In 1965, the outlook for modern health care in Roane County, W. Va., was bleak. A few experienced but aging physicians were responsible for serving the county’s entire population; access to emergency care required traveling miles away to larger cities; and recruiting young, new providers to a rural community without modern facilities was a near impossible feat.
Living and working in a rural area brought unique health challenges to families, and Spencer, West Virginia native G. Foster Hedges, Jr., understood that in order for the community to progress, the critical need for access to modern health care close to home had to be met. Hedges acted with urgency and put his law practice aside to accept the challenge of building what would become Roane General Hospital (RGH).
The Hospital Development Company was organized in the spring of 1966. As Chairman, Hedges led a board of 14 local leaders and a handful of other dedicated volunteers on a mission to unite the community and raise $500,000 to help pay for the construction of a new community hospital. It was a large undertaking that required tireless commitment from all involved.
Hedges and his wife, Mary Helen, helped kickstart the effort by making an initial contribution of $35,000 – an investment equivalent to more than $337,000 in present day value. Other board members followed suit, and soon after so did the community. The shared goal of a new hospital and the future it promised brought in donations large and small from across the region at an expedient pace. The community fundraising goal was surpassed in three and a half months under Hedges’ leadership – an unprecedented success, even today.
The Hospital Development Company continued to secure federal funding and oversee the development of the project. When construction was completed in November 1969, Roane General Hospital was dedicated in a formal ceremony. On a hilltop in Spencer where prize-winning cattle once grazed, there was now a brand-new hospital that signified much more than quality health care for the community that helped build it. It was a dream realized for so many, including G. Foster Hedges.
Hedges served the hospital in a leadership capacity as Board Chairman from 1966 until his passing in 1986. He also served as Interim Chief Administrator during a vacancy in 1972. During those years, Mary Helen was also an influential voice supporting her husband in leadership activities on behalf of the hospital. The couple’s commitment to RGH and their shared vision for a healthier community is one that has been carried on by younger generations of their family.
For the last 30 years, a member of the Hedges family has played an active role on the hospital’s Board of Directors, including David Hedges (1994-2001), Tom Whittier (1994-2011), Christine Hedges (2011-2023) and Annie Hedges (2023-present day). Through many seasons of change, they have helped to ensure that the founding principles laid forth by G. Foster Hedges and the original members remain a guiding light in every decision that’s made.
Today, Roane General Hospital is one of only five remaining independent, wholly-locally owned and operated Critical Access Hospitals in West Virginia. According to Chief Executive Officer Doug Bentz, Roane General Hospital’s humble beginnings are what set it apart from other like-sized hospitals in the state. Though the facility has transformed in many ways over the years, the vision and heart with which it operates are still very much the same.