The Peru Gazette

Source: County governments weigh vaccine incentives

The evening spelling competition featured students from seven local school districts with grade-level honors and recognition also going to Grade 4 Elsa Isecke from Peru Central School District; Grade 5 Emma Sheldrake from Peru Central School District and Grade 6 Jacob MacDougal from Boquet Valley Central School District.

Source: Returning champion and regional honors in local spelling bee | Sun Community News PLATTSBURGH | After an exciting night of academic excellence, a returning champion walked away with the top honors at the CVES Regional Spelling Bee that featured grade-level

Source: North Country anguish at the heart of border hardship | Sun Community News PLATTSBURGH | Tracy Simmons has been a resident of Clinton County for the past 40 years. Born and raised in Quebec, Montreal. Simmons still has family on the other side of the borde

A spokesperson for the company said that customers will not be required to show proof of vaccination.

Source: Stewart’s to allow vaccinated customers into stores without masks

Lower number of patient visits during pandemic continues to fuel deficit. 

PLATTSBURGH, NY (05/18/2021) – As low patient visits and increased COVID-19 related expenses persisted through the first six months of its 2021 Fiscal Year (FY2021), the University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) reported today that it lost almost $8 million between October 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 despite receiving $289,000 in stimulus money in October 2020.

The hospital’s net patient service revenue, the key revenue indicator, was $165.5 million, $15.9 million less than expected.  Patient discharges fell 17.7% short of budget, October 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 (pre-COVID).   With a drop in patients visiting the Emergency Room, visits were 13,506, 21.5% below budget and 22.3% lower than last year.

Alice Hyde Medical Center and CVPH Sr. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Christopher Hickey speculated on the cause, “It’s hard to pinpoint the reason behind the drop in inpatient and emergency admissions. We would expect people to come to the hospital, COVID or not.  Much of what we lost is the lower acuity patients. Did we lose them because they went somewhere else?  I doubt it. This phenomenon is being experienced across the country.” The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) reports emergency rooms visits are down 25% nationwide. He added, “Our patients may still come back, and we will be ready to care for them when they do.”

Team Continues to ShineWhile salary expenses remained on par with FY2020, expense reductions were found by slowing or pausing various programs, services and purchases not critical to patient care. Hickey credits the team for doing an exceptional job managing expenses, coming in at $183.3 million, $9 million under budget, though these efforts unfortunately were not enough to make up the deficit.

Source: Masks still mandated inside Burlington businesses

Source: Stimulus checks: Child Tax Credit payments to start July 15; how much will you get? – syracuse.com

Two-thirds of Hamilton County residents — 66.1% as of Monday morning — have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention. The number’s even higher for adults, as 76.1% of Hamilton County residents 18 and older are fully vaccinated.

Source: Rural county in Upstate NY has one of nation’s highest vaccination rates (report) – syracuse.com

Source: NY county fairs are on for 2021, Cuomo says – syracuse.com

Source: NY adopting CDC guidance: Vaccinated people can largely stop wearing masks – syracuse.com

Does the word SCUM apply here? Source: Vandals damage 70 stones at historic Boquet Cemetery | Sun Community News ELIZABETHTOWN | A town employee who went to mow grounds at the Boquet Cemetery found a scene of destruction on May 13.

Source: A new North Country study says 1 in 4 adults are ‘vaccine hesitant.’ Why is that? | NCPR News

From Monday, May 17th to Friday May 21st,  Rifenburg Contracting will have Elm Street closed from Sanborn Lane to 22B intersection (Town Park entrance) with heavy construction. There will be NO through traffic.  Emergency vehicles will have limited access to that section of the road.

North Bend is open

Any questions, please call the W/S Superintendent @ 643-8125

Source: Governor Cuomo Announces New York State to Adopt New CDC Guidance on Mask Use and Social Distancing for Fully Vaccinated Individuals

After almost 15 months of battling COVID-19, we are feeling cautiously optimistic about our eventual emergence from this pandemic. Given the direct connections between the pandemic and the UVM Health Network’s finances, it should be no surprise that we are assessing our latest financial results with the same kind of cautious optimism. Today, I am writing to give you a brief update on our Network’s ongoing financial recovery, along with important context regarding one-time relief funding, cost-control measures and patient visits.

For the first half of FY 2021, the Network as a whole achieved a positive operating margin of 1.4 percent, or $17.4 million. This is due to the second quarter ending March 31, during which we had a positive margin of 9 percent, or $60.9 million – largely because we received $83 million in one-time state and federal provider-relief funding. Without that one-time money, our Network would have seen a $22.1 million loss in the second quarter and a $65.6 million year-to-date loss.

Across the Network, our affiliates saw varying financial results in the second quarter. Positive margins were reported by Elizabethtown Community Hospital, Porter Medical Center and UVM Medical Center, while negative margins were reported at Alice Hyde Medical Center, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, Central Vermont Medical Center and Home Health & Hospice. Each affiliate is continuing to implement financial-improvement plans tailored to the challenges they face.

Given our ongoing response to COVID-19, we are grateful for the provider-relief support from our state and federal partners, which has clearly played a significant role in our finances so far this fiscal year. But that’s not the whole story. We’ve also worked hard to control costs throughout the health system, including limiting capital spending and reviewing position vacancies. We’ve continued to combine administrative functions across the Network, and we’ve been leveraging the power of the Network to maximize supply-chain savings. Additionally, in March, we saw continued increases in patient visits – nearly reaching pre-pandemic levels. This is good news, as we have been urging our patients throughout the pandemic to not forgo necessary health care.

It is important to note these positive signs, but just like the ups and downs we’ve seen since the pandemic began, we can’t count on them to continue: One month does not make a trend. Likewise, we don’t know whether any of our affiliates will qualify for additional provider relief from the federal government. The challenges and uncertainties we have faced both before and during the pandemic will continue to impact our Network. We are committed to facing those challenges and creating long-term sustainability. And we have doubled down on our commitment to value-based care, so we can improve patient health while controlling costs over time to make health care more affordable.

I am deeply grateful for the hard work and resiliency of our providers and staff, and for the trust and support of our patients and community. You all will always be at the center of everything we do.

Thank you for your support and leadership. I will continue to keep you updated on our work.

John R. Brumsted, MD

President and CEO

Source: New York to lift mask mandate for vaccinated people

Source: Then Again: 200 Irish workers, demanding their pay, started Bolton’s War – VTDigger

Source: Eugenics at UVM: Why Abenaki leaders feel the apology wasn’t enough – VTDigger

Source: Milestone reached in New York’s fight against coronavirus – syracuse.com

Source: Walmart, others drop mask requirements for vaccinated customers, but NY still requires it – syracuse.com