West Virginia Primary Care Association celebrates 40 Years

CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Since 1983, the West Virginia Primary Care Association ( WVPCA ) has played a crucial role in ensuring accessible healthcare for all West Virginians by bringing together Community Health Centers (CHCs) across the state.

These efforts aim to ensure that quality, patient-centered care is available in both urban centers and rural areas.

Over 550,000 West Virginians, approximately one third of the state’s population, choose to receive care from WVPCA’s membership. This year, WVPCA is commemorating its 40-year legacy of connecting, enhancing, and leading CHCs to ensure healthcare for every West Virginian, regardless of income or insurance status.

Sherri P. Ferrell, MBA, President and CEO of WVPCA, emphasized the association’s significant impact by stating, “I believe that we are more than an association. We’re actually changing our communities. We’re standing on the shoulders of those who came before us, hoping others will stand on ours too. As we keep pushing the continuum of care in West Virginia forward, it’s all about making progress towards health, one patient and one community at a time.”

Presently, member Community Health Centers are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and innovative medical facilities. By integrating a rich history with cutting-edge advancements, WVPCA continues to lead the way in healthcare excellence. In honor of forty years of unwavering dedication to a healthy West Virginia, the WVPCA is sharing stories of its founding and development and showcasing archival slides and images from each of its four decades of operation.

To mark this milestone, WVPCA is also launching a new organizational website, presenting a refreshed logo and branding, and releasing a mini-documentary video featuring the archival material and interviews with key leaders in the CHC movement.

The WVPCA’s stories focus on centers like the Community Care of West Virginia, founded forty years ago in Rock Cave. Before its establishment, elderly residents of this small Upshur County town had to travel 30 minutes on winding, one-way country roads to see the closest doctor.

“The whole community came together and built our health center’s very first clinic,” said Rick Simon, former CEO of Community Care of West Virginia. “Community members donated money, and local children’s organizations collected funds for the clinic, all because they saw the need for it among their fellow citizens.”

Ensuring access to healthcare is central to the mission of WVPCA, with supporting CHCs in delivering these critical services being paramount. Steve Shattls, President and CEO of Valley Health Systems, shared the story of a patient who used to travel to Canada to get insulin due to affordability issues. After becoming a patient of Valley Health Systems, he no longer had to make the costly trip. This patient was able to redirect the money saved on medication towards providing food for his children, illustrating the tangible impact of accessible healthcare.

For forty years, WVPCA has represented, unified, and assisted the state’s CHCs. In addition to facilitating connections among healthcare leaders and advocating for policies to support vulnerable patients, the WVPCA educates the public about the importance of health centers.

Ultimately, both individual CHCs and the WVPCA are working toward the same goal: ensuring that every West Virginian has access to healthcare.

Dr. Darrin Nichols, Chief Medical Officer at Coplin Health Systems, who also received care at the same CHC as a child, praised WVPCA’s approachability and the support provided, emphasizing, “Everybody at the WVPCA is so approachable and easy to talk to. They all have the common goal of improving things, and I know I can always reach out to them. Everybody’s been very welcoming, and I appreciate the work that they do. And I know they do a lot to support us in one of the state’s most rural areas.”