MADISON, W.Va.—– Eight rural hospitals in the state are receiving much needed funding totaling $40 million, in order to help the hospitals continue providing care for patients.
The funding was obtained through the Rural Hospital Grant Program that was launched by Governor Jim Justice in October. The hospitals in question had to fill out an application requesting an amount. All of the hospitals received the amounts that they had requested.
Governor Jim Justice (Governor’s office)
Justice said during the ceremony that this funding brings good into rural communities.
“We’re here to do absolutely do a lot, a lot of good stuff,” Justice said. “But we’re here to put a stake in the sand again to say that rural health, is absolutely the life blood of all of us.”
One of the hospital’s, Boone Memorial Health, received over five million dollars in funding.
BMH Chief Executive Officer and President Virgil Underwood said that he was grateful to be able to host the event and was very thankful for Justice and everything he did to get this funding.
“We’re incredibly honored to host this important announcement at Boone Memorial Health,” Underwood said. “We are deeply grateful to the governor’s commitment to strengthening rural healthcare across West Virginia.”
Underwood said that while the funding will allow Boone and other hospitals the opportunity to get new equipment and technology, it will go beyond that.
“For southern West Virginia, this generous grant funding represents more than just new facilities and new equipment, it represents jobs and it represents hope, it means that individuals struggling with challenges may not have to travel as far, it means that we can continue our mission in improving access to high quality care for the residents of Boone, Logan, Lincoln and southern Kanawha County and other surrounding counties,” Underwood said.
Virgil Underwood, CEO and President of Boone Memorial Health
For Boone Memorial, they will be using their funding in order to increase their capacity to provide time and care by improving their observation area, construct a new facility in Chapmanville in Logan County, and create an oncology clinic and infusion center.
The seven other hospital’s that received funding Tuesday was, Summers County ARH Hospital, Preston Memorial, Pocahontas Memorial, Roane General Hospital, Rivers Health, CAMC Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, and Minnie Hamilton Health System which received the most of over $11 million.
Justice said during his last remarks that he wasn’t going to stop at this program, he was going to fight every day to bring more funding like this to the state.
“I’m going to try with every single fiber in me to fight every day to bring more and more and more and more goodness to West Virginia,” he said.