Evergreen Family Health is consolidating in Williston, closing in Charlotte
Evergreen Family Health Partners, a longtime independent practice, is consolidating three of its four offices into a space in the White Cap Business Park in Williston, closing its practice in Charlotte.
The consolidation will reduce costs, increase efficiency and stabilize the practice for the long term, according to a news release. The 18,000-square-foot space in White Cap will be newly fit-up to accommodate all practitioners and staff from Evergreen Family Health in Williston, Evergreen Family Health in Essex Junction and Charlotte Family Health Center, which is currently in temporary space at Shelburne Green.
Dr. Paul Reiss, the original physician in the practice, said Wednesday Evergreen Family Health has been in its current office on Park Avenue in Williston for 32 years, and wanted to stay in Williston. Reiss said the consolidation will happen in late summer "if everything goes according to the plan."
Alder Brook Family Health, located on Essex Way in Essex, joined the Evergreen Family Health Group in 2018, and will remain in their current location, according to a news release.
A bittersweet story of growth
Reiss said Evergreen "actually grew quite a bit" in the pandemic, expanding into offering a primary care sports medicine program. The practice has 18 physicians and about 100 employees in total.
"In some ways it's a positive story of growth, but in other respects it's bittersweet to have to close an office in Charlotte because we can't financially make it work to have a small office," Reiss said. "We recognize we are fortunate to be large enough to survive as a large practice."
Charlotte Family Health Center joined Evergreen in 2017 and relocated to Shelburne in 2019 while trying to find a new space in Charlotte.
"We looked for every opportunity to stay in the Shelburne/Charlotte area to remain convenient for our many local patients, but the ability to maintain a small independently owned office in Vermont's health care environment is challenging," Dr. Andrea Regan said in a news release.
Reiss added that Evergreen's patients in Charlotte and Shelburne "won't be losing their doctors, just losing the convenience and comfort of a site they know."
Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Evergreen Family Health to consolidate its offices in Williston
