PATRICK COUNTY, Va. – Patrick County’s healthcare crisis intensified as its only urgent care facility announced its permanent closure, leaving more than 17,000 residents with no in-county emergency medical care.
The rural Virginia county has already been operating without a hospital since 2017, when Pioneer Community Hospital declared bankruptcy and shuttered its doors.
“You’d never think that an area this big doesn’t have any type of emergency health care facility available to the people,” said Faith Florence, a Patrick County resident.
Patrick Family Practice released a statement Friday, blaming the closure on low staffing levels. “This decision comes as a result of ongoing staffing challenges that have made it difficult to continue operations at the level of care and service the community deserves,” the practice wrote in a Facebook post.
The closure forces residents to seek medical care in neighboring jurisdictions, including Franklin, Floyd, and Henry counties in Virginia, or Mount Airy in North Carolina – requiring hours-long ambulance rides that strain the county’s volunteer emergency services.
Patrick County Board of Supervisors member Doug Perry highlighted the preventable nature of many emergency calls. “A lot of our emergency calls stem from ‘well somebody should’ve gone to the doctor a month ago or last week,’” Perry said. “You know, preventive actions that would reduce a whole lot of emergency calls.”
The situation reflects a broader healthcare crisis in rural Virginia, where over half of counties and independent cities are designated as “Health Professional Shortage Areas.”
Perry pointed to federal funding cuts as a significant obstacle in attracting healthcare facilities and staff to the county. “They’re cutting out all this medical support and they’re killing us,” he said. “A lot of the money that was lost was money communities like this depend on.”
For residents like Tara Tramonte, the situation feels helpless. “There’s nothing I can do to change it,” she said. “I’m in relatively good health for my age, but there’s a lot of people out there who need urgent care, literally.”
However, there may be hope on the horizon. Braden Health, a Tennessee-based company, announced in 2024 that it would be restoring the Stuart Community Hospital. While work continues on the hospital restoration, no specific timeline has been set for its reopening.