FAIRMONT, WV – Gov. Jim Justice met with hospital administrators, doctors, other staff members, and additional community leaders at Fairmont Regional Medical Center in Marion County today, to evaluate options after ownership recently announced plans to close the facility in the near future.
“Here’s my bottom line: I want to try to save the whole hospital,” Gov. Justice said. “We’ve got to solve this. We have a rural hospital with patients that want to come here and with doctors and nurses that are literally willing to give up their heart and soul to be able to stay here and have this facility work.
“We’ve got to try to find a way. I don’t know if we can pull it off, but we’ve at least got to work our blooming tails off to see if we can accomplish that.”
During the meeting, the Governor and hospital officials discussed the financial challenges facing FRMC and what may be able to be done to help in any way possible.
“We’ve got to figure out how to make the hospital sustainable economically and that’s right in my wheelhouse,” Gov. Justice said. “Remember, I’m not a politician. I’m a business guy. I understand what has to be done and now you've got to give me a couple days so I can see if I can work something out.”
Over the past year, several privately-owned hospitals in West Virginia have downsized or shut down operations altogether. In light of this healthcare dilemma, Gov. Justice recently established a Rural Medicine Task Force.
“If we don’t take this thing on, head on, right now, and try to find a solution, we’re going to lose hospitals all across our state,” Gov. Justice said. “And if we lose hospitals all across our state, we’ve got a problem like you can’t imagine.
“Give me a few days I hope and pray I can bring you an outcome that’s different from where we stand today. I’m going to work in every way, shape, form, or fashion to solve the riddle to where someway, somehow this hospital can continue right here and continue to work.”