SMYTH COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) — Schools in Southwest Virginia are preparing for a significant change as several will no longer host school-based health clinics by the start of the 2026-27 academic year.
This development comes after Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems (SVCHS) revealed plans to shut down eight clinics that currently operate across three different school districts.
The closures affect multiple schools, including Saltville Elementary, Northwood Middle, Chilhowie Elementary, and Chilhowie High in Smyth County. Additionally, John S. Battle High and High Point Elementary in Washington County, along with Virginia Elementary and Virginia High in Bristol, will also see their clinics close.
According to superintendents Keith Perrigan of Washington County and Brad Haga of Smyth County, the loss of these clinics carries a greater impact than what initial assessments might suggest.
“It felt like a blow to the stomach—a real gut punch,” Haga expressed. “It’s going to be tough on us. These clinics play a crucial role in keeping our students in class and our staff on the job. Without them, people might have to leave for outside medical appointments.”
“We’ve been working very closely over the last couple of weeks with Southwest Virginia Community Health System to try to find out, find a way that we could be more efficient in the services that they’re providing to our students and to our employees,” Perrigan told News Channel 11. “And so we thought we’d come up with a pretty good plan on how we could do that. And then a week later, we found out that the program was going to be completely removed from our schools.”
Between the eight clinics, thousands of students and staff were treated within a school year.
“This has truly been, in my opinion, one of the most impactful non-instructional things that I’ve been a part of in the school environment,” Perrigan said. “We averaged about 80 visits per month. We had more than 800 visits throughout the course of the year. And that’s the combination of not only our students, but our employees as well.”
“This clinic here saw roughly around 200 patients a month. So, having this in a rural community is very important for us,” Haga added.
SVCHS said in a press release that it lost a significant amount of funding from the 340B program. It went on to say that funding has gone from $2.7 million down to $400,000.
The following statement was also shared from SVCHS chief executive officer, Bryan Haynes.
“This was a difficult decision because we know firsthand the value these school-based clinics provide to students, families and educators throughout our region. Our responsibility is to ensure that SVCHS remains a strong, sustainable healthcare system that can continue serving Southwest Virginia for years to come. While we are suspending school-based services, our commitment to caring for children and families has not changed. Our pediatric providers remain available at our Community Health Centers, and we encourage families to continue turning to SVCHS for the high-quality, compassionate care they deserve.”
Bryan Haynes, CEO, Southwest Virginia Community Health Services
The full press release can be read below.
Both superintendents want parents, students, and staff to know they are already working on plans to have a clinic available for next school year.
“Dr. Perrigan and I have talked. I’ve also talked a little bit with Emory & Henry. There might be some other brainstorming that we could do, maybe some other partnerships with our community stakeholders to provide the service,” Haga said.
“We’re going to do everything that we can to either work with Southwest Virginia Community Health System to make sure that the program is still viable for next year. But if not, we’ll certainly reach out to other potential providers in the area to provide this service,” Perrigan added.
SVCHS adds that their pediatric providers are still available at their community health centers.