By Stephen Baldwin for RealWV
After Vandalia Health announced in November 2025 that they would be closing their labor and delivery unit in Fairlea, creating a new baby desert in the Greenbrier Valley, Gov. Patrick Morrisey visited town and said, “I don’t like it…It’s the opposite of what we’ve been trying to do. I want this to be a thriving community which means access to the services you need.”
Local business leaders, concerned citizens, and elected officials all expressed hope in the wake of the meeting, which drew more than 150 people, that the involved parties could work together to find solutions and keep the unit open. But in interviews with Morrisey’s state health officer, Dr. Avrin Singh, and Vandalia executives, Jeff Goode and Becky Harless, RealWV has learned that the closure is moving forward on Apr. 24, 2026.
for Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
When asked if the state had offered to intervene and assist Vandalia in recruiting an OBGYN or providing delivery services, Jeff Goode (Senior Vice President for Vandalia) said, “Becky and I have had no information passed to us…or come directly to us.”
Goode did say Vandalia CEO Dave Ramsey met with Morrisey not long after the WVSOM event in Lewisburg. When asked for comment on that meeting, Vandalia spokesman Dale Witte confirmed the meeting did occur and said it was an update between Vandalia, Gov. Morrisey, and their staff on how Vandalia was reorganizing in order to provide better health care in communities across the state.
‘We’ve had some discussions’
Gov. Morrisey did not agree to an interview request from RealWV but did share a statement, via spokesman Lars Dalseide, saying, “Gov. Morrisey’s Department of Health and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Arvin Singh met with the hospital’s parent company, Vandalia Health, to discuss the situation and explore possible ways to provide assistance. Those conversations have been ongoing, and we remain focused on supporting access to care in the region.”
Singh did agree to an interview with RealWV and shared, “We’ve had some conversations. We were trying to understand their decision and was there any way we could be supportive in preserving as much access as possible? That’s been the goal–understanding, to preserve access.”
But according to Goode and Harless, the labor and delivery unit at GVMC will close on Apr. 24.
Singh said he understands why Vandalia is making that decision. “A lot of it is the lack of being able to recruit, as well as being in an area with declining population. They had one OB (obstetrician) on the way to retirement, and younger residents are leaving. This is also not unusual to what’s being seen across the nation. They were also losing quite a bit of money.”
Community Task Force?
Drema Hill, Vice President for Community Engagement and Community Health at WVSOM, moderated the governor’s town hall at WVSOM in November 2025. She circulated a signup sheet with names of people who said they would be willing to help with recruitment efforts, as numerous speakers talked about the valley’s attractiveness to young professionals, via a community task force. What became of that list?
“Following the community meeting, Becky Harless asked me to send her the list of individuals who had signed up to be on the community task force,” Hill said. “She stated that she wanted to lead that group. I sent her the list. I do not know if that group has met yet, but you could ask her.”
When asked for comment on the list, Harless deferred to Goode, who said, “Drema had people at the meeting sign a piece of paper. What did Miss Hill expect us to do with her paper? We are happy to speak with everybody who has a concern. Becky has a community group she meets with on a monthly basis…Nothing has come out of that ad hoc group that Drema suggested.”
Hill said her concerns still stand today. “I am very concerned about the upcoming lack of labor and delivery services in our area. I am hoping for a resolution that will best serve the women of childbearing age in our community.”
WVSOM to the rescue?
Some in the community have wondered, since the Greenbrier Valley has a thriving medical school, if WVSOM could help attract OBGYNs or provide a place for deliveries to occur locally? Vandalia acknowledged that possibility.
“There’s been discussions with Dr. Nemitz,” says Jeff Goode, referencing Dr. Jim Nemitz, President of WVSOM. “I can’t say if they’re going to pursue that. Maybe they could be more attractive as part of an academic institution. You’d still have some of the same structural challenges with regard to the population, the number of births, sustainability, etc.”
“If WVSOM can hire doctors, and hire enough to run a community OBGYN program and they need a hospital to have those babies there, that’s something we’d be happy to discuss with them going forward.”
RealWV interviewed Dr. Nemitz, who said, “It’s just talk at this point, you know, where people are bouncing ideas around…Certainly, we would love to see something happen in our region. But you know, there’s real challenges.”
Nemitz continued, “I understand better why the hospital’s doing what its doing and I support what the hospital’s doing. You want the hospital to survive. And, again, the OB issue is recruitment of obstetricians to our area. Really difficult. If there was a way I could help with that, I’d be open to that, but I’m not sure at this point in time with the number of births in our area that’s feasible. That’s the dilemma we’re in.”
While the legislature did not directly address the issue of maternity deserts or labor and delivery units this year, Dr. Singh is very helpful that the state’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), which was activated this session by legislation approving the state’s application and award, will pay dividends down the road.
“I acknowledge the concern,” Singh shared. “Access to maternity services matter a lot to community growth.”
Singh hopes policy efforts underway now will help provide access to services over the long run. “Our biggest opportunity (to provide additional services) is within the RHTP. What can we do to help with recruitment across the board? Are there incentives whether it’s housing incentives or economic investment or partnerships with locals? Can we have a spousal employment pathway?”
“We are going to do everything we can to help bridge gaps,” Singh concluded.
‘Just not sustainable’
When GVMC closes the labor and delivery unit on April 24, pregnant mothers will be able to continue receiving prenatal care locally.
Dr. Connie Perkins of GVMC said last fall, “We’re not going to close and turn these moms loose. We’re in the process of talking to surrounding docs and their teams. Our moms don’t need to travel to Charleston for every visit. They can stay here, get care from us locally, then we’re clued into high risk pregnancies.”
Perkins wishes she could continue delivering babies in her home community, but she says it’s just not sustainable. “I love my job, and I would continue doing OB if we had more helpers. I love our community. This is such a great place. We’re lucky. We’ve got a community of people that care. That’s why the outcry (against the closure) was so big. They care about each other.”
Stay tuned to RealWV for the next story in this series, detailing GVMC’s reorganization into a Critical Access Hospital, a change meant to shore up their financial future which will place certain restrictions on the number of inpatient beds they can have and how long patients can stay.
