This Thanksgiving, as I sit surrounded by the people I love most in this world, I can’t help but reflect on what it took to be here -- alive and healthy. My gratitude extends beyond family and friends to something more intangible but equally crucial: the care of my primary care physician, Dr. John Wilson MD, and the lifesaving support of the Mad River Valley Health Center. And yet, this critical community resource is under threat.
The University of Vermont Health Network has proposed closing the clinic as part of sweeping budget cuts approved by the Green Mountain Care Board. This decision doesn’t just jeopardize the health of Mad River Valley residents — it’s an insult to the very idea of equitable, accessible health care in rural communities.
MADE A HOUSE CALL
Let me tell you why this matters. Three years ago, shortly after the birth of my second child, I found myself in a dire health crisis. Misdiagnoses and delays left my condition — a rapidly advancing case of stage four Melanoma — untreated at a time when minutes mattered. My situation spiraled out of control after being discharged from a hospital unequipped to handle my case. I was in liver failure, my cognitive function faltered to the point where I didn’t recognize myself.
But it was Dr. Wilson — a family doctor in the truest, most compassionate sense — who noticed what everyone else either missed or ignored entirely.
He called incessantly to check on me, pressed the hospital for updates, and ultimately made a house call when I was at my weakest. He immediately recognized that I needed to be readmitted and pushed for the care that saved my life. This isn’t just a story of personal heroism; it’s a testament to why local, deeply connected health care providers matter.
Now, the very institution that has served thousands in this Valley is at risk of being shuttered. The Mad River Family Health Center currently serves 3,000 patients, with a waitlist of over 600 more in need of care.
MORAL FAILURE
The proposal to close it, moving patients to clinics like the Waterbury Family Medicine Clinic — which already has a 550-person waitlist — is a logistical and moral failure. It’s health care cannibalism dressed up as fiscal responsibility.
The UVM Health Network claims these cuts are necessary to address financial challenges, citing a $132 million budget shortfall this fiscal year. But how did we get here? The same system that asks patients to pay ever-increasing premiums and deductibles somehow finds itself unable to prioritize frontline care. Why is it always the essential services — the clinics, the psychiatric beds, the rural outreach — that are first on the chopping block? Where is the accountability for mismanagement and misplaced priorities?
The Mad River Family Health Center isn’t a "nice-to-have." It’s a necessity. It’s a lifeline for those who cannot travel miles for care, especially in emergencies. And it represents something larger: the promise of health care that is local, human, and driven by relationships between patient and provider.
The proposed closure doesn’t just mean inconvenience; it means preventable deaths, untreated conditions, and a community fraying at its seams. It means children without checkups, chronic illnesses left to fester, and emergencies that spiral into tragedies.
IT’S ABOUT LIVES
Dr. Wilson and the team at the Mad River Family Health Center have served this community with unmatched compassion and skill, but even they cannot care for 3,600 people without resources, space, or support. The UVM Health Network and the Green Mountain Care Board must face a hard truth: this isn’t just about numbers. It’s about lives.
Health care is not a restaurant we can close when business is slow. It’s not a recreational service that can take a backseat to other priorities. It is the foundation of a thriving community. The Mad River Valley has already come together in protest, with crowds lining roads in solidarity, demanding a better path forward.
Their voices echo mine: Find another way.
To the UVM Health Network: You failed me once, don’t fail this community.
To the Green Mountain Care Board: You must act as more than a rubber stamp for austerity measures that devastate rural health care.
And to my neighbors: Raise your voices. Write letters, attend protests, and refuse to let this happen quietly. Because once we lose something as vital as the Mad River Family Health Center, we lose more than health care. We lose trust, safety, and the very fabric of our community.
Health care is not a privilege; it’s a right. And I, for one, won’t let it slip away without making a little noise.
For those who want to take action in support of the Mad River Valley Health Center and oppose cuts by the UVM Health Network, here are some resources and ways to get involved:
1. Contact Officials:
UVM Health Network President & CEO: Sunny Eappen
Address: 111 Colchester Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401
2. Green Mountain Care Board:
Address: 144 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05620
3. Mad River Valley Health Center Board of Directors:
For inquiries or to share your concerns:
Address: 100 Mad River Green, Waitsfield, VT 05673
2. Petitions: A petition is currently circulating to protest the cuts at UVMMC, including the closure of the Mad River Valley Health Center. You can add your voice to the campaign here: Stop the Cuts at UVMMC Petition
3. Further Reading and Articles:
◦ Mad River Valley clinic workers rally against UVM Health Network budget at WVMT Article
o Local leaders seek answers after CMVC announces closure of health care centers The Valley Reporter
Young lives in Waitsfield.
