John Rugge is a family physician, Founding CEO, and now Executive Chairman of the Hudson Headwaters Health Network.

The story began with John coming to the Adirondacks in 1974 to finish writing a book on wilderness canoeing and then making a six-month commitment to practice in Chestertown before returning to Albany.  During that interval, an entire generation of solo GPs began departing the area….so leaving didn’t feel right. Thanks to amazing local support and a remarkable, dedicated staff, one community health center after another came to be established with the network becoming a national model for the delivery of primary care in a rural area.

Along the way, John has also served as an active health policy advisor with participation on 30-plus advisory boards and regulatory councils in Albany and Washington. Through it all, the combination of paddling, practicing, and system building has represented for him a true “Adirondack experience.”

Tucker Slingerland, MD, is a family physician at Hudson Headwaters Health Network, a federally Qualified Health Center in northeastern New York serving more than 1,000 patients each day. Dr. Slingerland joined Hudson Headwaters in 2008 after completing a family medicine residency at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Originally from Johnstown, NY, Dr. Slingerland attended Williams College and St. George’s School of Medicine.

As part of his primary care practice at Hudson Headwaters, Dr. Slingerland provides clinical instruction to third-year Albany Medical School and University of Vermont clerkships. In 2014 Dr. Slingerland received the CHCANYS Jack Geiger, MD Award for outstanding clinical services. He has been deeply involved in Hudson Headwaters’ transformation to the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model.

In 2014, Dr. Slingerland joined Hudson Headwaters’ leadership team as Vice President of Strategy, and in 2016 was named Deputy Chief Executive Officer. In July 2017 Dr. Slingerland became Hudson Headwaters’ new CEO, following in the footsteps of founding CEO John Rugge MD.