ARCC Announces Dr. John Rugge as Recipient of The 34th Annual J. Walter Juckett Community Service Award

The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) is pleased to announce that the 34th Annual J. Walter Juckett Community Service Award will be presented to retired physician and founder of Hudson Headwaters Health Network, Dr. John Rugge. Dr. Rugge will be presented with the award at the ARCC Annual Dinner on the evening of March 10, 2023, at The Sagamore Resort.

“We are excited to celebrate Dr. John Rugge as the 34th Annual J. Walter Juckett award honoree. Dr. Rugge is so deserving of this honor. As the founder of Hudson Headwaters Health Network, his passion and drive to further healthcare in our region is admirable. We are fortunate that Dr. Rugge chose to stay in our region and establish a healthcare system that helps so many of our community members,” said ARCC President & CEO Tricia Rogers.

John Rugge was a family physician who dropped into the Adirondacks to finish writing a canoe book in 1974. He then accepted a position with the Glens Falls Hospital to serve as supervising physician at a brand-new health center in Chestertown, with the intention of practicing for six months before returning to Albany Medical Center.

As it turned out, all the surrounding communities were losing their GPs to retirement, and he found it impossible to depart with no one to take his place… So instead, he combined medical practice with community engagement – and grant writing – to establish the Hudson Headwaters Health Network. This network has grown to include 21 health centers from Saratoga County all the way up to the Canadian border, with some 200 medical providers and more than 150,000 patients. Dr. Rugge observes the way local needs generated remarkable community support, and this attracted the attention of health care policymakers in Albany and Washington, leading him to serve on 40 government advisory panels, task forces, and councils… All of which has served to make Hudson Headwaters a model for others across the state, and across the nation.