By Charles Owens
For Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Princeton — Gov. Patrick Morrisey traveled to Mercer County Thursday to sign the West Virginia Rural Health Transformation Program into law, a measure that will provide at least $500 million in federal funding to improve rural health care across the Mountain State.
Morrisey joined doctors, health care professionals and lawmakers at WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital for the bill signing ceremony. The Rural Health Care Transformation program is a part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which Morrisey described as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to transform rural health care outcomes across Southern West Virginia.
“When we think about rural health transformation, what better place can we think about than Mercer County and Southern West Virginia,” Morrisey said.
Morrisey said Senate Bill 570, which he signed into law, allows the state to use the federal dollars for the Rural Health Transformation Program.
“I want to thank everyone who supported this initiative,” Morrisey said. “And I know that we have some really big things that we’re going to be doing over the course of the next few weeks. You’ll be seeing probably within the next day to next week, we’re going to start to publish availability for funding because we know that the first $199 million we have to spend. So we’re gonna have the whole plan. You’re going to hear about that. That’s going to provide facilities like this and health care providers across the state with opportunities to make deep improvements in terms of how they’re delivering care to patients. More accessibility in terms of the ability to access the health care choices that you need. Improvements in terms of recruiting retention. That matters tremendously.”
The federal initiative will have a transformational effect on health care in Southern West Virginia, and across the state, Morrisey said.
“I could go back to November of 2024 when I was having discussions with soon to be (Health) Secretary Kennedy, soon to be CMS Administration Dr. Oz, and we talked about the concept,” Morrisey said. “What if we could actually be proactive and invest in advance to help ensure that we’re really moving the needle on the various disease state outcomes that plague our states, and I’ve talked about the fact that West Virginia had some challenges that we all know about. Whether we’re talking obesity or diabetes or COPD and substance use disorder, we know about all these things.”
While past discussions focused on Medicaid and Medicare, Morrisey said very little time was spent on discussing preventive health measures.
“At its core, the Rural Health Transformation grants that we have provide us with a unique opportunity,” Morrisey said. “Because it allows the state of West Virginia and all the states to be proactive in trying to address and attack the disease outcomes that are hurting our state. And that’s what is so thrilling about it. The incentives are good and we get to build the coalition in West Virginia.”
Morrisey said West Virginia is a state well suited to benefit from the federal initiative.
“We have funding opportunities coming across-the-board, and you’ll begin to see this on work force, on health care innovation,” Morrisey said. “I’m excited for some of the innovative work that we’re doing here in state in Southern West Virginia, and also quite frankly up in Morgantown where I’ve had a chance to go to R&I and the work they’re doing there is world-class.”
Karen Bowling, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital, said Morrisey has been an advocate for bringing the federal health care funds into West Virginia.
“Our goal is to always have services close to home,” Bowling said. “And I know that is the same vision that the governor had to ensure that we are serving people and improving the health and well-being of the people in West Virginia. We’ve done a lot of investment from cardiac cath labs to our cancer project to things that we are doing in Bluefield, but that’s just not enough. There’s more and more needed, especially out in the community. And we all want to focus on the health and well-being of the people in our state. That’s what this rural transformation fund is all about. The governor’s advocacy and his commitment to improving access and getting these much needed funds into West Virginia is phenomenal.”
Delegate Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, said Senator Mark Maynard, R-Wayne, applauded Morrisey for signing the bill into law.
Maynard said the Big Beautiful Bill and the Rural Health Transformation program are wins for West Virginia.
“It’s really exciting to have this influx into our health system and we really need it,” Maynard said. “It’s happening at a great time, and I want to thank you for your leadership and making sure that West Virginia is taking advantage of all these opportunities.”
“I will ditto on the same things that the senator said,” Ellington, a doctor at PCH, added. “I do appreciate you spearheading all this and being able to help with it.”
Supported by a first-year federal investment of $199 million, the program represents the largest per-capita allocation in the region, according to the governor’s office.
The initiative was born from the state’s successful application to the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, an effort authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Morrisey said the funding will bolster his “Four Pillars of Health” — Clean Up the Food, Find Purpose, Find Health, Move Your Body, Change Your Life, and Reward Healthy Choices.
Senate Bill 570 provides the legislative framework to deploy funds across strategic pillars. The program aims to solve systemic issues such as nursing shortages and hospital closures by:
• Expanding access: Improving real-time care via in-person and digital “one-stop-shop” platforms.
• Workforce development: Attracting top-tier medical talent while training and retaining West Virginia’s own health care professionals.
• Infrastructure: Creating reliable transportation for patients and providing tools to increase provider productivity.
• Prevention: Increasing participation in nutrition and lifestyle programs to reduce health barriers to employment.
Read more from the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, here
