Valley Health Connections was originally formed as the Precision Valley Free Clinic (PVFC) and began as an umbrella agency of the Springfield Family Center. The free clinic was the vision of many dedicated local people who saw a need to improve access to health care. An initial grant by Springfield Hospital, a matching grant from the Byrne Foundation, and contributions by the community contributed initial start-up funding that led to the clinic seeing its first patients in March of 1999. In 1999 the PVFC also joined Vermont’s Free and Referral Clinics (formally known as the Vermont Coalition of Free and Referral Clinics) to start working with other free clinics in Vermont to address the ever growing healthcare needs in the state.

A Board of Trustees was established in February of 2000 at which time the boards of the Springfield Family Center and the Precision Valley Free Clinic voted unanimously that the PVFC become an independent entity. On January 21, 2000, PVFC officially became incorporated in the State of Vermont and was designated as a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization.

PVFC operated as a free clinic for a few years before the FQHC, now called North Star Health, was formed. With the new local resource bringing increased access to primary care and other healthcare related treatments to the area, the PVFC ended services as a free clinic and became a referral clinic to assist patients in accessing needed services by working with our local healthcare systems.

Since January 2005, all patients have been referred directly to local health care providers for episodic, specialty, and primary care. The staff and the board of directors of the Precision Valley Free Clinic decided in 2006 to operate under the name Valley Health Connections to better reflect how services are provided.

Today, Valley Health Connections continues to work with North Star Health, Springfield Hospital and local practices to assist residents in the counties of Windham, Windsor and parts of Sullivan access health insurance, financial assistance for medical bills, along with needed medications and dental care.