A new report from Virginia’s Joint Commission on Health Care identifies Bath Community Hospital as one of 13 rural hospitals in Virginia considered at risk of closure. The report comes as hospitals across the country grapple with workforce shortages, rising costs, federal funding cuts, and changing patterns in how patients receive care. WMRA's Anjoleigh Schindler reports.
Six years ago, Kasey McNabb and her husband packed up their lives in Utah and moved to Bath County. Before they bought a house, McNabb says they checked one thing first.
KASEY MCNABB: We would not have moved here if Bath Community Hospital was not located in the vicinity.
For McNabb, the hospital wasn't just a nearby amenity. It was a necessity. Her mother, who is in her 80s, lives with the family. McNabb’s husband is diabetic. In a rural county surrounded by mountains, access to medical care factored heavily into where they chose to build a life.
Now, a new report from Virginia's Joint Commission on Health Care has her worried.
The report identified Bath Community Hospital as one of 13 rural hospitals in Virginia considered at risk of closure. Researchers found rural hospitals face a combination of challenges including workforce shortages, low patient volumes, rising costs and reimbursement rates that often fail to cover the cost of care.
Bath Community Hospital President and CEO Jane Russell says she was surprised the hospital appeared on the list but agrees rural healthcare faces significant challenges.
JANE RUSSELL: I appreciate that they’re looking at these things because across the United States, rural hospitals are and continue to be – and have been – at risk for closure.
Those pressures are being felt by hospitals across Virginia.
Late last year, Centra Southside Community Hospital in Farmville ended labor and delivery services, as Cardinal News and other outlets previously reported.
In a statement to WMRA, Centra said births at the hospital had fallen to fewer than 275 per year – less than one birth per day. The health system said low patient volumes made it increasingly difficult to recruit physicians and maintain around-the-clock obstetric coverage.
In Harrisonburg, Sentara RMH Medical Center closed its inpatient pediatric unit in 2024, citing low patient volumes and workforce challenges to the Daily News-Record at the time.
Nationally, more than 100 rural hospitals have closed since 2005, according to the report from the commission. Another 139 have eliminated inpatient services and shifted toward emergency and outpatient care.
McNabb says she has begun looking at homes elsewhere. Caring for an elderly parent and a spouse with a chronic health condition has made her think about what happens if healthcare becomes harder to reach.
MCNABB: Honestly, moving our location is a very strong possibility because my husband requires a hospital nearby. If we did not have that, we would have to consider relocating, and that is not something that we can really—one—afford to do and—two—physically do.
Bath County is home to fewer than 5,000 residents. Reaching another hospital can take an hour or more.
Rural hospitals often serve as economic anchors as well as healthcare providers.
Amy Greensfelder is preparing to move to Bath County from the Baltimore area.
AMY GREENSFELDER: That there's a facility so close definitely played a role in the decision.
For Greensfelder, the hospital signaled that even in a rural community, essential services would be close to home.
Hospital President and CEO Russell says the state report looks only at the hospital itself—not the broader healthcare system Bath Community Hospital operates, which includes four rural health clinics providing primary care across the region.
RUSSELL: While the hospital itself may look like it’s shrinking, healthcare that Bath Community Hospital is providing is actually growing.
Russell says the organization remains financially stable and credits its board, employees and longtime support from the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation. She also says the hospital’s independence allows it to respond quickly to community needs.
Still, some residents worry about the challenges facing rural healthcare.
David Puffenbarger, 52, has lived in Bath County his entire life.
DAVID PUFFENBARGER: As far as going into the hospital for stuff like stitches, cold, they're great. They're great to work with. They take great care of you.
Puffenbarger says that while he values having a hospital nearby, he worries about staffing turnover and the difficulty of maintaining healthcare services in a small rural community.
PUFFENBARGER: There's people constantly in and out, in and out. You never have the same people anymore.
As rural hospitals across Virginia navigate financial and staffing pressures, residents such as McNabb say access to healthcare will remain one of the factors shaping whether families continue to call Bath County, and other rural areas, home.
