History
For more than 25 years, the Ottauquechee Health Foundation has fostered health and wellness in the towns we serve through support for education and initiatives and grants to help our neighbors get the health care they need.
OHF began as a health center in the Simmons House in Woodstock in the 1950s. The Foundation moved to the current health center building in 1974. In 1996, health service delivery was taken on by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and the Foundation was created to focus on providing grants and supporting access to health care.
Over the years, additional changes have been made to improve the delivery of care at the clinic, including transferring operations to Mount Ascutney Hospital and Health Center in 2007. In order to focus strictly on healthcare, the building was sold in 2013.
Today, OHF helps people with limited financial resources to access health and wellness services they might not otherwise receive, including medical care, dental care and dentures, hearing aids, eyeglasses, counseling and caregiver support.
Woodstock endorses Health Center Plan
The Health Studies Committee cites critical issues leading to the inability to attract new doctors. These include the lack of adequate facilities and current doctors retiring.
1956: A Vermont Standard article “Woodstock Area in Favor of Proposed Health Center,” highlights the Health Studies Committee’s results and the strong call for a community health center.
1958: Smith/Simmons House was purchased by an anonymous individual and donated to the Ottauquechee Health Center, Inc.
Key Players
J. Peter Gratiot: In 1956, Mr. Gratiot served on the Board of Trustees of the Ottauquechee Health Center as Assistant Treasurer.
George B. Biggs: George Biggs, President of the Board of Trustees for the Ottauquechee Health Center, receives a check from Mrs. William Emmons, Jr. Biggs was a major organizer and financial supporter of the Center.
Dr. Hugh Hermann: Dr. Hermann was the first doctor to serve in the new health center in 1956.
Dr. Jack Butz: Dr. Butz was the first dentist to join the Health Center staff in 1958. From there, he served his community for his entire career.
Dr. Edward Shepard: Joining in 1969, Dr. Shepard was a mainstay of the Center’s practice for three decades.
David Williams and Family: David Williams and family were among the first families to receive care at the center in 1958.
By 1970, the Center was becoming overcrowded and in need of new equipment. Trustees built a new facility behind the Simmons House deemed as “the most modern and complete facility for ambulatory care in upper New England with offices for four physicians and four dentists.”