VLS Conference Will Draw Top Experts To Explore Challenges of Regulatory Takings

SOUTH ROYALTON, VT - As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares for a closely watched regulatory takings case, Vermont Law School will bring together legal experts from around the country on November 6 to explore critical issues raised by recent and pending takings cases, as well as potential government responses.The daylong conference, "Litigating Regulatory Takings Challenges to Land Use and Environmental Regulations," will be held on the VLS campus in South Royalton. The event is cosponsored by Georgetown University Law Center and Columbia Law School. Preregistration is required.The series of panel discussions will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 5:15 p.m. Issues of bilateral property rights, global warming, and water regulation will be among those addressed. The lunch discussion will examine the U.S. Supreme Court case, Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, in which private waterfront landowners have challenged the state's plan to restore storm-eroded beaches. At issue is whether the legislatively supported plan, which would create public beaches between private property and the water, deprives property owners of waterfront rights and is thereby an uncompensated taking. Oral arguments are scheduled for December 2.John Echeverria, a VLS environmental law professor who recently filed an amicus brief in the Florida case on behalf of the American Planning Association and its Florida chapter, said the conference will address key questions facing lawyers, judges, scholars, and policymakers in this and other takings cases."This conference will bring together the leading academic scholars in the field of takings, along with many experienced practitioners from around the country, to discuss the cutting-edge issues involved in defining private rights-and responsibilities-with respect to land and other property," said Echeverria, who has written extensively on takings and other aspects of environmental and natural resource law.Experts from nearly a dozen leading law schools, as well as lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice, the California Attorney General's Office and the Congressional Research Service, will take part in the panel discussions. Several judges visiting VLS as members of the Kenyan Environmental Tribunal are also scheduled to attend.For details on the conference or to register online, visit http://forms.vermontlaw.edu/elc/landuse/takings09/. Registration fee is $35 for the general public or $200 for VBA CLE credits (7), and includes breakfast, lunch and an afternoon reception. For more information, email jdantonio@vermontlaw.edu or call 802-831-1217.

GE Centricity HIE Connects Vermont Patients, Providers

BARRINGTON, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Healthcare, a leading provider of healthcare information technology, today announced that its Centricity Health Information Exchange solution (HIE) participated in the Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) second annual Interoperability Showcase. VITL is a not-for-profit organization that is facilitating the implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) systems using the GE Centricity HIE in Vermont. An HIE aims to enable care providers to securely share health information across local, regional, and eventually, national health networks. VITL demonstrated how eight different vendor EMRs could feed data into the GE Centricity HIE, enabling various healthcare providers to view and share radiology and lab results, medication histories and other critical patient data. The showcase included two clinical scenarios to illustrate how the GE Centricity HIE can facilitate the sharing of clinical data across the continuum of care to help clinicians make more informed decisions. The scenarios tracked a patient’s clinical data from primary care, specialist and emergency department visits through hospital discharge. This capability was made possible through VITL’s and GE's adherence to Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) framework and Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) Capability Specifications recommended for ARRA adoption. “With one hour and zero preparation time, we’re able to take seven EMRs out of the box and have them sharing information on an HIE they’d never connected to before. That’s only possible because we’ve adopted these standards and our EMRs are certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT),” said GE Healthcare’s Charles Parisot, member of the HITSP board. “The power of document sharing through (XDS), the use of harmonized (CDA) document content, among other specifications are delivering on their promise and making VITL capable of quick adaptation to changing health IT requirements.” “There is, perhaps, no tool more valuable to a state’s healthcare system than a well-run health information exchange network, facilitating real-time clinical data exchange through a standardized interface,” said VITL President and CEO David Cochran, MD. “The VITL Summit 2009 showcased what we believe is a national best practice model that leverages the HITSP interoperability specifications to enable a ‘plug and play’ capability that simplifies implementation of healthcare IT for our stakeholders by reducing installation time and cost.” Recently, the Health and Human Services Department announced that $564 million in federal stimulus funding has been designated for the establishment and promotion of state health information exchanges and to help build the Nationwide Health Information Network. Physicians participating in the Vermont Blueprint for Health initiative, which provides a web-based chronic care patient information system at no cost to healthcare providers, can analyze patient data in a secure, shared registry that facilitates collaboration with other providers in their community. This allows healthcare practitioners to better track patient progress and more effectively manage the health of their patient populations. GE has been providing standards-based HIE services to support the Vermont Blueprint for Health and other VITL HIE use cases since 2007. “VITL deserves great credit for its vision and action in developing a statewide HIE and for demonstrating how successful public-private partnership can accelerate value realization from an HIE infrastructure. VITL's initiative is an essential building block for a national HIE as outlined in President Obama’s plan for healthcare reform,” said Earl Jones, vice president and general manager, GE Healthcare IT.
ABOUT GE HEALTHCARE:
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems. Our "healthymagination" vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality and efficiency around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com. ABOUT VERMONT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LEADERS, INC.: Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that operates as a public-private partnership. VITL’s mission is to collaborate with all stakeholders to expand the use of secure health information technology to improve the quality and efficiency of Vermont’s health care system.

King Arthur Flour Named One of Vermont’s Best Places to Work in 2009

Employee-owned Company Ranks High for Third Year Running


January 14, 2009 - Norwich, Vt. - For the third year in a row, America’s oldest flour company has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont (large company division). Final rankings will be announced at an awards gala in Burlington on April 1. King Arthur Flour received the top ranking in both 2006, the award’s inaugural year, and 2007; the award program skipped 2008.“I’m thrilled that we’ve been included again this year on the list of top places to work in Vermont. This particular survey is especially meaningful to us because it uses employee feedback as its measure. What better way to gauge the success of our company’s culture?” says Suzanne McDowell, Vice President of Human Resources for King Arthur Flour. “We’re looking forward to hearing who tops the list, and proud that we’re on it for three years in a row.” The survey and award program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best workplaces in Vermont, companies that benefit the state’s economy, its workforce and its businesses. Award winners are determined in large part by an anonymous survey completed by employees to measure their experiences and find out what they really think about their companies; 70% of the judging for the award is based on those survey results. Judging also includes evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. The 2009 award program recognizes 10 small/medium-size companies (15-99 employees) and five large-size companies (more than 100 employees). The program, now in its third year in Vermont, was created by Vermont Business Magazine, the Vermont State Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Department of Labor, the Society for Human Resource Management-Vermont State Council, the Vermont Department of Economic Development, and Best Companies Group. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration, survey and analysis process in Vermont. For more information on the Best Places to Work in Vermont program, visit bestplacestoworkinvt.com. In addition to being named the Best Place to Work in Vermont in both 2006 and 2007, King Arthur Flour’s 2008 honors include being named one of the Wall Street Journal’s Top Small Workplaces and one of WorldBlu’s Most Democratic Workplaces; receiving the Terry Ehrich Large Company Leader Award from Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility; receiving a Magnum Opus Award for The Baking Sheet bi-monthly baking newsletter; and the inclusion of kingarthurflour.com on Internet Retailer’s list of “Hot 100” retail Web sites. King Arthur Flour also received the Outstanding Vermont Business Award and the Better Business Bureau Local Torch Award for Excellence in 2006. America’s oldest flour company, King Arthur Flour was founded in Boston, Mass., in 1790 and moved its headquarters to Vermont in 1986. The company has grown since then from a regional staple to a brand known nationwide for its purity and consistent quality; from a small mail-order business with five employees in 1990 to the premier baking resource with more than 160 employees today; from a family-owned operation for five generations to a 100 percent employee-owned business. King Arthur Flour is the parent company of The Baker’s Catalogue, which offers more than 1,000 professional-grade baking tools and ingredients through its catalogue, online at kingarthurflour.com, and at The Baker’s Store in Norwich, Vt. Through its products, publications and educational programs, King Arthur Flour continues to strive toward its mission: To be a creative and profitable company that’s a product, information, and education resource for, and inspiration to, bakers worldwide.

Rebecca Bowen Joins Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc.

Rebecca Bowen, MBA, MHA, FHFMA, of Montpelier has joined Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL), as the organization’s vice president for finance, VITL President and CEO David Cochran, MD, announced today.VITL is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is facilitating the adoption and implementation of electronic medical records and other health information technology by Vermont health care organizations. Previously, Bowen was the executive director of the Central Vermont Physician-Hospital Organization, Inc., having served in that position since 2000. She was the director of finance for the Kaiser Permanente health plan in Vermont from 1997 to 1999, and the vice president of finance at the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems in Montpelier from 1990 to 1997.“Rebecca is very experienced in all aspects of financial management, including budgeting and audit preparation,” said Dr. Cochran. “At VITL, she will be responsible for financial reporting, compliance with federal A-133 grant requirements, and internal procedure controls. VITL receives both state and federal funds, so I am very pleased that someone with Rebecca’s knowledge will be able to assist us. Rebecca will also assist VITL in developing programs to help physician practices finance their electronic health records.”Bowen is a fellow in the Healthcare Financial Management Association, and a diplomat in the American College of Healthcare Executives. She is a recipient of HFMA’s Muncie Gold Award, the Reeves Silver Award, and the Follmer Bronze Award. She is the former chair of the HFMA Managed Care Advisory Forum, and the past president of the NH/VT HFMA chapter. Bowen earned masters degrees in healthcare administration and business administration from Georgia State University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Governor Douglas Appoints David Tucker Commissioner of DII and State CIO

Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Douglas today announced the appointment of David H. Tucker as Commissioner of the Department of Information and Innovation and Chief Information Officer for the State of Vermont. Tucker has, for the last four years, served as Deputy Commissioner of the Department. Tucker replaces Tom Murray who recently resigned to take the position of Executive Director of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority.“David’s experiences at DII and in state government broadly make him specially qualified to act as the State’s CIO during this critical time,” said Governor Douglas. “David’s leadership skills are essential as we look to IT for ways to deliver government services more effectively and affordably.”“I want to thank Governor Douglas for this new opportunity to serve Vermont,” said Tucker. “I’m looking forward to continuing the good work that DII is doing to make state government more efficient.” Prior to his work at DII, Tucker worked for nearly 20 years at the Vermont Department of Labor where he held various positions including Director of Unemployment Insurance. David received his Bachelor of Arts from Johnson State College in 1992, his Master of Public Administration from the University of Vermont in 1998 and is currently enrolled in the Master of Science for Management of Innovation and Information Technology at Champlain College. Tucker is a 2008 graduate of the Vermont Leadership Institute at the Snelling Center for Government and has served on the local Planning Commissions in Montpelier and Northfield. He resides in Northfield with his wife Julie.