits. Since a Vermonter who overdosed could have gone to a hospital out of state or to a number of hospitals within the state, Mitiguy stated it’s doable the speed of ER return visits for the four-year examine interval is definitely larger.
The evaluation additionally reveals that amongst Vermont counties, from 2018-2021, Rutland had the best charge of repeat emergency room visits resulting from opioid overdose: 19.9 visits per 100 opioid overdose ER visits.
The second highest is in Bennington County, with 18 per 100 opioid overdose ER visits, in comparison with the statewide charge of 14.5. The report notes that information for Brattleboro Memorial Hospital was not included within the examine, so counties whose residents visited Brattleboro’s ER might need registered decrease numbers.
The sufferers’ demographics present that ladies ages 30-39 registered the best charge of repeat ER visits for opioid overdose, with 20% of all guests being repeat guests.
Dependancy restoration professionals say {that a} vital quantity of people that overdose don’t search emergency room therapy. The explanations embrace concern of stepping into hassle with the regulation, or being extra intent on discovering the substance that may alleviate their withdrawal signs after they’re revived with an opioid antidote.
“The overwhelming majority of the time, folks refuse to go to the hospital,” stated Margae Diamond, director of the Turning Level restoration heart in Bennington. “They’re disoriented, they’re afraid, and so they’re in such unhealthy withdrawal that they do not need anybody to get in the way in which of no matter it’s they suppose they want proper now.”
One more reason is that critical psychological well being points could forestall an individual from understanding the significance of going to the ER, stated Tracie Hauck, director of the Rutland Turning Level Heart.
“Attempting to speak with these people is troublesome,” she stated. “Typically, their psychological well being is so unstable that they do not have the flexibility to essentially deal with coping with their substance use.”
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Vermont
Layoffs expected at C&S Wholesale Grocers in Brattleboro
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (WCAX) – C&S Wholesale Grocers, A Keene, New Hampshire-based company that is one of the country’s largest food distributors — including a facility in Brattleboro — says layoffs are coming.
It looked like business a usual Monday at C&S Wholesale Grocers in Brattleboro. Trucks were coming and going from the 300,000-square-foot facility. A “now hiring” sign was posted out front, But the company is cutting staff at the Brattleboro location at a minimum.
“Right now, we are looking at less than 50 employees and that would be affected by that — at least based on the information that was shared — and those layoffs wouldn’t occur within the next 45 days,” said Vt. Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington.
C&S supplies food to more than 7,500 supermarkets, military bases, and institutions across the country. At this time, we do not know what jobs are on the chopping block. Harrington says Vermont’s rapid response services have been activated. “Those services include everything from how to access unemployment insurance benefits to what type of supports can we offer for re-employment services,” he said.
They are also partnering with local officials. “We work closely with them to try to bring different tools and different resources,” said Adam Grinold with the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation. He says they have a new AI-driven tool called the Vermont Employment Pathfinder, which will be available to laid-off workers. “Identify skills — it can help map those skills. It can help match those skills to local job opportunities. That and some training and re-skilling programs can really help start that next chapter.”
Harrington says while job cuts are never a good thing, there are more positions right now open across Vermont than there are people looking to fill them. “When that trajectory changes and there are more individuals who are laid off or unemployed than there are jobs, that is when we will see the market become very tight,” he said.
The current unemployment rate in Windham County is 2.7% and officials say companies are hiring. The ultimate goal is to make sure families do not have to leave the area because they can’t find work.
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Vermont
Vermont Air National Guard deploys troops, F-35s to Japan – VTDigger
The Vermont Air National Guard has deployed more than 200 members to the United States’ Kadena Air Force base in Japan for training and support operations in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a press release.
The deployment, which includes the latest F-35 aircrafts and equipment, is expected to last several months and will include exercises in Japan and area islands.
As a result, there will be fewer local flight operations during that time, the release stated.
“With this latest deployment, more than a third of our Airmen are actively contributing to critical missions worldwide,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Daniel Finnegan in the release, which noted that 50 members had deployed last fall.
Almost 18,000 Americans and more than 4,000 Japanese employees and contractors are stationed at the Kadena Air Base, which is known as the Keystone of the Pacific, according to the website.
F-35 aircrafts assigned to Vermont’s 134th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron touched base in Kadena today, according to a press release from the air base in Japan.
“Our squadron eagerly anticipates the chance to elevate our training by testing ACE (Agile Combat Employment) concepts during this deployment,” said Lt. Col. Trevor Callen in that release.
The operation includes participating in Cope North, the largest multilateral joint exercise of its kind in the region, to “maintain an open and free Indo-Pacific,” Col. David Deptula said in the release.
“Exercise Cope North is a unique opportunity to work closely with our allied partners,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Michael Blair, 158th Operations Group Commander, in the Vermont release. “The level of interoperability required during this exercise demonstrates our collective ability to respond to emerging threats and ensure regional stability.”
Vermont
Nationwide data breach affects student, staff information at Vermont schools
The personal data of students and staff at several dozen Vermont school districts may have been compromised in a nationwide data breach of a student information system, according to state education officials.
PowerSchool, a California-based company that provides a student information system and cloud software used by 39 school districts in Vermont, told its customers on Tuesday that personal data of students, staff and faculty of school districts throughout the country were hacked, according to officials.
The company serves more than 75% of students in North America, according to a report from TechCrunch, and its software is used by roughly 16,000 customers to support more than 50 million students in the United States.
Schools use the software to manage student records, grades, attendance and enrollment.
It is unclear how many school districts in Vermont were affected by the data breach. Lindsey Hedges, a spokesperson for the state Agency of Education, said in an email that not all of the 39 districts that use PowerSchool were affected, but noted that the agency “will continue to work with districts and remain in contact as the full impact of the incident unfolds.”
Champlain Valley School District was among the affected districts. Adam Bunting, the district’s superintendent, said in a letter to families that “the Agency of Education is actively working with PowerSchool to determine the next steps.”
“We understand that the situation is concerning and will keep you informed as we learn more,” Bunting wrote in the letter.
In a phone interview, Bunting said PowerSchool informed the district that the breached personal information of faculty and staff mainly included things like contact information.
“The information, as far as we understand, does not include things like Social Security numbers,” he said. “The initial information we have is that it’s more about contact information.”
Student information, Bunting said, may include names, address, emails and birthdates.
A spokesperson for PowerSchool, Beth Keebler, said in an emailed statement that the company “is committed to protecting the security and integrity of our applications.”
“We take our responsibility to protect student data privacy and act responsibly as data processors extremely seriously,” the statement reads. “Our priority is to support our customers through this incident and to continue our unrelenting focus on data security.”
TechCrunch reported that hackers successfully breached the company’s school information system, and the company was made aware of the breach on or around December 28.
“As soon as we learned of the incident, we immediately engaged our cybersecurity response protocols and mobilized a cross-functional response team, including senior leadership and third-party cybersecurity experts,” the company’s statement said.
The company said it does not anticipate the data being shared or made public.
Zoie Saunders, Vermont’s secretary of education, said in correspondence to superintendents of the affected districts that the impact of the breach may vary from district to district.
“We understand that this news may be concerning, but please be assured that the agency takes incidents involving student information very seriously and is committed to ensuring that all necessary measures are in place to safeguard it,” she wrote.
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