RALEIGH COUNTY, WV (WOAY) – New River Health is ensuring rural southern West Virginia has access to the medical care it needs, unveiling the provider’s newest location on Sunset Drive in Beckley.
They say there’s going to be more of a need for organizations like New River to provide primary care with everything happening in Washington and Charleston, regarding the One Big Beautiful Bill, and a potential loss of some coverage.
“There are a number of uninsured people who are afraid to go to the physician’s office because of the bill,” said CEO John Schultz. “We have a sliding fee scale for those individuals to pay based on their family size and income.”
They hope that with additional sites, more of the uninsured will utilize their primary care services.
“And we have transportation for those who may need a ride to and from their appointments,” Schultz said. “I think we’ll be doing a lot of outreach and marketing on social media, and traditional media as well, to reach those individuals and let them know we’re here.”
Everyone calls it a great development for the brand.
“I think it’s wonderful when New River is expanding its locations and growing every day, trying to provide the best care and quality care that we can to patients,” said Family and Geriatric Nurse Practitioner Tammy Smith.
Smith grew up in Raleigh County.
“I’m very involved in the community, and this is just another way of us being more involved,” the nurse practitioner said.
According to Schultz, New River has roughly 2,000 unique patients, who visited their sites 120,000 times in 2024.
“We have about 30% Medicaid, 30% Medicare, and 15% uninsured. The rest is commercial. We’re expecting the uninsured percentage to double as the Medicaid and Affordable Care Act changes happen,” said the CEO.
Joining New River in Fayette and Nicholas County, Schultz calls the Sunset Drive site an asset to this part of Raleigh County.
“We’re planning on a couple of other locations and will make those announcements at the beginning of next year,” he said.
