For generations across Southern West Virginia, families have quietly carried an assumption about healthcare: when someone becomes seriously ill, they will probably have to leave home to receive the best care possible.
Whether facing a heart attack, stroke, cancer diagnosis, or complex surgery, many believed the highest level of care was hours away. It was part of living in a rural community.
That belief is beginning to change.
This year, WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital (PCH) was named one of America’s Best 250 Hospitals by Healthgrades, placing it among the top five percent of hospitals nationwide for clinical performance. The recognition is based solely on patient outcomes, including survival rates, complication prevention, and quality-of-care measures derived from Medicare data from approximately 4,500 hospitals across the United States.
“It’s evidence that a new era of healthcare is taking hold in our region,” said Karen Bowling, PCH president and CEO. “Our patients deserve access to exceptional care without having to leave their communities, and this recognition validates the extraordinary work our physicians, nurses, and staff deliver every day.”
PCH serves patients across a 10-county region stretching through Southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia, including Mercer, McDowell, Wyoming, Raleigh, Summers, Greenbrier, and Monroe counties in West Virginia, as well as Bland, Tazewell, and Giles counties in Virginia.
These communities face some of the highest rates of chronic illness in the country. Heart disease, diabetes, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cancer disproportionately affect Appalachian populations. Many residents contend with transportation barriers, financial challenges, physician shortages, and limited access to preventive healthcare.
Rural hospitals often care for patients who arrive later in the course of illness, with multiple chronic conditions and complex medical needs.
Yet PCH has demonstrated that geography does not have to determine quality. The recognition reflects years of strategic investment, thoughtful planning, and an unwavering commitment to bringing advanced healthcare closer to home.
Over the past several years, the hospital has evolved from a respected community hospital into a growing regional healthcare hub offering increasingly sophisticated medical and surgical services.
Today, PCH operates as a 203-bed acute care hospital providing emergency medicine, comprehensive surgical services, women’s health, pediatrics, advanced imaging, laboratory diagnostics, critical care, rehabilitation, and specialty physician services.
Its growing regional footprint extends beyond its Princeton campus. The Bluefield campus offers a full-service emergency department, radiation oncology services, and expanding outpatient care. The Behavioral Health Center provides inpatient psychiatric care and outpatient behavioral health services, helping address one of the region’s most pressing healthcare needs.
Behind that expansion lies years of recruiting highly specialized physicians and investing in technology rarely found in rural hospitals. The hospital has strengthened services across numerous specialties by adding intensivists, pediatric hospitalists, infectious disease physicians, endocrinologists, pulmonologists, neurosurgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons, sleep medicine providers, and other specialists. Expanded telehealth partnerships now connect local patients with pediatric and adult specialists, allowing many to receive expert consultation without traveling long distances.
Just as important has been the hospital’s investment in advanced technology.
Since joining WVU Medicine, PCH has opened a state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratory, bringing around-the-clock heart attack care to the region. It became the first hospital in West Virginia to install advanced Spectral CT technology, providing physicians with unprecedented imaging detail – including real-time visualization of the heart and coronary arteries – that improves diagnostic accuracy and treatment planning.
The hospital has modernized patient rooms, expanded infusion services, upgraded obstetrical facilities, and opened dedicated cardiology, pulmonology, physical medicine, endocrinology and sleep medicine clinics. New nuclear medicine capabilities and ongoing expansion of specialty clinics continue to broaden access for patients throughout southern West Virginia and southwest Virginia.
One of the most ambitious projects remains on the horizon.
Construction is underway on a comprehensive cancer center that will significantly expand oncology services and create a centralized destination for cancer care. Scheduled to open in late winter 2027/2028, the facility will bring additional treatment options, advanced technology, and enhanced patient support services to the region.
The hospital’s affiliation with WVU Medicine has accelerated much of this progress. As part of West Virginia’s largest academic health system, PCH has gained access to clinical expertise, evidence-based practice standards, physician collaboration, and advanced specialty resources while preserving the personalized care that defines community hospitals.
That combination has proven especially valuable for rural patients.
Rather than traveling several hours for specialty consultations, advanced imaging, cardiac procedures, cancer treatments, or complex medical management, many patients can now receive nationally recognized care much closer to home. Remaining near family members and local support systems often improves not only convenience but also treatment adherence, recovery, and overall patient experience.
Hospital leaders say more critically ill patients who once required transfer to larger medical centers are now being successfully treated in Princeton.
Clinical outcomes have improved across numerous conditions, including heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respiratory failure, bowel obstruction, and sepsis.
The hospital has also strengthened emergency preparedness through nationally recognized certifications.
PCH earned designation as a Primary Stroke Center, ensuring rapid diagnosis and treatment for stroke patients. It also became a Level IV Trauma Center and received “Always Ready for Kids” recognition, demonstrating pediatric emergency readiness and specialized capabilities for treating children.
Cancer care has experienced particularly dramatic growth.
Through its collaboration with the WVU Cancer Institute, patients now have access to advanced radiation oncology, precision medicine, targeted therapies, supportive care programs, and clinical trials that previously required extensive travel. For many patients facing cancer treatment, receiving care close to home can reduce financial hardship, improve treatment compliance, and provide invaluable emotional support from family and friends.
For Bowling, however, national rankings tell only part of the story. Behind every quality metric are healthcare professionals who have chosen to build careers serving rural Appalachia.
“Our patients are our neighbors, friends, and families,” Bowling said. “Every improvement we’ve made has been driven by a simple goal: ensuring people in our communities have access to outstanding healthcare close to home.”
