ICYMI: Miller's Op-Ed: New Williamson Memorial Hospital a leader in rural health

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) penned an op-ed in the Herald-Dispatch on the background of the new Williamson Memorial Hospital and how the improved facility will make a positive difference for rural health care and southern West Virginia.

Herald-Dispatch: Carol Miller: New Williamson Memorial a leader in rural health

"Rural hospitals are indispensable to the health of 46 million people in America. Many are fighting for their very existence. A hundred rural hospitals closed and nearly a hundred more have converted to exclusively emergency or outpatient care since 2005, according to a University of North Carolina study.

In southern West Virginia, a different story is unfolding. Showing the resilience that is so much a part of our state, the new Williamson Memorial in Mingo County recently was licensed to operate as a 76-bed general hospital. That represents a turnaround rarely seen in the complicated world of rural health.

When Williamson Memorial Hospital shuttered in spring 2020, Williamson Health & Wellness Center stepped in and purchased the facility. The leadership and staff of Williamson Health & Wellness Center have worked tirelessly since to bring back Williamson Memorial.

That effort required the investment of millions of dollars in public and private money to renovate the facility, which included a full overhaul of the building's heating, ventilation and air conditioning system; the refurbishing of the air quality system; revamping the medical gas system; updating the electrical system; asbestos abatement; the addition of state-of-the-art medical equipment; and so much more.

I recently toured the facility with Tim Hatfield, the CEO, and found the improvements incredible. I was thrilled at how this will positively impact southern West Virginia. The team at the new Williamson Memorial has hired 50 people to restart the facility, generating $2.2 million in payroll and benefits.

The new Williamson Memorial serves to provide access to care that patients otherwise would lack and delivers an economic engine to the Tug Valley.

Unfortunately, we in West Virginia know the odds are stacked against rural hospitals. Hundreds across the country are at risk of closing because of financial woes, according to a study by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. These odds haven't stopped C. Donovan Beckett, or 'Dino' as most of us know him, and his team from aspiring for more.

I know the staff at the new Williamson Memorial have a blueprint that will bring success where others have struggled. Through integration with Williamson Health & Wellness Center, a federally qualified health center, the new Williamson Memorial will gain efficiencies other rural hospitals lack. This will help the hospital avoid the financial pitfalls that typically await any hospital.

Combining a commitment to the community with a vision to make the new hospital better than ever and sustainable for generations to come, Beckett, the wellness center and the hospital are doing what others thought impossible. Through the new Williamson Memorial, West Virginia is leading the way in protecting access to rural health care."