Lawsuit seeks to halt sale of Welch Community Hospital

The future of McDowell County’s only acute-care hospital now sits in court, with a lawsuit seeking to block any sale of Welch Community Hospital until a judge reviews the deal. Gregory Harman filed the case in McDowell County Circuit Court and is asking for an order that would preserve the hospital’s charitable purpose while the state’s plans are examined.

Attorney Bucky Lewis said Harman is a descendant of Jacob J. Sperry, the man said to have conveyed the land for the hospital in 1899 so underserved McDowell County residents could receive medical care. The lawsuit names the West Virginia Department of Health Facilities and Attorney General John B. McCuskey and comes as the state weighs a transfer that could change who controls the county’s only hospital and, with it, local access to emergency care.

That access is not abstract in McDowell County. Welch Community Hospital is the only acute-care hospital in the county and, state records say, the only state-funded acute-care facility in West Virginia. The hospital is listed as a 65-bed facility with a 24/7 physician-staffed emergency room, a seven-bed ICU, OB-GYN services, respiratory therapy, lab and radiology services including CT and mammography, plus an inpatient pharmacy.

The state’s hospital page and West Virginia history sources trace the facility back to 1899 legislation that required hospitals for people in dangerous occupations, especially coal mining. Miners Hospital No. One opened in Welch on Jan. 28, 1902. Dr. Henry Hatfield, who later became governor of West Virginia, helped secure funding for the Welch hospital and served on its board of directors. A nursing school operated at the facility from 1914 to 1944.

The lawsuit lands at a moment of intense local concern over what a sale could mean for jobs, emergency coverage and long-term stability. Recent reporting says the governor’s office is negotiating with a nonprofit to take over the facility, while McDowell County leaders say they were left out of earlier discussions and want transparency before any transfer moves forward.

County officials have warned that the hospital is a critical resource in a region already dependent on one medical center. One local report put the hospital’s operating costs at about $35 million a year, with revenue of roughly $15 million to $17 million, leaving annual losses that can reach up to $20 million. Community members and county commissioners have scheduled a public meeting to discuss the proposed sale, underscoring how much is at stake if the court slows, changes or blocks the transfer.