The following article was written by Alex Nunes, Executive Editor of The Westerly Sun, and published on January 23, 2026.
HOPE VALLEY – On a recent weekday afternoon, Wood River Health President and CEO Alison Croke walked through the halls of the community health center’s space in Hope Valley, stopping every few steps to point out highlights of the new wing that opened in October 2023.
There’s a private and comfortable space for behavioral health staff to meet with patients, a place for the WIC supplemental nutrition program, a meeting room that expands by opening up a retractable wall, and offices for administrative staff on the second floor.
“Let me show you this space too,” Croke said, as she worked the lights in a room outfitted with patient beds. The space was originally built for radiology, but Wood River Health is now using it for express care.
“It’s almost like an ER,” Croke said.
Croke started in her current role in 2018 and since then Wood River Health has seen significant expansion, in terms of physical space, staff size, and its number of patients.
The health center opened a second medical location at 17 Wells Street in Westerly in July 2019. There’s also a dental facility across the parking lot at 11 Wells Street.
Wood River Health now provides full dental services at a health center on Block Island. Once every other week, staff members either take a ferry or fly out on an eight-seat plane for a 9-minute ride described by one member of the dental team as “terrifying.”
The Hope Valley expansion and renovation cost about $6 million, much of that supported by grants and private donations. The addition is 9,000 square feet and has expanded the total Hope Valley location to 20,000 square feet.
Wood River will also soon move into a space at the community center under construction at the old Tower Street School site.
The Tower Street location will be home to one primary care physician, an express care provider, and behavioral health staff. Croke said Wood River Health may begin seeing patients at the site by the end of the year, but a start date is still undecided.
“We need the space,” Croke said, noting that about 50% of Wood River’s patients live in Westerly.
Wood River Health also needs the extra space in Westerly and Hope Valley to keep up with its expanded list of patients and personnel. In 2020, the health center had 6,700 patients total. In 2025, the patient list stood at 11,888. In 2018, the year Croke started, Wood River had 65 total staff members. It now has nearly 100 people on staff, most of them patient-facing.
“The demand for primary care necessitates this space and more staff,” Croke said.
A major milestone
Right now, Wood River Health is taking stock of its recent accomplishments and how much the nonprofit has grown since its founding in the 1970s.
Wood River Health’s roots are humble: A group of community members, including parishioners at a local Catholic church, believed the communities of Charlestown, Richmond, Hopkinton, and Exeter needed a dedicated community health center because, at the time, only one health center based in Wakefield served South County.
They raised funds, and after receiving federal designation enabled by legislation adopted in 1964, qualified for “new access point” grants to support Wood River Health’s operations.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of that founding, and Wood River Health has several events in the works to celebrate the milestone.
The first will be a “Founders Breakfast” at the Ocean House in Watch Hill in March. Wood River Health will present three awards: the Health Center Champion Award, Community Service Award, and the John Bergeron Legacy Award.
The legacy award is named for Dr. John Bergeron, who died suddenly in 2020 shortly after retiring from Wood River Health. A Central Falls native, Bergeron’s medical training was funded through the National Health Service Corps.
Bergeron joined Wood River after his residency and worked for the community health center for 37 years.
“We’re the only place he ever practiced medicine,” Croke said.
Wood River is also planning a 50th anniversary gala, scheduled for September 18.
Unprecedented challenges
While Wood River Health has a lot to celebrate, the 50-year anniversary is also coming at a challenging time for Wood River Health and community health centers around the country.
Rhode Island, like other states, is facing a shortage of primary care physicians. The challenge has reached a crisis level and is straining resources at organizations across the state. Wood River Health is also facing acute challenges brought on by recent changes in federal policy.
COVID-19 subsidies for health insurance purchased on exchanges started through Obamacare were allowed to expire recently. Some patients are responding by forgoing coverage or opting for plans with lower premiums and higher deductibles, leading to situations where people have higher medical expenses than they can afford.
Because of the added costs, patients may be less likely to come in when they’re sick or follow up on referrals to specialists, Croke and her colleagues say.
Wood River Health staff members are also concerned about the impact from “burdensome” changes to Medicaid that require recipients to demonstrate they meet certain work requirements every six months, instead of once per year.
Wood River Health also noticed recently that prescription drug prices have skyrocketed for Medicare patients, although staff members are not quite sure what’s driving the increase. Is it The Big Beautiful Bill? Tariffs? Less money for research? They’re not sure.
On top of those challenges, Croke said, the federal formula for funding community health centers has not been sufficiently updated to address the changing landscape.
Wood River Health staff members and supporters, however, say they’re undeterred in their mission.
“We’re here because we believe in Wood River Health,” Ruth Morgan, a board member, said in an interview.
Morgan previously served on the board decades ago and came back about five years ago. She’s also a patient who tells people she goes to Wood River Health because she wants good health care and gets it there.
“The board has always been incredibly dedicated,” Morgan said. “But what I’ve seen is the board oversees more complex issues than when I was on the board more than 30 years ago.”
“Federal regulations have simply become more complicated,” she continued. “It’s just a more complicated industry than it was 30 years ago.”
Turning to the community for support
Given the multitude of challenges and uncertainty around federal policy, financial support from private donors and foundations is now “more important than ever,” according to Sarah Channing, director of development and communications at Wood River Health.
Channing highlighted support from the Rhode Island Foundation, The Champlin Foundation, local banks and elected lawmakers like U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner and state Rep. Tina Spears.
“It’s a really tough time for community health centers,” she said. “But we are so grateful for the community members who support us. The level of commitment from the community is astounding.”
Staff members at Wood River Health say they remain motivated by their dedication to patients and seeing the direct impact they have in people’s lives.
Shital Desai is the lead nurse practitioner at Wood River Health. She says she sees patients ranging from “newborns to infinity."
“To serve the underserved population and give them the quality of care and continuity of care [we have at Wood River Health] is what my mission is and what Wood River’s mission is,” Desai said. “It’s the pride that I take home everyday.”
Desai also underscored the satisfaction she feels when she looks around and takes note of all the growth that’s happened at Wood River Health in the 10 years she’s been with the community health center.
“When I first started, it was one little house,” she said. “Now it’s a maze. I’m proud of that too.”
Photos: Harold Hanka, Special to the Westerly Sun
Article Link: https://www.thewesterlysun.com/daily-news-alerts/growth-challenges-and-a-sense-of-purpose-at-wood-river-health/article_4592cb05-bb0d-4004-8907-b9779ae9c79a.html
