I’ve written a lot of posts, but I do not
recall having ever written one that focused on the town that served as my
adopted home during the last eight years of my primary and secondary education. Check; cross that off the list.
In short order, I will introduce you to the
Town of Belhaven, NC and its feisty, non-traditional Mayor, Adam O’Neal. To set the stage, Belhaven is one of those
poor communities that typically spring to mind when folks discuss the rural
South. It is nestled in a small Eastern
North Carolina County (Beaufort), and according to the 2010 Census, the
population was 1,688. This is a net
reduction from 1,968 enumerated in the 2000 Census.
The demographics and politics make for an interesting
mix, on its face. The racial mix of the
population is split 37% white, 60% black.
Native Americans and Asians each comprise less than 1% of the
population. Hispanics/Latinos, which may
be white or black, account for 2.69% of the residents.
So what makes the demographic-political mix so
interesting? The Mayor of this
predominantly black town is not only white, but also Republican. But that alone is not what makes this story
interesting. In the Age of Obama, we
have become accustomed, if not desensitized to the strident nature of partisan
politics, on both the local and national level.
So much so, that when New Jersey Governor Chris Christy embraced
President Obama, and spoke kindly of him when the President visited New Jersey
to offer federal assistance in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the vast majority
of his GOP colleagues attacked him.
I can honestly say learning that the incumbent
Mayor of Belhaven was white did not surprise me. That he took a position in opposition to
closing rural hospitals in general, and that he opposed closing Belhaven’s
hospital in particular, also didn’t move the dial. However, when I learned there was a
Republican politician who was distinguishing himself by challenging the popular
GOP position against Medicaid Expansion, and that this GOP pol and the Mayor of
Belhaven were one and the same, well now you have my full and complete
attention.
I visited Eastern North Carolina 3 out of 4
weekends this month. I was already
aware, via home-based connections that Vidant Health planned to close Vidant
Pungo Hospital. The scheduled closure
was executed on July 1, 2014. The
CliffNotes version of the story is Vidant is a Healthcare Conglomerate that
operates hospitals and medical facilities in 29 Eastern North Carolina Counties,
serving a population of 1.4 million North Carolinians. Vidant bought a number of rural NC medical
facilities, including Pungo District Hospital (in 2011).
After two years, Vidant Health announced plans
to close what had become Vidant Pungo Hospital because it was losing
money. The Vidant administration
attempted to negotiate with Belhaven officials to take over operation of
hospital. Ultimately, Vidant Health
concluded Belhaven was unable to assume responsibility for the facility, and
closed it July 1st.
Mayor O’Neal is a passionate advocate for his
community. In his version of the big
picture, the bottom line is Vidant Health traded the people’s health for
profit. To give a stronger, more
targeted voice to his principal concerns, on July 14, 2014, he set out on a
two-week walk to Washington, DC. In
taking his cause to the highways, byways, and streets, he sought to elevate 3
key issues:
·
Medicaid Expansion
·
Endangered Rural Hospitals
·
Vidant Pungo Hospital
In making his case, the Mayor argued before a
crowd at a news conference in the nation’s Capital, at the end of his protest
march, “The story of Belhaven is bigger than the trials of a single small
town.”
In framing the specifics of the matter, he took
to task both hospital officials and NC elected officials. He suggested that Vidant put profit above
people’s health. He also criticized
state officials for their refusal to accept federal funding to expand
Medicaid. It is these additional funds
that pay the healthcare bills of many of NC’s poor. Without these funds, many North Carolinians
are being denied critical health care services.
UNC Chapel Hill researchers studied the
economic impact of the 140 rural hospitals that closed in the 1990’s. They found that within a few years, the unemployment
rate in those communities rose by 1.6% and that the per capita income fell by
more than $700.
Beaufort County’s unemployment rate was 8% in
May, compared to 6.4% for the state.
Mayor O’Neal emphasized that the fight for the hospital could determine
the future economic viability of a community surrounded by rivers and
sounds. He noted, “Not only have they
taken emergency room services away from our town, they’re also taking every
industry we’ve got away – which is retirees moving into our area. They’re not going to come to move into an
area without a hospital.”
Like a lot of high school graduates from the
area, I left Belhaven shortly after crossing the stage and turning my
tassel. That was 42 years ago. While I currently reside a few hundred miles
away, in many ways it is light years.
Still, I spent a number of my formative years in that community.
Most of the life lessons that frame my
worldview were gleaned during the course of executing my varied household
chores, or managing my paper route, or in the course of my summers spent
priming and hanging tobacco, or in the too numerous to count church services
that every PK (Preacher’s Kid to the uninitiated) is subjected to every
Sunday…and many other days and nights.
So, even though I was not born there, in lots of ways, Belhaven will
always be a part of me. As such, I
dedicate this post to my Homies-in-the-Haven.
And in closing, I offer a special thank-you; a shout out, if you will,
to Mayor Adam O’Neal. For many across
the country, he put Belhaven on the map over the course of these past two
weeks. For me, he provided a poignant
reminder that the community lives, and always will, in my heart. If you didn’t know, now you know. One Man’s Pilgrimage: Mayor O’Neal Goes To Washington!
I’m done; holla back!
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