ESRH Visits Richmond and D.C. To Call Attention to Key Initiatives Affecting Health Care

Eastern Shore Rural Health System, Inc. representatives traveled to Richmond in January and Washington D.C. in February to advocate on behalf of community health centers. Community health centers are community-based and patient-directed organizations that provide affordable, obtainable, high-quality primary health care services.

Rural Health recently has been awarded a $159,000 federal appropriations grant in support of dental services for children. The grant award, recommended by U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and U.S. Senator Mark Warner, will be administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration. This request originated from a 2023 visit as part of a National Association of Community Health Center Policies & Issues conference in D.C. Details of the project to be supported by this funding will be announced shortly.

Two Community Health Center efforts were successful in the 2024 Virginia General Assembly. State appropriations in support of Community Health Centers was raised by $1.5 million annually, to roughly $4.9 million per year. This addresses the pressing needs of health centers, such as rising costs associated with care delivery, unmet patient needs and workforce challenges. The dollar amount of state appropriations had not increased since 2015 despite a 49% increase in health care costs over six years. Virginia community health centers’ cost of care is lower than the national average by 18%. Severe workforce shortages, which existed before the pandemic, and growing salary gaps make it difficult for health centers to retain and recruit staff.

Eastern Shore Rural Health Advocacy Committee members met with legislators in Richmond in late January. Pictured here are (left to right) Rural Health Board member Jay Davenport, Board President Dr. Betty Bibbins, Digital Marketing Associate Caroline Williams, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joan Lingen, CEO Jeannette Edwards, Del. Rob Bloxom, Board member Ebony Brown, Director of Communications and Development Amy Bull, Chief Dental Officer Dr. Scott Wolpin and Advocacy Committee member Bob Kerns.

A change in scope directing the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services to provide Community Health Centers fair reimbursement for Medicaid patients, with federal matching funds, was also approved in the 2024 Virginia General Assembly session.

Rural Health Advocacy Committee members attended a legislative briefing held by the Virginia Community Healthcare Association and met with Virginia Del. Rob Bloxom, Sen. Bill DeSteph and Del. Mark Sickles in Richmond in late January. Advocacy Committee members then attended the National Association of Community Health Center’s Policies & Issues conference in D.C. in mid-February. This conference included visits with Rep. Jen Kiggans, Rep. Abigail Spanberger and key staff members from the offices of Sen. Tim Kaine and Sen. Mark Warner. The Rural Health delegation met with all elected state and federal officials representing Virginia’s Eastern Shore along with U.S. Rep. Spanberger, who is running for Governor of Virginia in 2025, and Del. Sickles, who is a ranking member of Virginia’s Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee and a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Resources.