NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — When Jim Purekal moved to Norfolk in 2023, he started shopping around for a doctor.
“There were certain doctors that looked like they were available,” Purekal said. “But when I made the phone call it, I was informed that they were not taking any new patients.”
After he expanded his parameters to look 25 miles out, then 50, and found nothing available, he began to get concerned, he said.
Purekal’s frustraton is felt across Hampton Roads, where new patients are scheduling appointments ten months to more than a year out.
“It’s the perfect storm here in Hampton Roads,” said retired Nuerologist, Dr. Armistead Williams.
Williams is now working to save the profession and people he’s taken care of for 45 years.
“We realized there was a need and there was nobody else going to go speak up and say, ‘This is a problem. This — this is like a hair on fire problem,'” Williams said.
Williams along with Consultant and Partner Emeritus, or CPA, and Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, Bruce Holbrook, have done a lot of research to diagnose the condition of local health care.
“We’re in a huge crisis,” Holbrook said. “We can’t wait a year. We can’t wait two years. We need to start recruiting doctors now.”
Overall, Williams said, people living in Hampton Roads are not as healthy as in other parts of the state.
When ranked by county, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Newport News and Hampton all have worse than average health outcomes for Virginia. All of those cities, except Suffolk, are also fairing worse than average for the nation.
“We’re a sick area and we need more doctors,” Williams said.
At the root of the crisis is a short supply of doctors and increasing demand from patients. But why now? Where did all of the doctors go? Williams’ and Holbrook’s research points to three main drivers of demand.
- Medicaid Expansion: In 2019 gave medical insurance to 50,000 people who didn’t have it before.
- Military Readiness: In 2017 the Department of Defense shifted to wartime readiness. That reduced the number of medical staff at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center
sending military families (Tricare Beneficiaries) into the community for care. - Baby Boomers: This generation is affecting supply and demand. The Baby Boomer generation is getting older and sicker, while those in health care are getting out.
“I’ve consulted with some family practice groups around there, and you go out and talk to them and say, ‘What’s happening?’ And four to five of them are going to retire in the next two or three years and they can’t replace them,” Holbrook said.
Williams told WAVY that for every doctor who retires it takes one and a half new doctors to replace them. Why? Quality of life.
“They don’t want to work like I did … it’s true,” Williams said. “You ought to be able to go home, have supper with your children.”
The cost of medical school is also dissuading some from pursing a career in medicine at all.
“Everybody else wants these doctors, too,” Williams said. “And if we’re going to be competitive, we have to have the work life balance and the compensation.”
Pay-to-stay scholarships could help. Just last week EVMS announced a $20 million gift from philanthropist Joan Brock to establish a scholarship for Virginia students who plan to practice in Hampton Roads. Sentara also committed to provide $350 million in dedicated funding over the next decade.
“That’s good, but they can make — could commit to even more than that,” Holbrook said. “Sentara has the money to fund it, and the city and the state has realized that it has to be done.”
It took Purekal 10 months to see a healthcare provider. Over which time, he developed a shoulder injury that now prevents him from lifting and playing with his daughter the way he used to.
“Had I had maybe some sort of a diagnosis at that time,” Purekal said. “Then it wouldn’t gotten to the level of where it’s kind of constant pain.”
The DOD is now working to bring military families back into the military health system. Also, Sentara’s director of communications said Sentara is committed to expanding its physician training adding new fellowship programs and expanding existing residency programs. Both of which will help, but will take years to play out.
So what can you do now? Williams said to appreciate the doctor you have and keep yourself as healthy as possible.