Northern Forest Center’s Hale House project to create quality housing, essential to ensuring access to quality care in region

Elizabethtown, NY - University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital (ECH) Director of Human Resources Michelle Meachum says supporting the Northern Forest Center’s (the Center) Hale House and Law Library project is a good investment in the future of the hospital and the community.

ECH has invested a total $300,000 through the Center’s Northern Forest Fund and recently donated another $300,000 directly to support the Center’s project to redevelop Elizabethtown’s historic Hale House and Law Library into middle-market housing.  According to Adam Bailey, the Center’s Adirondack program manager, design work is underway and the renovations are likely to begin in the spring to create four 2- and 3-bedroom apartments in the Hale House and a single-family, 2-bedroom home in the Library.

The connection between access to quality health care and housing is simple, according to Meachum.  “We need quality housing to successfully recruit and retain employees.”  She calls the innovative partnership between ECH and the Center a step in the right direction for the entire region. “It will have a significant impact on recruitment efforts for us and other employers in the region.”

“Caring for our community requires a dedicated team of employees and providers.  In a rural area like ours, recruitment can be difficult, and housing plays a role in that challenge. To preserve access to care and to enhance it where we can, we are doing what we can to make it easier for people to live and work here,” said ECH and Porter Medical Center President Bob Ortmyer.

This is one of several projects the University of Vermont Health system has sponsored to address the regional housing shortages that contribute to the challenges of recruiting and retaining a stable workforce. Limited housing availability can make recruitment difficult, especially in rural communities like Elizabethtown. Those who accept positions often face extended commutes which can lead to high turnover.

In 2024, the UVMH system celebrated the opening of an apartment complex in Burlington, VT, that included 181 units. Another housing investment, Prospect Heights, in Barre, VT opened in 2023. 

“The Center has been working with local partners in Elizabethtown for several years to strengthen the community by writing grants, supporting recreation trails and improvements, and advancing plans for a municipal wastewater system,” said Bailey. "We're looking forward to getting the renovations underway at the Hale House property."

The Center is a regional innovation and investment partner creating rural vibrancy by connecting people, economy, and the forested landscape across northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. It uses a variety of capital sources to fund property purchases and development – funding that enables the Center to take on challenging property development projects that do not attract commercial developers.

“Our approach to creating housing in rural communities depends on support from a diverse set of funds,” said Center President Rob Riley. “The hospital’s vote of confidence in this model through both a mission-investment and capital grant is just the type of partnership that allows us to deliver on our projects and ensure quality, year-round homes for people looking to put down roots here. We hope more investors and funders will join the hospital in supporting our current Adirondack projects and help bring them across the finish line.

In addition to the historic renovation in Elizabethtown, the Center is currently constructing a multi-family residence in Tupper Lake, across the street from the high school. It also recently completed the renovation of historic buildings in St. Johnsbury, VT and Bethel, ME to create 18 apartments and two commercial spaces.