Business Beat: Wood River Health news includes a new name and look

Wood River Health, formerly Wood River Health Services, serving people in Southeastern Rhode Island and nearby Connecticut, debuts a new look, a new name, and recognizes a staff achievement and new board members as 2023 approaches.

Their Chief Dental Officer, Tiffanie Waldeck, DMD was selected as the recipient of the Rhode Island Health Center Association (RIHCA)’s 2022 Clinical Leadership Award. The award was presented to Dr. Waldeck during a recent RIHCA’s Annual Meeting at the Marriott Downtown.

The annual award recognizes an outstanding health center clinician who demonstrates continued clinical excellence and professional development, innovation in practice or policies, leadership in areas that benefit his/her organization or the system of care, and who gives back to the community.

“Wood River Health commends Dr. Waldeck for this achievement,” shared Alison L. Croke, MHA, Wood River Health’s President and CEO. “She is a tremendous advocate for our patients, and we are grateful to have her among our team of talented and dedicated providers at our federally qualified health center.”

Dr. Waldeck was nominated for this award because she championed quality improvement initiatives that increased the number of Wood River Health’s at-risk patients who receive sealants, and her role in the implementation of electronic dental records.

This award recognized Dr. Waldeck’s efforts to develop a mobile dental program and for leading Wood River’s dental program through the COVID-19 pandemic. Her work as a regular supporter of Random Tuesday, Inc. was highlighted as an example of her generosity in giving back to the community. The award, which was presented during the ceremony, features a recording of Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You”.

Wood River Heath’s dental department provides comprehensive services with a focus on preventative and restorative dentistry.

New Board Members

The agency also recently re-elected John S. Payne, Esq. and elected Kate Porter and Kalpesh Shah to its Board of Directors.  

John S. Payne, Esq. rejoined the Board in May 2022. He serves as the AVP/Compliance Assurance Officer for Washington Trust. Payne holds a Juris Doctor from Penn State Dickinson School of Law and an MBA from University of Rhode Island’s College of Business. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Bates College in 2001.  Payne currently serves as a Board Member for Pine Point School and the Watch Hill Yacht Club Sailing Association. He served on the board, previously, for nine years from 2010 to 2019. 

Kate Porter joined Wood River Health’s Board in July 2022. She currently serves as Associate Director of Communications and Outreach at Brown University, where she provides strategic communications support for the 19 centers and offices across the Division of Campus Life. From 2019 to 2022, Porter served as assistant director of communications and public engagement for the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University. Prior to joining Brown, she spent a decade managing communications, development, and special events for nonprofit organizations, including the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence and South County Habitat for Humanity.  Kate Porter earned an M.S. in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University, a B.A. in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College, and is a graduate of the 2018 Xi II Class of Leadership Rhode Island.  

Kalpesh Shah joined Wood River Health’s Board in May 2022. Raised in India, Shah has always had a philanthropic spirit. Throughout his life, he has connected vulnerable individuals with food, shelter and education. After migrating to the US, he launched Connecticut Fibers, Inc., exporting recycling material to paper mills in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Residents of Wood River Junction, Kalpesh Shah and his wife Jeanette are dedicated to ensuring their community has access to quality health care. Their support helped Wood River Health launch telehealth services, which have been instrumental in helping patients throughout the pandemic. They teach their children and grandchildren what their parents taught them: never forget to give back to your community.  Shah graduated with distinction from N.M. College, Mumbai with B.com degree and graduated with Masters degree in Cost Accounting. He received the Partners in Philanthropy Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2021 for his contributions to Wood River Health.   

As a Federally Qualified Health Center, the majority (at least 51%) of Board Members must be patients served by the health center, and represent the individuals who are served by the health center in terms of demographic factors, such as race, ethnicity, and gender. 

New Name, Logo and Website

Wood River Health Services launched its new name, logo and website as part of its rebranding initiative. The name will change from “Wood River Health Services” to “Wood River Health”. With its new name and tagline, “Caring for Our Community Since 1976”, the federally qualified health center’s visual identity now directly aligns with its long-term strategic vision.

“The name Wood River Health preserves the trust we have earned over the past four decades,” shared Regan Pennypacker, Board Chairperson. “We’re more than a service center. We’re a group of caring professionals dedicated to increasing overall health and wellness in our community.”

“Our health center provides a full spectrum of high-quality health care services, delivered by highly trained clinicians in a family-friendly, community environment,” stated Alison L. Croke, MHA, President and CEO. “We secured a local rebranding firm to help us determine if our brand was effectively communicating this message to the members of our community, or if we needed to update our image.”

The nonprofit partnered with local rebranding firm Imaj Associates, Inc. to test the current brand, verify assumptions and create a thorough picture of the health center. This process included conducting a feasibility analysis, interviewing internal and external stakeholders, analyzing the findings, and ensuring the results properly reflected the nonprofit’s brand promise and values.

The research findings indicated that significant brand equity had been established in the name “Wood River Health Services” on both the local and state level. In light of this information, the Board voted to shorten the organization’s name to “Wood River Health” in lieu of developing a completely new identity.

When participants were asked to describe the health center in one word, their responses included “affordable”, “convenient”, “local”, “caring”, “community-minded”, “comprehensive”, “dedicated”, “professional”, “reliable”, “patient-centered”, “personable”, “welcoming”, “mission-driven”, “clean” and “safe”. This feedback inspired Wood River Health’s new tagline: “Caring for Our Community Since 1976”.

Interviewees also shared that they believed the logo needed to be modernized to better reflect the high-quality healthcare that is provided by the health center, and the new logo features a vibrant image of an orange sun, a pair of green hills and blue river in a circle.

“Wood River Health’s new logo better represents its mission, growth and commitment to its community,” shared Jami Ouellette Morse, President and Creative Director of Imaj Associates, Inc. “The bold yet welcoming colors, drawn from the natural beauty of the area, were selected to connect with patients and help them feel positive, bold and hopeful through their lifetime health care journeys. The interconnection of the individual elements (the water, the land and the sun) represents Wood River Health’s strong partnerships with the medical community, its patients and its donors.”

Imaj Associates was recognized by the international Muse Creative Awards for their work on the Wood River Health rebrand.

Once the logo and tagline were confirmed, the organization switched its focus to updating its marketing material and website. “Our new circular logo resonates wholeness and unity, representing the integrated services Wood River Health provides to its patients across their lifespans,” stated Sarah Channing, MSBA, Director of Development and Communications. “Moving forward, each of our five departments will be represented by one of our logo colors. This color scheme will be carried across our flyers, brochures and website platform so patients can quickly identify the health care services they are seeking.”

Wood River Health secured LDM Designs to assist with developing its marketing material and Envision Technologies Advisors, LLC to translate its modern rebranding into a new website that is secure, easy to navigate, and ADA-compliant. “I am delighted to be asked to assist Wood River Health with translating its new logo and designs across its printed materials,” stated Lia McAlpine, owner of LDM Designs. Envision’s Strategic Account Consultant David Cordeiro said, “Our developers went above and beyond to create a digital experience that could scale with them, and also help them fulfill their mission,” he concluded.

About Wood River Health 

Since 1976, Wood River Health has provided high-quality affordable medical, dental and social services to the communities of southwestern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut. A private, non-profit Community Health Center, it is devoted to providing quality patient care to more than 8,000 patients. Wood River Health is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. A Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), Wood River Health is a community-based health care provider that receives funds from the HRSA Health Center Program to provide primary care services in underserved areas. FQHCs must adhere to a stringent set of requirements including providing care on a sliding fee scale based on the ability to pay and operating under a governing board that includes at least 51% patient-members. For information about its programs and services, visit WoodRiverHealth.org.