August 24, 2013
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General store lost to fire By Lou Varricchio newmarketpress@ denpubs.com CLARENDON Ñ On Aug. 15, the Clarendon Fire Department responded to a fire at the Clarendon Springs General Store on Walker Mountain Road. Store owner Theodore Kuc, who lives next door, was awakened by a passerby who noticed the fire; the passerby alerted the fire department by calling 911. When the Clarendon Fire Department arrived, firefighters discovered that flames had come through the roof; they requested assistance from neighboring departments. Several fire Departments were able to extinguish it completely and kept the fire from damaging adjacent homes. The store sustained fire, smoke and water damage; it is considered a total loss estimated valued at approximately $200,000. No personal injuries as a result of the fire were reported. Area fire departments which assisted Clarendon Fire Department included Castelton, Ira, Tinmouth, and Shrewsbury FD. The Clarendon Fire Department contacted the Vermont State Police and requested an origin and cause fire investigation be conducted. Detectives from the State Police Fire Investigation Unit and Fire Investigators with the Division of Fire Safety responded to the scene during the morning hours of Aug. 15. The fire was caused by an electrical problem.
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Middlebury EMS 4x4 comes to the rescue By Lou Varricchio newmarketpress@denpubs.com MIDDLEBURY Ñ Back in 1970, a group of visionary Addison County residents saw the need for a local emergency medical response group that would serve the needs of several rural communities. With expert training from local physicians, nurses, and the American Red Cross, the responders renovated a donated hearse into an ambulance, set up operations at the old Addison County jail on Washington Street and created the Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Association. Recently renamed Middlebury Regional EMS, the familiar Ò MVAAÓ doesnÕ t receive funds from taxpayers, so members must raise every penny to provide Addison County residents with the some of the best EMS personnel and services found in Vermont. According to former U.S. Army senior combat medic Bill Edson, now chief of operations of Middlebury Regional EMS, the organization must evolve with the times and meet community expectations. While many residents may take their local EMS service for granted, Edson does not. The Addison County EMS service doesnÕ t play politics, but it does worry about where the money will come from in coming years; it must keep its “taken for granted” high level of service in the pink. Edson said national health care reform is something he and his volunteers worry about because it will negatively impact most local volunteer EMS and ambulance services with mandated cutbacks in reimbursements from Medicare and MedicaidÑ but thatÕ s another story. A lot of EdsonÕ s Army medical training experienceÑ both in and off the field—is playing a major role in building Middlebury Regional EMS/MVAA into an outstanding response team.
Middlebury Regional EMS Chief of Operations Bill Edson, a former U.S. Army senior combat medic who served in Iraq, demonstrates an Auto Pulse CPR machine which is packed in the organization’s high-tech 4x4 off-road ambulance.
See EMS, page 12
Photo by Lou Varricchio
$272,000 to fund Porter Hospital records system By Laura Jacobs & Earl Wells e3communications
Through grants from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the State of Vermont, $272,000 will help implement an electronic health records system at Porter Hospital.
MIDDLEBURY Ñ Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. announced that it has secured $272,000 in funding through grants from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the State of Vermont to finalize the implementation of an electronic health records system at Porter Hospital and its network of physician practices in Addison County. “The resources being provided to finalize the implementation of our electronic health records system as well as to help our physician partners achieve meaningful use in their practices illustrates just how important it is in having VITL lead the way in creating a robust and vibrant health information network for Vermont,Ó said James L. Daily, president of Porter Hospital. Ò It is especially important that these much needed human and financial resources are available to hospitals in rural communities to enhance care for our patients.Ó The agreement between VITL and Porter Hospital will include a number of measurements including improving provider satisfaction survey results, the completion of the hospital attaining Medicare Meaningful Use and increasing the number of practices already live from six to eleven among other milestones. Porter is a critical access hospital offering comprehensive medical care and 24hour emergency services.
Eagle photo
See HOSPITAL, page12