BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – In some unfortunate news, an official announcement was recently made by North Star Health that the Rockingham Health Center, located at 1 Hospital Court in Bellows Falls, will be closing its doors, effective Jan. 1.
In a recent email that was sent out by Chief Executive Officer of North Star Joshua Dufresne to all the patients who currently utilize the center, he stated that the main factor in deciding to close its doors was a reported 50% dropoff in the overall number of patients that have attended the center since 2020.
According to the issued document, The Rockingham Health Center currently serves an estimated 2,300 patients, and when the Bellows Falls facility closes, they are encouraged to transfer to the other nearby North Star centers in Springfield, Vt., or Charlestown, N.H.
Four years ago, Springfield Medical Care Systems separated from Springfield Hospital during a bankruptcy restructuring, and in 2022, the small network of clinics rebranded as North Star Health, offering facilities in Bellows Falls, Springfield, Ludlow, Chester, Londonderry, and Charlestown, N.H.
However, North Star has struggled recently, and therefore it was decided to close and consolidate the Rockingham facility because it was simply the most expensive to operate. The Rockingham providers will be moving to other North Star clinics in Springfield, Vt., and Charlestown, N.H., and patients will be able to follow their current providers, or choose other area facilities that are accepting new patients. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky to be mobile enough to follow their doctor to Springfield, Ludlow, Chester, or Charlestown.
The ultimate decision to close the Rockingham facility was recommended after a 2024 study was commissioned by the Green Mountain Care Board, where it was determined that a number of Vermont’s smaller medical facilities and hospitals should, given their financial conditions, ultimately close and/or merge with larger parent facilities.
The closing of the Rockingham Health Center has been met with surprise, uncertainty, and dismay from many Bellows Falls residents, especially those who utilize the local facility regularly. Marty Gallagher is the executive director of Greater Rockingham Area Services (GRAS), the local nonprofit organization that owns the building, which was previously the Rockingham Memorial Hospital. Springfield Hospital’s Windham Center for Psychiatric Care, which also operates out of the same building, will not be affected by the changes.
In a recent community forum held at the Rockingham Health Center in late November and attended by Dufresne and the Rockingham Selectboard, the town and community is rallying behind the health center and GRAS, in hopes of changing the minds of North Star Health on the decision to close the health facility.
Rockingham town manager Scott Pickup also reported at the forum that attempts to contact Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Peter Welch, and Rep. Becca Balint with a plea for funding have thus far been unsuccessful.
Gallagher also attended the forum and reported that the GRAS building was in no danger of closing, and that plans to install a new heating system in the building remain all systems go. She also indicated that if something cannot be worked out with North Star, the goal will be to hopefully bring in some other kind of urgent medical care facility.
The building currently houses, along with the aforementioned Windham Center for Psychiatric Care, a health club and physical therapy facility, as well as the Bellows Falls public access television station FACT TV.