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Free‑clinic network asks Vermont agriculture committee for $500,000 to stabilize Bridges to Health
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Summary
Vermont's Free and Referral Clinics (VFRC) told the House Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry committee VFRC will fiscal‑sponsor Bridges to Health on July 1, 2026, and requested $500,000 in FY2027 to support staff and operations for community health worker outreach to immigrant and migrant workers; committee members asked for budget comparisons and noted the request is not in the governor's proposal.
Olivia Sharrow, executive director of Vermont's Free and Referral Clinics, told the House Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry committee that VFRC will assume fiscal sponsorship of Bridges to Health on July 1, 2026, and requested a $500,000 appropriation for fiscal year 2027 to cover part of the program’s operating budget.
"This funding … would act as a critical stabilizing funding source and would bolster this essential program," Sharrow said, describing Bridges to Health as an outreach and care‑coordination program that helps immigrants, migrant workers and their families access primary and preventive care.
Naomi Wilco McOsland, who leads Bridges to Health, told the committee the program began informally in 2010 and has expanded state‑wide. "We meet people where they're at," she said, describing community health worker work that helped more than 1,000 farmworkers across about 170 farms in recent years. McOsland detailed on‑farm vaccine clinics, help with Vermont Health Connect paperwork, arranging prescriptions and scheduling prenatal visits around milking schedules.
Committee members sought details on prior state support and whether the $500,000 is included in the governor’s budget; Sharrow confirmed the request is not in the governor’s proposal. A witness noted two earlier, one‑time state allocations for the program—approximately $350,000 and $18,000—while VFRC and Bridges leaders said the proposed $500,000 would primarily cover staff time and other operating costs, not direct clinical care.
Sharrow described VFRC's financial and service footprint: the association's own budget is about $100,000, its legislative appropriation is just under $1,600,000, and to meet its membership rules a sponsored program must be a registered nonprofit; VFRC agreed to take Bridges under its umbrella because there was insufficient time for Bridges to establish an independent nonprofit structure.
The committee pressed for context before acting. Members asked staff to assemble comparative budget and staffing data (current year or proposed vs. 2019) and noted they must deliver recommendations to the Appropriations Committee by the end of next week. VFRC and Bridges representatives offered to remain available for follow‑up questions after the hearing.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the request during the session.
