Virginia Rural Hospital Report Features Policy Recommendations to Strengthen Behavioral Health, Maternal Health, Workforce Development, Telehealth, and Transportation Services for Patients

November 21, 2024

The Virginia Rural Hospital Report Highlights Public Health and Economic Contributions Made by Rural Hospitals, and Features Rural Hospital Programs and Initiatives Focused on Addressing Community Challenges

RICHMOND, VA – Today (Nov. 21, 2024) is National Rural Health Day, which offers an opportunity to showcase the positive public health and economic contributions made by rural health care providers and explore the challenges confronting health care delivery in rural communities.

In recognition of this year’s National Rural Health Day, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) is releasing the 2024 Virginia Rural Hospital Report. The report was compiled with support from the VHHA Rural Health Task Force, and it offers a series of administrative and legislative proposals to help improve and sustain access to care in rural Virginia focused on five policy areas: behavioral health, maternal health, health care workforce development, telehealth, and transportation.

“Rural hospitals are indispensable to public health and critical to local economies as providers of medical care and major employers in their communities,” said VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton. “This report highlights the work of rural hospitals and their central role in supporting community health and wellness. It also speaks to the financial challenges rural hospitals face and features examples of innovative programs and strategies being pursued to serve patients and advance public health in the face of difficult conditions.”

As the report details, Virginia rural hospitals handled 468,520 unique emergency department visits in 2022. Of those encounters, 41,352 resulted in patients being admitted for care. Virginia rural hospitals also accommodated 233,802 patient days from 51,338 inpatient admissions, delivered 2,673 babies, and had 3,420 psychiatric unit admissions in 2022. They also provided $47.9 million in charity care to patients in need, employed more than 9,000 people, and paid salaries and benefits exceeding $851 million.

Such contributions occur while rural hospitals serve patient populations that are generally older, have elevated rates of chronic illness and poverty, and greater reliance on government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare that don’t cover the full cost of care. Rural hospitals also face challenges in recruiting and retaining health care professionals as well as other financial factors that pose serious challenges.

For example, consider that more than one-third (36 percent) of Virginia’s rural hospitals had negative operating margins in 2022. That has been an enduring trend over the years: 26 percent of Virginia rural hospitals experienced negative margins in 2021, 32 percent in 2020, and 40 percent in 2019. Many rural hospitals across the U.S. are struggling, with the University of North Carolina Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research reporting that 193 rural hospitals have closed or been repurposed since 2005, including two in Virginia. Around the nation, hundreds more are at risk of closure, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.

In recognition of the scope of challenges facing rural hospitals and health care providers, Virginia House of Delegates’ Speaker Don Scott took action earlier this year to establish the House Select Committee on Advancing Rural and Small Town Health Care and tasked it with assessing the state of affairs in rural health and care delivery. To support that work, VHHA established the Rural Health Task Force with representatives from Virginia health systems with rural hospitals. The task force met over a series of months to identify the most pressing challenges confronting rural hospitals, elevate the profile of innovative programs serving patients with medical needs endemic in rural areas, and to help develop legislative proposals for consideration by the Virginia General Assembly. That includes ideas to strengthen the behavioral health safety net, provide access to maternal health services for expectant mothers, support medical transportation systems to help prevent unnecessary emergency room visits, and develop initiatives to educate future clinicians and recruit and grow the health care workforce of the future so rural communities have access to quality primary and specialized care.

VHHA extends its gratitude to members of the Rural Health Task Force from the following organizations – Augusta Health, Ballad Health, Bon Secours, Buchanan General Hospital, Carilion Clinic, Centra Health, HCA Virginia, Lifepoint Health, Riverside Health System, Sentara Health, UVA Health, Valley Health, and VCU Health – for their contributions in developing the 2024 Virginia Rural Hospital Report.

About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 111 hospitals and 26 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to achieve excellence in both health care and health to make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Its vision is through collaboration with members and stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of Virginia health care system, transform the delivery of care to promote lower costs and high value across the continuum of care, and to improve health for all Virginians. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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Contact:
Julian Walker
Vice President of Communications
(804) 297-3193 office
(804) 304-7402 mobile
jtwalker@vhha.com