The Backbone of Rural Healthcare in West Virginia

Our 40th year celebration continues with another powerful story from our community.

Rick Simon, Former CEO of Community Care of West Virginia

Meet Rick Simon, former CEO of Community Care of West Virginia, who has experienced firsthand the transformative impact of our Community Health Centers.

Forty years ago, the people of Rock Cave saw a pressing need–and came up with an ambitious plan to fulfill it. At the time, elderly residents of this small Upshur County town had to drive 30 minutes one way on winding country roads to see the closest doctor. But what if the community could open a health clinic right in Rock Cave?

“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. Local children’s organizations collected money to be used at the clinic. And the community did all this because they saw that their fellow citizens had a need for it.”

One-third of West Virginians receive care from Community Health Centers like Community Care. Often described as “the backbone of rural healthcare in West Virginia,” Community Health Centers aren’t your average doctor’s office. These integral medical providers treat patients regardless of insurance status or ability to pay and offer discounted care to low-income West Virginians. Health Centers also actively include community members when making decisions about new services and locations.

“Community is at the core of everything health centers do,” Simon said. “About a decade ago, a community asked us to develop a dental clinic in Pocahontas County. And at the time, there was only one dentist in the entire county. So we recruited a couple of WVU graduates who were looking to live in the mountains and considering Colorado. We convinced them we had good mountains here too, and they haven’t left yet.”

In addition to providing medical and dental services, Community Care and other Community Cealth Centers have led the charge to make behavioral healthcare more accessible in West Virginia.

“About seven years ago, we noticed we were having problems. People who were severely depressed could not get the services they were needing. It was ridiculous,” Simon said. “We would refer somebody who was in really serious need of services to a specialist, and six months later they’d still be waiting on an appointment.”

Community Care responded to this immense need by starting a behavioral health program that quickly grew from one employee to 100. The Community Health Center has also opened multiple addiction recovery programs and collaborated with Aetna to ensure that every West Virginian child who checks into a psychiatric unit is evaluated within 48 hours. In the past, many children were held in psychiatric wards for long periods of time as they awaited evaluation–or sent out of state to receive a diagnosis and care.

Community Care and other Community Health Centers throughout the state have also served West Virginia’s children by establishing more school-based health clinics per capita than any state in the nation.

“There were so many children who did not have adequate services,” Simon said. “They weren't getting their annual well-child checkups because it can be very difficult for families who are working to get off, take their child to a doctor, and then sit in the waiting room for two hours before they can get back to school and get back to work.”

School-Based Health Centers have also been critical in mitigating the effects of the opioid crisis. For the many West Virginia children whose parents are absent due to substance use disorders, School-Based Health Centers are often the only way to receive medical care.

Just a few years ago, a Community Care Health Center single-handedly ensured the safe delivery of a child whose mother was struggling with a substance use disorder.

“Her boyfriend brought her to one of our Clay County locations and booted her out of the car. He didn't want to answer questions because he was high,” Simon said. “And we ended up delivering the child of an in-stress, high-risk woman at that clinic that day, before anyone else could get her transported to Charleston.”

As Simon, now retired, reflects on his 30-year career in Community Health Centers, it’s easy to see how the people of Rock Cave laid the foundation for life-saving moments like this one. One picture in particular inspires him: a photo of two elderly men laying concrete to build an accessible ramp at that very first clinic in Upshur County.

“When that baby was born, those gentlemen had been gone for at least 10 years. Who could have ever guessed there's a child growing up in Clay County who wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for those men?” Simon said. “That’s the real magic of Community Health Centers: they have an impact far past what anyone can see or feel at the moment that it's occurring. They never really end the good that they do.”

As we look to the future, we continue to build on this strong foundation. Our commitment to community-centered care remains unwavering, but now we are also leading the way with advanced medical technology. Together, we will ensure that every West Virginian has access to the high-quality care they deserve.

Thank you for joining us in celebrating these incredible stories of care and dedication. Find your nearest Community Health Center here.