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Residents and nurses urge Greene County to back UVA mobile primary care unit to address provider shortage
Summary
Speakers at the Greene County Board of Supervisors meeting asked the board to endorse a University of Virginia mobile primary care unit, citing a local shortage of primary care providers (county ratio 1:5,031 versus the state 1:1,326) and saying the mobile unit would expand screenings and chronic‑care access.
Linda Copeland, speaking for the Green Health Care Collaborative, asked the Greene County Board of Supervisors to provide a letter of support to bring the University of Virginia’s mobile primary care unit to Greene County. “Greene is the forgotten county for health care,” Copeland said, and she cited a county primary care provider ratio of 1 to 5,031 people compared with the state ratio of 1 to 1,326.
Tina Merrill, an oncology nurse from the Stannersville District, said delayed cancer diagnosis is a real threat in underserved populations and argued that mobile primary care would improve equity and preventive screenings. “Bringing primary care directly to the residents of Greene is not just about convenience. It’s about equity,” she said.
Speakers said the mobile clinic would provide preventive care, chronic‑disease management, screenings and connections to specialty services, and would accept commercial insurance, Medicare and Medicaid as well as a sliding scale for those who cannot pay. Copeland said only five practicing primary care providers had been identified in the county and that, using the state ratio, the county would need roughly 15 providers to meet recommended coverage.
Members of the collaborative asked the board to demonstrate partnership by providing a letter of support; volunteers will assist residents who lack transportation. The board did not vote on the request at that meeting but staff and board members acknowledged the county’s healthcare access concerns and publicized a local Green Care Clinic fundraiser and outreach in coming weeks.
The request is part of ongoing community efforts to expand access to primary care in Greene County; organizers said they can supply cited references on provider ratios on request.
