The chairman of the Patrick County Board of Supervisors said the impact of the recent hospital closure is pronounced.

“Patrick County has been brought to its knees,” Crystal Harris, chairman of the Patrick County Board of Supervisors, said at a Sept. 27 joint meeting with the Patrick County Economic Development Authority Board.

The Pioneer Community Hospital of Patrick filed bankruptcy in 2016 and closed Sept. 15.

The two boards “are working together. There are some pretty smart people in here and some caring people. Unfortunately, this is not something we can do, it is something we can help move along,” Harris told the more than 20 people gathered in the Patrick County Administration Building.

The floor was then opened to speakers that included Clint Weidhaas, a volunteer firefighter who also responded to EMS calls with the Jeb Stuart Volunteer Rescue Squad.

Since the closing, he said rescue squads are the new hospital.

Recounting a recent near tragedy that occurred before the closing, Weidhaas said a 911 call for rescue was received about a man who wasn’t feeling well and later was unresponsive. No squads were available to respond.

A family member received a call about 30 minutes later, directing them to take the man to a hospital, he said. The family member said they were unable to get the man out of the floor, and would have to wait for a rescue crew.

After 50 minutes, Weidhaas said the paid provider that operated from the hospital responded.

The wait may be longer now since the hospital shut down.

“Volunteers are stepping up right now, but as the weeks go by, it’s going to get worse,” mainly due to the time element, Weidhaas said, and explained the length of time needed to respond to a call has more than tripled.

Also, he said supplies are used from a drug box located on each squad. Drug boxes were exchanged at the hospital before it closed. Now, that is done at the Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and Henry County. If, for example, a squad takes a patient to Northern Hospital of Surry in Mount Airy, N.C., they are unable to respond to another call until after the drug box is exchanged.

Weidhaas said the county should have called emergency management and told them to get a readied squad in service when the hospital closed, he said.

“People should be hired right now to fill that truck and ease the problem, he said. “I am really, really disappointed in the Board of Supervisors. We had this problem in 2008 … and we’ve been constantly coming and asking for help that’s not been” forthcoming.

Recently, there were five motorcycle crashes in Patrick County. Volunteer squads covered the crashes well, “but it was a Saturday,” Weidhaas said and noted there typically are more volunteers to respond on weekends than there are during the week. “What if a school bus gets hit,” he asked, and wondered who would respond during the week.

“Our taxes are pretty low” compared to those in other areas, Weidhaas said, and added if taxes need to be increased to fund career squads or if a fire tax must be enacted, he is willing to pay $20 to $40 extra per year to ensure rescue crews are able to respond when needed.

Weidhaas called on those attending the meeting to tell their family, friends and neighbors about the dilemma facing local squads and patients, “because it’s going to be your family laying in the floor” waiting for help, he said.

Earlier this summer, supervisors earmarked $500,000 to help shore up local squads. They have not decided how to spend those funds.

In addition to Weidhaas, Geneva Pendleton, Pam Craig and Scott Eutsler also addressed the boards.

Pendleton said she was appalled when the hospital, emergency room and then clinic closed with little notice.

“This is a large county with a lot of needs,” she said, and added she talked to the corporate offices in Mississippi about getting her medical records. Pendleton said she is expecting a follow-up call from that office with instructions.

Hospital Administrator Jeannette Filpi, who also attended, said employees at the local hospital soon will post a telephone number for patients who need their records to call. Callers will be asked to leave their name, date of birth and whether they were a patient of the hospital or the clinic. Records then will be prepared for pick-up.

Filpi asked for patience during the process, because the staff remaining at the hospital is limited.

Craig, a hospital employee, said “you can’t choose” where or when to have medical emergency like a heart attack or stroke, but immediate care is needed when those emergencies do occur.

While the local hospital may not be able to do what larger hospitals can, “we can get you stable. I’ve seen nurses perform miracles in that hospital and I’ve seen families lose relatives in that hospital,” Craig said, tearing up as she recalled the loss of her relatives.

Hospital employees are neighbors and friends, “kind, compassionate people,” Craig said. “If we don’t save it (hospital), we’re going to lose something that’s precious. I want my tax money (used) to retain a hospital or urgent care.

“I’m begging you all to pull out whatever you’ve got to pull out, because we can’t pick and choose” when a medical emergency will hit. The hospital “is something we’ve got to have,” she said.

Eutsler said he had the opportunity to decide where he would live, and in 1984, he chose Patrick County. Like Craig, Eutsler said he also chose the local hospital when various family members needed treatment.

He also noted the hospital was operating “in a cash flow positive state.”

While “our hospital can never do state-of-the-art, cutting edge” procedures, “we came close,” Eutsler said. “We all know people who would not be here if not for the care” they received at the local hospital.

No action was taken after the boards met in closed session for more than two hours on personnel, legal, contract and real estate matters that included discussion of the hospital.