Rutland County’s free healthcare clinic is hitting the road this summer to provide town-by-town medical care to the county’s uninsured and underinsured.
Thanks to a $315,000 federal grant, officials with Rutland County Health Partners said they were able to purchase a special mobile healthcare vehicle. They used it for the first time this month in Wallingford and Fair Haven, said Executive Director Alyssa Scott. "Our volunteer providers were able to see eight or nine patients in Fair Haven in two hours, which was great."
Town visits will continue throughout the summer with scheduled stops in Wells on June 2 and Brandon on June 15.
“We have space for four volunteers in the rig, as well as an area for providers to do their documentation,” said Scott as she opened cabinets during a recent tour. The mobile clinic’s interior is brightly lit and immaculate. Solar panels on the roof provide power, and there’s a lot of storage for things like a portable defibrillator, nicotine replacement therapy for anyone who’s trying to quit smoking, glucose monitors and other medical supplies.
“It’s set up just like a regular doctors’ office,” said Scott, walking into a small exam room in the back that has a reclining chair covered in crisp white paper.
The space can also be used for dental care and will have a dental X-ray machine, said Kathleen Boyd, who leads the nonprofit's board of directors.
“The folks we care for,” Boyd said, “are not just underinsured or uninsured, they also do not necessarily have the transportation needed to be able to get to us,” she said, referring to their main clinic in Rutland.
The nonprofit's funding comes from a variety of public and private sources, including the United Way of Rutland County. According to their annual report, they served 387 patients in their clinic in 2025, plus an additional 315 individuals experiencing homelessness with outreach partners.
“It’s very important to us and it's part of our mission to reach all folks who are in need of healthcare in every corner of Rutland County,” Boyd said.
Federal cuts to healthcare funding in the last year have made their work even more important, she said. “Our younger patients tend to have no insurance at all, while our older patients are underinsured.”
“We are getting more folks coming in and asking questions, specifically those with Medicare, because buying a supplement or a gap insurance or even a pharmacy plan is something out of their financial reach.”
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Because of that, Boyd said, they’re seeing more older Vermonters than they have in the past with many unable to afford the medications that they need to keep their chronic conditions in check.
Their new mobile clinic will broaden their reach, Scott said, but it will be important to find the right locations and make sure people know they're coming.
Fair Haven Town Clerk Danielle Laramie said there’s certainly a need in Fair Haven and she was gratified to hear they were the mobile unit’s first stop. “Just to get to Rutland from Fair Haven is not easy if you don’t drive or have a car.”
Ironically, Laramie said Fair Haven residents voted down the $2,000 funding request Rutland County Health Partners sought on Town Meeting Day. It surprised her because she said the town approved similar funding requests in 2024 and 2025. “Taxes are a tough sell this year,” she added. “Everyone’s feeling it.”
Rutland County Health Partners is part of a statewide network of clinics that offer free medical care and referrals. Find the one closest to you here.
