Southern West Virginia News

This week, Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) joined forces with Congresswoman Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) to introduce a resolution in recognition of "National Rural Health Day" on November 21, 2024. The resolution emphasizes the efforts made by rural communities to tackle health care challenges and underscores a commitment to enhancing access and affordability of health care in these areas.

Congresswoman Miller stated, "When we think about health care, we don’t just think about ourselves, we think about the health of our families and friends. Rural health care providers do a wonderful job at building doctor-patient trust and working to find the best solutions to address many challenges rural communities face. As a top priority of mine, I will remain committed to ensuring that West Virginians and everyone has access to affordable and quality health care by working on legislation that aims to achieve the goals of National Rural Health Day."

Congresswoman Tokuda added, "At a time of such deep division in our country, we must continue to find common ground and improve health care access in rural communities. The introduction of this resolution is a testament to our shared belief, as members of the Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, that more must be done to address the unique barriers to health care for our constituents living in rural and remote areas of the country. I am proud to lead my colleagues in this effort and look forward to our continued work to support rural health care providers and patients."

Expressing her perspective from years of experience as a community pharmacist, Congresswoman Harshbarger remarked, "Having served as a community pharmacist for over 35 years, I understand the unique healthcare issues and obstacles East Tennesseans and rural communities across our country face each day. It's a privilege to work alongside colleagues like Congresswoman Jill Tokuda and grow our bipartisan coalition to support promoting policies and legislation to improve access to quality, affordable healthcare."

The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health has recognized “National Rural Health Day” annually since 2011 on the third Thursday in November. Recently, Congresswoman Miller took part in a roundtable discussion hosted by Representatives Tokuda and Harshbarger along with other congressional members and representatives from various rural hospitals nationwide. The discussion focused on improving hospital capacity, financial stability, staffing levels, and service availability.

Hospitals participating included Boone Memorial Hospital (Madison, WV), Pikeville Medical Center (Pikeville, KY), Natchitoches Regional Medical Center (Natchitoches, LA), Golden Valley Memorial Hospital (Clinton, MO), Jackson Parish Hospital (Jonesboro, LA), and Holzer Health System (Gallipolis, OH).