U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito believes there are many fundamental reasons why Mingo County will benefit from Williamson Memorial once again becoming a fully operational hospital.
Capito conveyed this prior to taking a guided tour of the hospital on Monday, Oct. 7.
One reason, she believes, is that it will offer far more accessibility to patients, which in turn will help ease the financial burden on already strained Medicare and Medicaid systems.
Another reason, she said, is that it will represent an economic shot in the arm to a region of West Virginia having been hit hard by the decline of coal.
“If you have to drive however many miles to be able to get healthcare, even on a basic level, number one you’re getting sicker in the meantime, and number two you’re costing the system more,” she said. “So having more accessibility in a community is huge.
“The other thing,” she continued, “is here in Mingo County economic development is something really difficult, particularly with the downturn of coal, and with a lot of job slight, it’s hard to relocate jobs here, but it’s not because no one is trying … everyone’s trying. Healthcare provides jobs, it provides security, it provides a tax base … it provides all that residual effect.”
The senator said she appreciates the many hills that the boards of both Williamson Health Wellness Center and Williamson Memorial have had to climb in order to get to the point at which the hospital now finds itself.
“You’re creating jobs here in the community and obviously the economic revival is really good to see for this region because accessibility is just difficult for rural America,” she said. “We hear about telehealth this and telehealth that, but a lot of things you can’t telehealth, even though in some instances it is very beneficial.”
Capito, who is the ranking member on the House Education and Labor Sub-Committee of the Appropriations Committee, said she is committed to assisting West Virginia hospitals like Williamson Memorial to ensure they succeed in their missions.
“We’ve been able to help a lot of our hospitals around the state, and it’s just an amazing thing that there’s one actually reopening,” she said. “This doesn’t happen very often, and so we want to work with you and your team and see where we can find areas in Congressional Direct Spending where I can direct spending to you. So we may be able to help you jumpstart a few things here, and we’ll certainly work with you to do that.”
While there have been numerous hurdles to jump to this point and while there remain several more to negotiate before the hospital becomes fully operational, Williamson Memorial CEO Tim Hatfield said the finish line is now in sight.
Perhaps the most difficult hurdle to date, Hatfield said, was at the very beginning when opening or reopening a hospital anywhere in the country was an anomaly at best.
“Williamson Memorial was the first hospital nationwide to close in April 2020 due to the pandemic, and since April 2020 there have been more than 35 rural hospitals to close and that have never discussed reopening,” Hatfield said. “But with Dr. (Dino) Beckett and the board of Williamson Health & Wellness and the board of Williamson Memorial, the dedication to reinvest and open a hospital is truly amazing when you think about it. Hospitals are not opening up in West Virginia and hospitals are not opening up nationwide. So we really are a unicorn in a very positive way.”
Hatfield said nearly $15 million to date has already been invested in the reopening of the hospital, which he noted has been an ongoing herculean effort since just after it closed in April 2020.
Since February of this year, he said, the hospital has been state-approved to become a fully operational medical facility again, has received its West Virginia license and, most recently, received both its Medicare and Medicaid authorization numbers.
“Again we were really blessed, because sometimes receiving that (Medicare) number can take months and even years, but we received ours in less than 30 days,” he said. “Most recently, just this past Friday, we celebrated another milestone when we received our Medicaid number.”
Hatfield said the hospital currently employs 50 people, with 60 percent of those being former employees, and that it currently has an annual payroll of $2.4 million. He said there could be as many as 130 to 150 employees by this time in 2025 and, along with the 150 current employees at WHWC, the total number of employees at both integrated healthcare providers could be more than 300 altogether.
Hatfield said near-future plans are to open an after-hours clinic this fall, the hospital’s emergency room in January 2025, and lastly, the hospital’s surgery department by late 2025.
“There are 73 hospitals and 20 integrated healthcare systems in West Virginia, and on June 25 we became number 74,” he said. “That was a monumental day for us to see and take care of our first patient. At this point the synergy is just unreal. We have a lot of excitement … we’re creating patient accessibility close to home, but at the same time we’re creating economic development."