CHESAPEAKE, W.Va. — The first dollars are flowing out from West Virginia’s Rural Health Transformation Program, with Gov. Patrick Morrisey announcing three grants in Chesapeake on Friday.
Spotted Owl Health and Chesapeake Healthcare Center, CAMC/Vandalia Health, and the Cabell Huntington Hospital Foundation are the first recipients of the program’s funds.
“The goal behind these dollars is to not only expand these workforce clinics, but to make sure that we are improving outcomes for people that are in employer-based care as well,” Morrisey said.
Spotted Owl and Chesapeake Healthcare Center are receiving $1.17 million, while CAMC/Vandalia and the Cabell Huntington Foundation will each get $612,000. The RHTP will grant $199 million to rural health initiatives in total.
“They represent a vision becoming a reality. From the beginning, the governor challenged us to think differently, as he mentioned, about healthcare in West Virginia,” state health secretary Dr. Arvin Singh said.
The RHTP originates from the state’s application for assistance through the federal program of the same name as part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. Morrisey signed state legislation creating the program following this year’s legislative session.
“Everyone in the state was given an opportunity to submit comments. It was an open process. We submitted a grant and CMS gave us one of the highest grant amounts per capita in the country,” he said.
Governor Patrick Morrisey announces nearly $2.4 million in the first implementation awards under West Virginia’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), funding worksite clinics and employer-based healthcare services designed to improve health outcomes and help more West…
— Governor Patrick Morrisey (@wvgovernor) September 4, 2026
More announcements like this one are planned over the next 60 days to hand out the nearly $200 million in the program’s coffers. Singh said these announcements are the product of hard work.
“Today, we begin to see the product of that work. ‘Health to Prosperity,’ which is the pillar we’re focusing on today, is built around a simple principle: health and economic prosperity are tied together,” he said.
The leaders of programs receiving the grants echo Singh’s assertions as they prepare to put the funds into action. Spotted Owl Executive Director Orlando Craighead believes that this is an opportunity to treat healthcare as a community issue.
“I am all about community. This right here, as the governor said, is beyond politics. We’re all about health. We’ve got to get our health together. We’ve got to work on our diabetes. We’ve got to get people back to work. We got to do it for West Virginia,” he said.
Singh’s message of “Health to Prosperity” rings true in the investments, particularly with the Cabell Huntington Hospital Foundation. With major projects including Nucor Steel coming to nearby Mason County, plans are in place to grow relationships and services with partners like that.
“One of the things we’ll be doing is working with our occupational partners throughout the state of West Virginia, so thank you for allowing us to be a part of this,” Beth Hammers, Marshall Health Network Chief Engagement Officer, said.
Billions of dollars are expected to come out of the RHTP in the coming years, and providers are counting on that to keep moving forward. Vandalia Health CEO Jeff Sandene said collaboration will be imperative to success.
“What we’re doing today has to be sustainable and has to be something that helps our communities. From a Vandalia Health, we have many partnerships that we have across our entire system of hospitals and the folks that we work with because we know we can’t do it altogether. It takes very close partnerships that we can continue to work with,” he said.
Additional announcements are expected around the state in the coming months.