VCOM 2023 Annual Report

Bland

Wythe

perfect example of what can happen when dedicated physicians return to their rural hometowns to practice. Dr. King grew up in Wytheville and attended Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, before heading to VCOM in Blacksburg. As a kid, he had a

health of communities. The National Center for Rural Health Works in 2016 estimated that one new primary care physician supports approximately 26 jobs and almost $1.4 million per year in salary, wages and benefits.

good relationship with his local family doctor and had always thought of going that same route. “I wanted to be the kind of doctor who did a little bit of everything,” he said. “Family medicine is such a versatile specialty because there is a lot of variety. I work ER shifts, I am chief of pediatrics at the hospital and I also do in patient care of adults.”

Jackson says the partnership benefits both VCOM and the foundation. “The VCOM mission is aligned with the mission of the foundation,” he observes. “The VCOM Physician Educator Retention Program helps keep people in the area and helps them make better healthcare decisions. The physicians here really know patients and their families, and they really care. This

“The VCOM Physician Educator Retention Program helps keep people in the area and helps them make better healthcare decisions.”

Primary care physicians like Chase King, DO—and the other VCOM doctors who will choose the community because of the partnership—also improve the economic

program is changing the community, and the physicians who are here to make a difference are going to do well.”

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