SVHC Announces July DAISY Award Winner

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BENNINGTON, Vt. — Amanda Crossman, RN, a nurse in the Emergency Department (ED) at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), was the July recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC).

"Even on the busiest days in the Emergency Department, Amanda makes her patients feel like they are the only ones there," said Pamela Duchene, PhD, APRN, SVHC’s chief nursing officer and vice president for Patient Care Services. "She is competent, compassionate, thorough, and efficient, and that is tremendously reassuring to patients."

Crossman’s nominator came in with a fist-sized abscess on their jaw. While the entire team, including the people escorting the patient to the Emergency Department, the registration staff, and the doctor, was "fantastic," the nurse, Crossman "was a standout."

Crossman received an associate’s in nursing from Vermont Tech in 2016 and started at SVMC as an RN in the Emergency Department that same year. She went on to receive her bachelor’s degree from Southern Vermont College and Castleton University in 2020.

In addition, she is a radiologic technologist and works in the imaging department of Rutland Regional Medical Center and at the Carlos Otis Clinic on Stratton Mountain. She is a certified emergency nurse by the Boar of Certification for Emergency Nursing and serves on the Nurse Advisory Committee.

Crossman and her husband own Crossman’s General Store in Middletown Springs, Vt.

The DAISY Award is part of a national merit-based recognition program established by the DAISY Foundation. It celebrates nurses’ education, training, and skill. Nominations can be submitted by patients, families, physicians, and colleagues. All nominations are blinded, so that they are anonymous, before being reviewed by a selection committee. One nurse is then chosen as the DAISY Award winner. DAISY Awards are presented on a regular basis, usually bi-monthly or quarterly.


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Coggins Auto Group Celebrates Five Years

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
BENNINGTON, Vt. — The family-owned Coggins Auto Group is celebrating five years of operations: Coggins Toyota of Bennington and Coggins Honda of Bennington, and Coggins of the Berkshires in nearby Massachusetts.
 
Mike Coggins purchased three dealerships — Honda, Toyota and Ford — in 2020 with a goal to restore trust and a "true sense of community-minded dealership culture." 
 
"My primary focus from day one was bringing back that connection to the region," Coggins had said back in 2021. "This area values real relationships. They want to know the people they're doing business with. We set out to rebuild that trust."
 
The Ford dealership was sold off in 2023 and Coggins of the Berkshires, with sales and services for used cars, opened the same year in Pittsfield, Mass. 
 
According to Coggins Auto Group, the dealerships had social media ratings of two stars when they were purchased; now all Coggins locations are garnering more than four stars in customer satisfaction reviews. 
 
"We sell cars, and we fix cars, and our goal is just to make our customers happy, and keep our employees happy, and that's what's made this really work these last few years," said General Manager Scott O'Connell.
 
Coggins Auto Group is also involved in events that benefit the community, including its popular annual charity golf tournament that funds local charities and organizations such as the Bennington Little League.
 
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