By Joseph Letnaunchyn
During these unprecedented times, we’re all seeking comfort in the few things in life that we can count on. Family. Friends. The sun coming up in the morning. The flowers blooming in the springtime. And there is something else that we all can count on — the hospitals and health systems in West Virginia. They are diverse, impressive buildings — but more importantly, they are places that take us from illness to wellness even when the world around us seems chaotic and uncertain.
Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, the 46,000 frontline health care professionals in West Virginia’s hospitals and health systems are our heroes, and very fittingly, we celebrate them this week as we recognize National Hospital Week, May 10-16.
While there are many individual health care observances throughout the year aimed at recognizing doctors, nurses and other health care professionals for their important roles, National Hospital Week gives us the opportunity to recognize all our health care professionals. No matter their role, everyone at a West Virginia hospital contributes to the mission of providing excellent care and interacting with their patients. Every employee is an important piece of the puzzle that makes up the remarkable hospital field in West
Virginia.
We are the largest component of the health care sector in West Virginia, supporting nearly $10.5 billion in economic activity to our state’s economy.
The West Virginia hospital community is not without its challenges, some of which are rooted in long-standing realities of rural health care. These challenges are well-documented by recent announcements of hospital closures and financial difficulties, but it bears repeating — especially now, in the face of a pandemic that’s putting even greater pressure on the health care delivery system in West Virginia. A heavy reliance on government payers and an older population with more chronic conditions, to name just a few issues, are all contributing factors to the continuing strain placed on our hospitals. I’m encouraged, however, by the increasing stakeholder attention to these and other health care needs in West Virginia.
I’m incredibly proud at how our hospital leadership teams and their compassionate caregivers continue to respond and step up in heroic and unprecedented ways. And I know that our West Virginia families, friends and neighbors all feel the same way, because together we’ve cheered our nurses, physicians, emergency medical technicians, orderlies, dieticians and other hospital workers who have cared for and touched the lives of their patients under extraordinary circumstances. Together, we’ve applauded the lab techs and scientists working around the clock who perform test results and develop new innovations. And we now see a path forward to what will be a new normal for all of us.
We continue to be inspired by the ingenuity and dedication of the women and men of West Virginia’s hospitals. In times of crisis, patients and communities turn to their local hospitals, and it remains the same now in these uncertain times.
This week, I hope all West Virginians will join us in recognizing the vital role our hospitals and health systems play now and always. Accidents happen. Illnesses happen. Births happen. And, yes, pandemics happen. But as they happen, there’s one place that West Virginians can rely on in good times and bad, 24/7 — your hospital. Thank you for all you are doing.
Joseph Letnaunchyn is the president and CEO of the West Virginia Hospital Association.
