Ridgefield’s doctor shortage will be intensified by federal budget cuts.
Ask anyone at the Ballard Park playground or Founder’s Hall, and you’ll hear a story about how hard it is to find a doctor and how long they’ve waited for an appointment. Recently, many Ridgefielders experienced their favorite doctor retiring, and when they searched for a new one, they found that there was no replacement.
Despite these stories and experiences, many of us haven’t made the connection: There’s a real shortage of doctors in our town. In fact, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Health Resources & Services Administration had designated Ridgefield to be a Health Professionals Shortage Area. Based on this shortage, the federal government had set aside targeted funding to give Ridgefield students slots in medical schools, so they could achieve their dreams and come home to keep their neighbors healthy. That funding has been eliminated by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“UConn and Yale are already cutting spots in their medical and research programs, especially for local students who get preference for federal grant money,” said Campbell Mitchell, a Yale Doctoral student in public health. “Fewer Ridgefield students will be able to get their degrees, or will pay more to do so, because of this.”
These cuts mean fewer doctors for Ridgefield, now and in the future. Ridgefield students who could have become doctors simply won’t, and when more of our trusted doctors retire, there will be no one to replace them.
The Democratic Town Committee wants our neighbors to know that cuts at the federal level aren’t theoretical: they impact us directly. We urge you to visit our Action Center page to learn how you can fight to reverse these and other cuts that affect Ridgefielders.
Frank Malafronte, a software engineer who moved to Ridgefield with his family in 2021, joined the DTC’s working groups to examine how current federal actions affect Ridgefield. To join the effort, sign up here.