By Taylor Boyd
Eight years after it shuttered in 2017, more than 200 people bundled in winter coats gathered on Monday to witness something many once feared would never happen again — the reopening of the local hospital, now called Stuart Community Hospital.
Residents parked wherever they could, filling nearby lots at First Community Bank, the former Patrick Urgent Care, and Patrick County Eye Associates before walking to the hospital for a ribbon-cutting ceremony that marked the facility’s official return.
Stuart Community Hospital is a licensed 25-bed hospital that includes an emergency room, inpatient services, and a radiology department. It currently employs more than 150 people and has eight to 10 physicians on staff.
Kyle Kopec, MHA, chief clinical officer of Braden Health, said the moment represented far more than reopening a building.
“The journey to reopen Stuart (Community Hospital) has been a testament to perseverance spanning years of challenges since its closure, from navigating the complex regulations and rallying support across every level. Every step was fueled by a shared belief in Patrick County and its people,” Kopec said.
He described the reopening as “reigniting the heartbeat of a community” that has waited far too long in the shadows.
A long road back
The hospital closed in 2017 and passed through several owners over the years, each transition bringing renewed hope — and repeated disappointment — to the community.
Hospital CEO Larry Henson said the building itself underwent extensive upgrades, including overhauls to HVAC systems, plumbing and sewage, electrical work, IT and security infrastructure, along with a new roof and parking lot.
“But the best transition of all was the transition that we encountered in the community,” Henson said. “Obviously, this building has gone through five or so different owners since it closed down in 2017, and every time a new owner came in, this community felt a little bit of hope.”
That hope, he said, was often followed by frustration.
“However, that hope and the community kept on getting burnt by owners coming in saying the hospital was going to open and then never reopening it,” Henson said.
“Well, this time we actually made it happen,” he added, drawing applause and cheers. “The best part was the community’s transition. The community — they welcomed us, they had hope, but they were also apprehensive because they knew what happened to this building in the past.”
It didn’t take long, Henson said, for skepticism to turn into excitement.
“It didn’t take a month before the community’s apprehension turned into excitement because they saw workers and local vendors come in and start working on the building,” he said. “We did not mess around. We got in here, and we got to work, and it was awesome to see that support from the community.”
Advocacy and investment
Kopec credited Del. Wren Williams, R-Stuart, with helping preserve the hospital’s Certificate of Public Need (COPN), a key regulatory requirement.
“His legislative advocacy was nothing but transformative, and his fight to ensure the COPN remained a viable pathway for rural hospitals like ours made this reopening possible,” Kopec said.
He emphasized that the hospital reopened without public funding.
“What sets us apart is how we’ve done it: without burdening the community. We took zero taxpayer funding to open this hospital, and we rely on no subsidies from Patrick County or beyond,” Kopec said, prompting applause. “This is a self-sustained effort born from a profound commitment to service because we believe rural health is a calling, not a handout.”
Braden Health founder and CEO Dr. Beau R. Braden, DO, MPH, MS, said the project reflected faith, perseverance, and determination.
“We didn’t arrive here by accident; we arrived here by providence, hard work, determination, perseverance. Make no mistake, it was a fight to get here, but here we are, and it feels good,” he said.
Lives and livelihoods
Williams said the hospital’s return addresses both health care access and economic development.
“Seconds matter in healthcare,” Williams said. “We’ve seen people lose their lives in trying to travel outside of our county lines just to receive healthcare. So, trying to get this ER was the most important thing on my legislative to-do list when I got elected back in 2021.”
He said the lack of a hospital had discouraged potential employers.
“What kind of business, what kind of manufacturing facility wants to come in when they know they can’t get somebody to the ER, and now they can,” Williams said.
Williams also said the hospital will ease pressure on emergency medical services.
“Station 8 was doing everything that they could to fill that role, but now we have a dedicated ambulance service out of our emergency room again, and that will work to save lives here when our volunteers are unavailable,” he said.
State Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Moneta, said the reopening stands as a testament to the community’s resilience.
“Because you never gave up, you never gave in. You prayed about it, you called us about it a lot, and you made sure we never forgot how important it is to the community,” Stanley said.
Although it took years for the hospital doors to reopen, Stanley said he promised they would never close again.
In a statement, U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said rural communities benefit from expanded health care access.
“In my role as Healthcare Subcommittee Chairman, I will continue to support policies that help rural communities like Patrick County deliver critical health care resources, administer quality health care, and improve rural health care outcomes,” he said.
Patrick County Economic Development and Tourism Director James Houchins said the hospital’s return marks a turning point.
“Where you have a hospital, you can bring industry in. I’m so excited, it’s good to see all the people that came out today, and we are so blessed in this county,” Houchins said.
Patrick County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jonathan Wood, of the Peters Creek District, called the reopening historic.
“This truly is the story of the phoenix, rising from the ashes of a building in shambles to a first-class medical facility,” Wood said. “This facility will breathe new life into our great county by filling the healthcare gap in our county, as well as our neighboring counties. Over the past few months, we have read and heard countless stories of how people have been helped and saved by our local hospital. Thankfully, this great history can now continue.”
Stuart Mayor Terry Dalton said he and the rest of the Town Council are excited to see the hospital return to the community.
