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BUCKHANNON -- Buckhannon Rotary Club members received information Tuesday on the importance of advocating rural hospitals and how the diminishing rate of hospitals are affected smaller communities.
Skip Gjolberg, hospital administrator for WVU Medicine St. Joseph's Hospital, spoke about his hope and desire to form a community grassroots advocacy team for the local Upshur County Hospital.
"Grassroots advocacy is trying to basically get people organized and together to help contact legislators' offices ... when we have something going on, so whether it's local here in town, state, down in Charleston or up in Washington D.C.," Gjolberg explained.
He added, "What I'm trying to do is get people together to become part of this group and people who are willing to call or write or even go and shake hands and talk with the legislators."
As many rural hospitals are unfortunately closing all over the nation, Gjolberg said it's important to have an advocacy team, which will hopefully "fight the battle and help keep our hospital open" via reaching out to state legislators.
He explained 14 percent of employment in rural areas is contributed to the health sector, and hospitals are usually one of the top two employers for a rural county.
Typically small-town hospitals have about 107 jobs, which generate $4.8 million in payroll, Gjolberg said.
West Virginia, like other rural states, have dangerous occupations -- mining, farming, lumber, etc. -- plus a larger older population and uninsured or under-insured residents, which make local hospitals a critical necessity.
"At St. Joe's we've got an emergency room. We do between 1,200-1,400 visits every month. We usually see 35-55 patients a day," said Gjolberg, who added that flu season has brought in more patients recently.
He noted the emergency room makes a big difference for people who have or will suffer from a stroke, heart attack, etc.
"If that ER is not there, it could be a bad thing for some people," commented Gjolberg.
St. Joe's also serves as a tool for Buckhannon's growing economy.
"If a company is looking at maybe coming to town, what are they going to look for? They're going to look for three things - access to quality healthcare, good schools and an attractive labor market," he said. "So we definitely want to try to keep the health care piece going on."
Gjolberg said he'd like to hold periodic meetings to discuss issues, and support legislation that is allowing rural hospitals to continue care for communities.
For those interested in joining the advocacy team, Gjolberg suggests emailing your name, phone number and email address to stjadvocacy@stj.net.