MERCER COUNTY, WV (WOAY)—Princeton Community Hospital loves National Hospital Week because it allows it to honor the impressive contributions of its clinicians, caregivers, and support staff.
The theme for 2025 is #wearehealthcare and the dedication of those medical professionals.
“As we celebrate this week, we want our community to know that we have these outstanding individuals who are here, ready all the time, 365 to take care of them, if there’s a need,” said President/CEO Karen Bowling.
Since the pandemic, there has been some skepticism about healthcare. Bowling says there’s still going to be flu, COVID, RSV, but as we move past that PCH’s job to is to instill trust, ensure you’re cared for with quality and efficiency.
“In a rural area, it is sometimes a challenge to recruit providers,” the CEO said. “What I’m really proud of at WVU Medicine, PCH, is that we’ve expanded our medical staff since WVU Medicine’s taken over.”
They added neurology, telemedicine, enhanced cardiology and cancer services to ensure the community is being served locally. And PCH’s connection with Ruby and WVU Medicine allows them easy access to specialty care.
“We have the Bluefield campus that provides an emergency department, as well as radiation oncology, and we have behavioral health services at the pavilion,” said Bowling. “Then, of course, here in our hospital, we have an intensive service that didn’t exist until WVU PCH was able to align with our system. Great things have happened. When they come here, to Princeton Community Hospital, they’re going to receive the best care possible.”
She is concerned about anything going at the federal level that would cut Medicaid dollars. Bowling says 22% of West Virginians are covered through Medicaid, with 40% percent children, mothers and children, veterans, and disabled people.
“These are sometimes working poor people who need that health insurance. What happens when Medicaid gets cut? Depending on how it’s cut and what the federal government decides to do, makes people fearful that they will become uninsured,” Bowling said. “They don’t access the healthcare system like they’re supposed to for screening or primary health care. When do we see them in the emergency room? When they’re the sickest.”
PCH has strong feelings about the certificate of need. The CEO says it’s important in a state like West Virginia to protect existing hospitals from unfair competition.
“We have a high population of both Medicare and Medicaid patients, and our population tends to be a little bit sicker because of our health statistics,” said Bowling. “So we advocate with our congressmen and our senators to let them know we want to be able to care for all of our citizens, regardless of their ability to pay.
She says we are fortunate the legislature decided not to take that up this year and our current laws are still in effect.
A native Wyoming County, West Virginian, Bowling says it means so much to her to be in the position to make a difference.
“We’re taking care of my friends, my family, my neighbors, people I know. To be a leader in an organization, to be able to impact policy, to be able to impact change, to make sure we’re recruiting the right specialties,” said the CEO. “One of the most important things I’ve ever done in my career. As an organization, we try to think about the impact it has on the patients and our employees.”
Bowling says National Hospital Week is a good time to tell your providers that you appreciate them.
