Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

Issue Position: Health Care

Expanding Access to Medical Care

Health care is one of the most important services that a community can provide for its citizens. Whether for routine checkups or for more complex procedures, health care facilities that are close-to-home are important resources for local residents.

Across West Virginia, especially in our more rural areas, there is a serious shortage of doctors. Too often, families must travel long distances to see a physician, and even farther if specialized care is required. That is why, throughout my career of public service, I have worked to expand the reach of our medical facilities.

One such effort is the Robert C. Byrd Center for Rural Health, based at Marshall University. This center, constructed through $4.5 million that I added to appropriations legislation in 1992, serves as the base for Marshall's rural medicine outreach programs, which affect counties throughout Southern West Virginia.

WV School for Osteopathic MedicineThe West Virginia School for Osteopathic Medicine, located in Greenbrier County, is another important rural health care provider. Through the Robert C. Byrd Clinic, the school is very involved in the medical treatment of rural West Virginians. I added $4 million to an appropriations bill in 1995 to help fund the clinic's construction.

My most recent effort to improve the accessibility of health care is underway at West Virginia University (WVU). WVU is in the process of developing a new medical campus to serve residents in the Eastern Panhandle. The new Eastern Clinical Campus, made possible through $3.4 million that I added to legislation last year, will work with medical institutions, health care providers, and communities across the region. In addition to housing primary and specialty care physicians, the campus will train young people to become medical professionals.

The new medical campus will fill a large gap in West Virginia's health care network, specifically in the Eastern Panhandle. While that region is one of the state's fastest-growing areas, it is plagued by a terrible doctor shortage. The state averages 16.8 physicians for every 10,000 residents, but the Eastern Panhandle has only 9.26 doctors per 10,000 residents, according to WVU. The national average is about 20 physicians per 10,000 people.

West Virginians are proud of their history, their heritage, and their mountains. But that same rugged, rural terrain has been an obstacle for access to quality health care close to home. I hope that the funding that I added to legislation over the past decade will help West Virginia University, Marshall University, and the School for Osteopathic Medicine to overcome the obstacles that prevent many West Virginians from receiving the quality medical treatment and training that they deserve.

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