By Stephen Smoot
Two weeks ago, Governor Patrick Morrisey toured the state to discuss health care policy and outcomes. At about the same time, WVU Medicine’s Grant Memorial Hospital’s CEO John Sylvia echoed the dominant themes in a community meeting that brought together representatives from Hardy, Pendleton, and Grant counties.
Getting West Virginia healthier and bringing down health care costs require the same solution, focusing on the ounce of prevention to prevent the pound of cure.
The Governor spoke on the subject as he revealed the themes covered in the State of West Virginia’s application for funds from President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Specifically, he referred to $500 million allocated to each state for health care transformation.
He touted the efforts as key to not only improve health outcomes. Governor Morrisey added that a healthier population overall will be one that will join the workforce in greater numbers. He stated that “the number one issue we face as a state” lies in having the lowest workforce participation rate in the country.
For the Governor, the issues are intertwined. Improving health care outcomes, he argued, will lead to improved workforce participation.
Morrisey called on individuals to take more responsibility for their own health. The Governor said that when he promoted the “Mountaineer Mile” as a daily task that all can do to get healthier, “people took shots and said ‘he needs to walk a few Mountaineer miles.’” Morrisey chucked and added “well yes I did!”
He challenged those who did need to lose weight to “own it” and work toward better health, but also that the health care system as a whole in many ways needs to evolve. In one of his major points, the Governor explained that health care access served as a major obstacle to overcome.
WVU Medicine’s Sylvia shared the same concerns about access in a recent interview and discussed the use of mobile units. Currently, WVU Medicine has lung cancer and breast cancer screening equipment on vehicles called “Bonnie’s Bus” and “LUCAS.” Sylvia said “it gives us opportunities to go into very rural areas where transportation is very difficult and services aren’t already there.”
Going to areas that lack these services, Sylvia stated “makes a great deal of sense. Other organizations, such as Potomac Highlands Guild, have also started using mobile units for services. PHG uses units to carry telehealth equipment into remote areas for mental health treatment. The Governor stated that “telehealth needs to be a staple of a new system where we bring people closer to services . . . or services closer to people.”
West Virginia’s application for the funds, which has not yet been approved, also addressed the health care workforce. The Governor shared that it boiled down to “three words . . . recruit, retain, retrain.” Sylvia described how WVU Medicine has worked toward that goal at GMH.
One of the ways that WVU Medicine addresses building a health care workforce, from doctors and nurses to support staff, lies in offering salaries that will attract strong talent. Sylvia explained that they examine other system salaries in the region and set theirs to a competitive rate. He stated that this policy has helped to bring former GMH employees back while also attracting new talent.
WVU Medicine has embarked on a “circuit rider” concept in terms of hiring specialists to travel between its facilities in a given region, but has seen so far mixed success. While this has worked in some cases, the problem of compensated “windshield time,” as Sylvia described it, has made it somewhat more difficult to implement. The system remains committed to making it work wherever possible.
Their goal lies in bringing expanding specialist services to rural areas. Potomac Valley Hospital, WVU Medicine’s facility in Keyser, will open oncology services soon. GMH has plans to open an eye care clinic in the future as well.
Governor Morrisey described the number of health care jobs in much of the state as “unlimited” and a good way to keep young people in state.
When looking ahead at the future of health care in West Virginia, Sylvia stated that he foresees “more investment in wellness and prevention, saying it’s “something everyone wants and talks about.”
“Hospitals have to take a role in education and prevention,” he added. This includes not only helping individuals live healthier lives, but also “catching illnesses early” by helping individuals attain better access.
Governor Morrisey addressed the issue of time and distance serving as a serious barrier. He noted that in some parts of the Mountain State, even 15 miles could become a relatively long trip and stated “transportation is a big problem here in the Mountain State.” He envisioned bringing together community assets, such as public transportation and other resources and stated that the State must “do a better job” in supporting people getting to their health care.
Sylvia added another aspect that he hoped to see from the application, a “safety net for hospitals.” He stressed that WVU Medicine is financially secure and that fears of closures from adjustments to Medicaid were premature, but “not all hospitals in our state are” in a similar position. Sylvia said that other costs have burdened a number of smaller rural and community hospitals, making them less financially secure.
