Gov. Patrick Morrisey addressed local officials at the Wood County Resiliency Center Thursday about the need to better improve healthcare outcomes across the state which will lead to a healthier and more productive workforce which can also help the state’s economy. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG – Improving health outcomes will lead to better economic opportunities for the state, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Thursday in Parkersburg.

Morrisey was in Parkersburg to talk to local officials about West Virginia’s application for federal government funding through the Rural Health Transformation Program which is a part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed earlier this year.

The governor also made stops in Moundsville and Fairmont on Thursday to talk about the application and what he wants to accomplish.

“A lot of people know that we are making the kinds of decisions that are helping our state out,” Morrisey said. “We are making the tough decisions that will help preserve our future, a future where we are going to have more kids staying in West Virginia with the kind of job opportunities we will have available and having more people coming to our state.”

People in the Mid-Ohio Valley and across the state are looking for better healthcare which will lead to better job prospects, he said.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey was in Parkersburg on Thursday addressing local officials about initiatives to improve the health of state residents which can lead to better economic opportunities. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“If you are really successful improving health care outcomes, you are going to see additional people join the workforce, you are going to have a more productive workforce and that will lead to a stronger economy and a higher standard of living,” Morrisey said. “We can do that.”

If the application is approved, West Virginia could receive more than $100 million per year for five years through federal legislation supported by President Donald Trump, Morrisey said. The funds will be used to expand health care access, improve quality, and remove health barriers that keep West Virginians out of the workforce, he added.

Morrisey said people are currently struggling, which he attributed to the “hangover effects from the Biden economy” and current dysfunction in the federal government which he blamed on the “Schumer shutdown.”

Improving health care access and affordability will relieve pressure on families and small businesses as well as the taxpayers, he said.

Morrisey talked about his four-pillar health initiative introduced in March which included Clean Up the Food (by removing food dyes); Find purpose, Find Health; Move Your Body, Change Your Life; and Reward Healthy Choices.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey talked to Wood County Commissioner Blair Couch, Wood County Prosecutor Pa Lefebure and Patsy Hardy, Chairwoman of the Board of Health at the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department, Thursday after the governor addressed local officials about the need to improve the health of people across the state to improve the workforce and help to create economic opportunities. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

He wants people to be able to work which will improve the economy and their own standard of living.

“Work is good, work is moral and work is necessary for a successful economy,” Morrisey said. “We want people to be active and that we are rewarding healthy choices.”

The state has set up Mountaineer Mile markers in parks across the state to help encourage people to exercise by walking. There is also work being done to expand telehealth, remote monitoring, and mobile-care access points across hospitals, clinics, other health care locations and community hubs and supporting EMS community-paramedicine and treatment-in-place programs to reduce unnecessary emergency visits. They are looking at ways to bring options to people where they can cut down having to travel a number of miles to access care.

“One of the first areas we are zeroing in on is how do we improve access and bring care closer to you and get the health care services people need,” he said.

The state has a shortage of nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, lab technicians and more.

Officials are looking at efforts to recruit health care providers to come to the state through rural residencies, fellowships and training sites as well as offering incentives and “return-to-home” scholarships for clinicians serving rural areas and launching apprenticeships and entry-level health care jobs through the Learn & Earn model and community colleges. They are also looking at coordinating workforce recruitment and placement with providers, universities and state workforce programs through “recruiting, retention and retraining” initiatives. They also need to bring in educators who can train people for these jobs.

The work they are doing is to improve chronic conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, substance use disorder and others, Morrisey said.

“If there is a state that can benefit from rural health transformation, it is West Virginia,” Morrisey said. “We have a lot of opportunities for people to get to work and earn good money through good paying jobs. We have to make sure they are healthy.

“We have to get to work to improve health care outcomes.”

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com