New Fund Pays Students to Take More College Courses in Early Childhood Education
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New Fund Pays Students to Take More College Courses in Early Childhood Education

Program encourages students to graduate earlier and join the workforce.

BENNINGTON, VT—December 8, 2022— Students pursuing a certificate or degree in early childhood education can get paid to increase the number of college courses they take and graduate sooner. A partnership between the Community College of Vermont (CCV) and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) is leveraging funds secured by Vermont’s federal congressional delegation to pay students while they take college classes.

Many students pursuing a career in early childhood education, otherwise known as child care, are taking classes while working a full- or part-time job. The need for income to cover life expenses can hamper a student’s ability to take a full course load and extends the time until they get their certificate or degree. The new Early Childhood Education (ECE) Residency Program pays students $3,500 if the student reduces their work time and takes more classes.

“The residency program is an outstanding opportunity for students pursuing a degree or certificate in early childhood education at CCV,” said Leslie Johnson, associate academic dean at CCV. “Our students live rich and busy lives, balancing families, work, and careers in addition to the courses that they take at the College. The residency program funds provide a way to alleviate some of the competing demands faced by our students and will support them in accelerating progress toward becoming a professional in the field of early childhood education.”

The Early Childhood Education Residency Program is accepting applications for the spring semester at CCV. The student must be a Vermont resident, be enrolled in a CCV early childhood education certificate or degree program, have completed at least 2 courses at CCV (not exclusive to ECE classes), have completed all financial aid forms, and agree to increase their course enrollment. Students considering applying for the program should discuss the opportunity with their CCV advisor and financial aid counselor. Residency funds are designed to help pay for living expenses during the more intense academic semester.

Paying students to complete degrees more quickly in fields with critical workforce shortages could be a model for addressing the national labor shortage.

“There are community colleges across the nation with students balancing work and academics which slows progression to a degree,” said James Trimarchi, director of Planning at SVMC. “One or two semesters of payment for life expenses, while redirecting effort to academics would shorten the time to a degree considerably and could greatly increase the number of professionals in the labor force.”

The Residency Program has limited funds and is determining funding on a rolling basis. The final deadline for applications is December 15, 2022. The two-page application is simple and should take less than 20 minutes to complete. The program anticipates funding 8-10 residents. For more information and to obtain an application contact James Trimarchi at james.trimarchi@svhealthcare.org. Spring classes at CCV begin January 23, 2023. To learn more, visit www.ccv.edu.

About CCV:
CCV is Vermont’s second-largest college, serving nearly 10,000 students each year. With 12 locations and extensive online learning options, our students don’t have to travel far from their communities to access our degree and certificate programs, workforce, secondary and continuing education opportunities, and academic and veterans support services.

About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, healthcare system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care is among the most lauded small rural health systems in the nation. It is the recipient of the American Hospital Association’s 2020 Rural Hospital Leadership Award. In addition, SVMC ranked fourth nationwide for the value of care it provides by the Lown Institute Hospital Index in 2020 and is a five-time recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. The health system is fortunate to have the support of platinum-level corporate sponsor Mack, a leading supplier of contract manufacturing services and injection molded plastic parts based in Arlington, VT.

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.

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How to Maintain a Healthy Immune System

There are so many things that we have little control over. We can't control what genes we get, how old we are, or what viruses are circulating in our environment, but there is a lot we can do to prevent illness. Remarkably, many of the same habits that protect you from diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease also help your immune system fight infections.

Most viruses can't hurt you until they get inside your body. So, we can help our immune system if we avoid viruses and cut off the ways they travel. Viruses can spread through the air, but not usually for very far. Keep your distance—at least 6 feet—from others, and be a good neighbor by wearing a mask in all public areas.

Viruses that cause the most common illnesses—respiratory infections, including the common cold, flu, and the new COVID-19—travel into the body through your mouth, nose, and eyes and make their way to the areas they infect, like the lungs. The best way to break this chain is to clean your hands frequently, and don't touch your face with hands that have touched anything else. In addition, you can reduce the number of viruses in your environment by cleaning frequently touched objects with a bleach- or alcohol-based cleaner.

Vaccinations are your next line of defense. Immunizations, like the flu shot, introduce a small and harmless part of a virus or bacteria. The vaccine gives your immune system an opportunity to make antibodies against the virus. A vaccinated immune system responds more quickly and effectively when illnesses are introduced. What's more, when we all get vaccinated, we decrease the likelihood that anyone will get sick. If you are unsure about whether you or your children are up to date on their vaccinations, call your primary care provider’s office.

Your third line of defense is living a healthy lifestyle. It is clear that the same things that help the rest of our bodies function also improve the strength of our immune response. Likewise, things that hinder our bodies' ability to function compromise the immune system.

Regular exercise might be the most powerful way to maintain a healthy immune system. By increasing heart rate and blood flow, we allow the cells and substances of the immune system to move through the body freely and do their job efficiently. Similarly, things that slow the movement of cells and substances, like smoking or drinking alcohol in excess, may decrease the body’s ability to function and decreases the immune response, as well.

Getting adequate sleep may also positively affect the immune response. Chronic sleep deprivation has been shown to decrease the beneficial boost in immunity from vaccinations.

Our emotional state, too—whether we are stressed, lonely, or depressed, for instance—affects our immune response so much that a relatively new specialty called psychoneuroimmunology now studies the connection. One pioneering study, conducted in the early 1980s, found that college students operating within a stressful 3-day exam period had fewer of the cells that fight tumors and viral infections. In simple terms, the students almost stopped producing immunity boosters and infection fighters.

Finally, physicians have concluded that eating a mostly plant-based diet—including fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, and lean protein—supports overall health and may also support immunity. Nutritious foods include important vitamins that the immune system needs to function, such as beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc. Note, however, that supplements that claim to improve immune function have not yet been shown to do so to the extent necessary to protect against infection and disease. It is better to eat whole foods that are rich in vitamins rather than take supplements.

Always consult with your provider before making changes to your exercise plan or trying a new supplement and if you have any medical concerns. Physicians and the other professionals working in their offices also provide help for developing a plan for a healthier life. Call your primary care office or 802-447-5007 to find a primary care provider.

Healthy habits, like those that protect your body from disease and infection, are not always easy to adopt or maintain. Perhaps knowing just how important they are to maintaining a healthy immune response will provide the extra motivation necessary to make them a priority.

Kim Fodor, MD, is an internal medicine physician at SVMC Internal Medicine.

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