ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – Our hometowns face a dire issue, a rural health care shortage. Maybe you’ve heard about it. Maybe you’ve experienced it yourself. Now, it could get worse.
Our area has seen medical center closures in recent years, such as Augusta Health Primary Care Center in Buena Vista and a Roanoke location for New Horizons Healthcare. That does not even include labor and delivery programs that have shut their doors, such as LewisGale Hospital Montgomery in Blacksburg, Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital and Centra Southside Community Hospital in Farmville.
Now, a new report from Virginia’s Joint Commission on Health Care is raising concerns about the future of more rural hospitals, some of which are in our area. Those include Carilion facilities in Giles and Tazewell, LewisGale Hospital Pulaski, Bath Community Hospital and Sentara in Halifax…