Little Rivers Health Care looking at strong 2027

Bernie Marvin

Director of Facilities at Little Rivers Health Care, John Vose, at right, directs a tour of the building that will house a new dental and pharmacy area in Wells River. The tour was part of the Annual Meeting sessions last week. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin

Wells River, VT – Little Rivers Health Care of Vermont reported a strong 2026 and a positive outlook for 2027. The organization shared the news this week during its Annual Meeting celebration, held at several nearby venues in Wells River.

Attendees at the busy afternoon and evening presentation saw the completion of a major capital campaign and considerable facility modernization across its rural network. 

Despite the usual healthcare pitfalls such as lack of adequate staff, workforce housing, and rising costs, Little Rivers Health Care, a federally qualified health center, remains stable and is unlocking several exciting activities across its work areas.

Interior construction at the Whitney Rowe Clinic in the heart of Wells River is nearly complete, with a major expansion from the days when Dr. Harry Rowe and his wife, Mary, began the long history of their medical office in the front room of their home at 65 Main Street. 

Dr. Rowe had just returned from his heroic medical officer duties during World War 2, and through the early lean years of the clinic, the Rowes worked seven days and nights a year to keep the outstanding success of their efforts afloat so that, over the next 80 years, this giant of a medical miracle for this rural country region survived. 

The Rowes are gone now, but their work lives on. That was evident at last week's Annual Meeting, as CEO Andy Barter spoke to the overflowing room at the Wells River Congregational Church (where a wonderful dinner was served) and shared the good news of Little Rivers Health Care's successes in several areas.

The Whitney Rowe Clinic has been expanded, with new accessible exam rooms to accommodate patient growth. Also, in September 2026, Little Rivers Health Care invited bids to further modernize its Bradford, Newbury, and Wells River Health Centers, funded through Vermont Rural Health programs.

Another project, this one nearly next door to the Rowe Clinic in downtown Wells River, is to be a modern dental clinic, born from an old, dilapidated building, standing as an environmental disaster from its early years of gasoline and motor oil storage, which was an eyesore for many years, has undergone an amazing refurbishment that casts Wells River as the handsome place it has always been despite the slice of blight on the southern end.

Prior to the public opening of the new dental/pharmacy building, The Bridge Weekly was escorted for a walk through to experience the entire building with an explanation of rooms and equipment for each individual area and function of the new building. The tour was directed by John Vose, Director of Facilities, Risks and Infrastructure for Little Rivers Health Care.     

Little Rivers Health Care took ownership of the property and is converting it into a handsome pharmacy and dental office building, which was opened for a tour by annual meeting attendees.

The combined building, to be known as River Hub Pharmacy, will offer a host of services, providing the public with a local place to refill and pick up prescriptions, use mail-order options, and access a pharmacy that will allow patients to coordinate care with their medical providers.

The building will also include a dental care facility focused on preventive and restorative services and expanded food-access programming through its Food Farmacy, a place for food prescriptions for good health.

Also, up and running was the Little Rivers Health Center's Healthy Weight Solutions, launched earlier this year as a program that introduces evidence-based medical weight management and lifestyle medicine.

The Food Farmacy, located at the new River Hub Pharmacy, partners with Willing Hands and has provided its "produce by prescription" program to serve nearly 100 chronic illness patients, routing 600 to 1,000 pounds of fresh produce weekly.

Little Rivers Health Care CEO Andy Barter offered the following comments to The Bridge Weekly relative to the Annual Meeting and Report.

Reflections on the annual meeting and our successes:

The evening was a meaningful celebration of twenty years of Little Rivers, with the strongest annual meeting attendance I can recall. It was an opportunity to recognize the people who helped establish Little Rivers and the staff, board members, patients, and partners who continue to carry that vision forward.

Our recent accomplishments include the Whitney-Rowe Clinic expansion, with nine additional exam rooms, and the new Health Access & Dental Center, which creates space for expanded dental services and our future pharmacy. We have also continued to strengthen behavioral health services in our clinics and schools, care at home, and nutrition support through the Food Farmacy.

Over the past five years, we have increased our medical provider roster by 27%, from 11 to 14 providers, expanding the resources available to meet our patients’ needs. Continued recruitment builds on that growth and supports our commitment to reliable access and continuity of care.

In 2025, Little Rivers served 7,350 patients and provided 47,390 visits, nearly 6% more visits than the previous year. Our renewed Patient-Centered Medical Home recognition and improved financial performance provide a stronger foundation for the work ahead.

Looking ahead to 2027

We see 2027 as a year of putting significant new investments into action. Little Rivers has received more than $3 million across four first-year Rural Health Transformation awards supporting care transformation, facility improvements, mobile healthcare, and pharmacy-based test-to-treat services.

We are also growing the breadth of services available to our patients. Healthy at Home brings care into patients’ homes, while our Food is Medicine work and Food Farmacy connect nutrition support with clinical care. Healthy Weight Solutions and our Healthy Movement Program offer additional ways for patients to improve their health, including digital and home access. We continue to provide integrated behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment, while preparing to expand dental care and open our pharmacy.

Through the RIVER Community Health Network, we plan to connect these services more closely with our clinics, community partners, and new mobile services in communities including Groton. This will help reach people who face transportation barriers or have difficulty accessing care in a traditional clinic setting.

Alongside continued recruitment and workforce development, these efforts reflect a broader vision for rural healthcare: caring for people in our clinics, homes, schools, and community settings, with services that address both medical needs and the everyday conditions that influence health.

River Hub Pharmacy opening

The pharmacy space is built, and we are working through licensing, staffing, and the remaining operational preparations. Recruiting a pharmacist-in-charge is a key step. We do not yet have a confirmed opening date, but we will share one as soon as those requirements are in place.

A dinner was served to attendees during the Little Rivers Health Care Annual Meeting held last week in Wells River. Standing at right is the organization’s CEO, Andy Barter. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.

The Bridge Weekly Outdoor Writer Gary Moore chats with well-known Wells River Municipal Official Richard Roderick after attending a tour of the new dental and pharmacy building during the Little Rivers Health Care Annual Meeting. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.

Attending the Little Rivers Health Care Annual Meeting held last week in Wells River was Stephen Genereaux MD, a physician at the Rowe Clinic. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin

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