Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program

(NOVEMBER 21, 2024) Vermont Public reported on protests by UVM Health Network staff against planned cuts to patient services. The network says the cuts are being made to comply with enforcement actions required by Vermont’s health care regulator.

(November 21, 2024) Erika Ziller, Ph.D., director of Larner’s Health Services Research Center, will use a $2.8 million grant from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to establish a new research center to study the effect of federal policy on rural health care, WCAX-TV reports.

(NOVEMBER 20, 2024) NBC5 featured Lindsay Smith, M.D., M.A., director of the UVM Medical Center’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, and John Ahern, Pharm.D., clinical associate professor of medicine, discussing the importance of using antibiotics and antifungal medications correctly.

(NOVEMBER 19, 2024) Members of a working group studying the use of psychedelics to improve mental health—including Larner Professor of Medicine Mark Levine, M.D.—are not ready to endorse a state program at the moment but have their sights set on the future, the Brattleboro Reformer reported.

(NOVEMBER 19, 2024) UVM Medical Center President and COO Stephen Leffler, M.D., was featured on WAMC Northeast Public Radio’s Roundtable in a discussion about recently announced cuts to patient services by the University of Vermont Health Network.

(NOVEMBER 14) Stephen Leffler, M.D.’90, president and chief operating officer of the UVM Medical Center, commented to Seven Days on the University of Vermont Health Network’s recent announcement of sweeping service cuts—which the network blames on recent regulatory decisions.

(NOVEMBER 12, 2024) Infectious disease specialist W. Kemper Alston, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine, was quoted in a Public News Service article on so-called superbugs.

(NOVEMBER 7, 2024) A North Country man says lung cancer screening saved his life, WVNY-TV reported. Beth Zigmund, M.D., associate professor of radiology, a diagnostic radiologist with the UVM Cancer Center said only 10 percent of Vermonters at high risk of cancer are being screened.

(NOVEMBER 3, 2024) In a VT Digger article on helping kids navigate election stress, Steven Schlozman, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry, shared advice for parents.

(NOVEMBER 1, 2024) UVM Health Network Chief Medical Officer David Clauss, M.D., commented in a Saint Albans Messenger article on how the IV fluid shortage is impacting Franklin County medical services.

(OCTOBER 31, 2024) Larner social scientist Matt Dugan, M.A., was quoted in a Manchester (Vt.) Journal article about AI-generated text.

(OCTOBER 30, 2024) Linda Klumpers, Ph.D., M.Sc., research assistant professor of pharmacology, spoke to a Cannabis Control Board working group about Vermont’s medical cannabis program, according to Green Mountain Vermont Cannabis News.

(OCTOBER 24, 2024) The Burlington Free Press reported on comments by David Clauss, M.D., chief medical officer at the UVM Health Network, about the necessity to delay some elective procedures due to national shortage of IV fluids following Hurricane Helene.

(OCTOBER 23, 2024) UVMMC neurologist James Boyd, M.D., professor of neurological sciences, spoke with WCAX-TV about a special rehab gym program called Push Back for people living with Parkinson’s disease.

(OCTOBER 21, 2024) Stephen Leffler, M.D.’90, president and COO of the UVM Medical Center and professor of emergency medicine at the Larner College of Medicine, commented to NBC5 about the opening of the new Mental Health Urgent Care Center in Burlington.

(OCTOBER 18, 2024) WVNY-TV reported on the October 18 White Coat Ceremony for the Larner College of Medicine’s Class of 2028. UVM’s White Coat Ceremony is part of a long-standing national ritual that welcomes students into the medical world.

(OCTOBER 16, 2024) Osama Harraz, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology, explained to WCAX-TV his research team’s discovery of the role of the protein Piezo1 in the communication between neurons and blood vessels, underscoring the importance of its function for both blood flow regulation and cognitive health.

(OCTOBER 15, 2024) Bader Chaarani, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, was interviewed by FastCompany for a story on how playing video games in childhood can boost your income as an adult.

(OCTOBER 15, 2024) Maureen Leahy, M.Ed., director of psychiatry and neurology health care services for the UVM Health Network, commented to NBC5 about mental health resources expanding across Vermont and New York.

(OCTOBER 12, 2024) The Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont has secured $10.1 million in renewed funding from the National Institutes of Health, to continue its involvement in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study.