By Juliette Sohonage
Access to health care in rural Virginia has emerged as a key issue in the House of Delegates races in the 36th and 37th districts.
“No one should lose access to health care simply because of their zip code,” said Makayla Venable, the Democratic candidate for the 36th district seat.
The closure of three Augusta Health facilities has catapulted health care to one of the top concerns of voters who are being forced to drive farther to their doctors’ appointments.
On Sept. 4, Augusta Health announced the closure of its Buena Vista and Churchville Primary Care clinics and its Weyers Cave Urgent Care unit.
The Buena Vista patients were reassigned to Augusta Health Maury River Family Practice or Augusta Health Primary Care in Lexington. Churchville patients can get care at Augusta Health Family Practice in Verona. Patients at the BV and Churchville facilities will travel within 10 miles to their reassignments.
Weyers Cave patients were given the option of going to Stuarts Draft, Staunton, Waynesboro or Crozet. Staunton is the closest to Weyers Cave, about 20 minutes away. Augusta Health is also sending a mobile clinic to Weyers Cave to provide patients with closer access to care.
“Our neighbors are having to drive 45 minutes just to get basic care,” Venable said. “Working people without reliable transportation often go without care altogether.”
The Democratic challengers faced off with the Republican incumbents during a forum sponsored by the Lexington-Rockbridge Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 23. The candidates responded to questions given to them in advance.
The closures affect the 37th District, which includes Botetourt, Alleghany and Craig counties and parts of Rockbridge County. It also includes Lexington, Buena Vista and Covington.
Terry Austin, Republican incumbent of the 37th District, said during the forum that the clinic shutdowns were “way out of his wheelhouse.” Austin said it was not effective for clinics to be located within 10 miles of each.
“It’s difficult for some people to get an additional 10 miles. But we have to do what we can. Health care is expensive,” he said.
Austin, who has been in the House of Delegates for 12 years, touted the Blue Ridge Partnership for Health Sciences Careers that he said he and former Health Secretary and Human Resources Dr. Bill Hazel worked to create to combat shortages of people who want to work in the health sciences.
Andrew Hartless, the Democratic challenger in the 37th district, said he has a personal perspective on the health care facility closures.
“I had a liver transplant when I was quite young,” he said. “There were no hospitals with specialists available or with a pediatric ward to be able to help me.”
Hartless said if elected, he would focus on preventive care by emphasizing health education in schools.
“Preventive healthcare will save this country thousands of dollars. It will save taxpayers thousands in medical treatments,” he said. “If you can stop it from becoming an issue, you can stop it from going to the emergency room.”
Ellen Campbell, the Republican incumbent in the 36th District, says she supports the use of mobile clinics.
Campbell, who serves on the Rural Health Commission, said Augusta Health and the Rockbridge Area Health Center have deployed mobile clinics, and they’ve been very effective, even though people were skeptical about them at first.
“The people in the community were a little put off by it,” she said. “But they now have people that come up and drive on a tractor to get there, or a lawnmower, or a bicycle.”
Campbell replaced her husband in the House of Delegates after he died in 2022. She was elected in a special election the following year. The 36th District includes parts of Augusta County and parts of Rockbridge County, along with Staunton and Waynesboro.
She said she agreed with Austin that the clinics were not profitable. “This is a terrible thing that happened, and nobody wants to see it, no more than they want to see a school close,” Campbell said.
Venable, who is running against Campbell, works as a home health aide for the elderly and knows how hard it is for senior citizens to pay for health care. She said she likes the mobile health clinics because they go to places where people don’t have transportation or are homeless.
She said if elected, she would introduce legislation to give more incentives to doctors and nurses to work in understaffed, rural clinics.
“We can bring people here, you know, young people,” she said. “We can do tuition forgiveness programs if they agree to work here.”
In an interview, Hartless said he also agreed with Venable about tuition forgiveness for medical students.
Venable, in an interview, said politicians should work across party lines on education and health care issues affecting senior citizens.
“I feel like those aren’t even political issues,” she said. “Those are just basic human issues that everybody cares about.”
Campbell and Austin did not respond to numerous requests for interviews after the forum.