For Mary Grace and Ambrose Rucker, bringing their first child into the world was supposed to be a joyful and peaceful experience. But early in the pregnancy, they knew it wouldn’t be simple. The couple, who live in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, made the difficult decision to choose a hospital an hour and a half away from home, across state lines, because they were worried about the limited prenatal and neonatal care options nearby.
“There’s a hospital just 20 minutes from us,” Mary Grace said. “But we couldn’t find anyone who had actually delivered there. That was concerning.”
Their caution proved necessary. At 35 weeks, Mary Grace was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a serious condition that can endanger both mother and baby. In the middle of a medical emergency, they made the long, stressful drive to the out-of-state hospital they had chosen months earlier. Their son, Isaac, was delivered via emergency C-section and spent three weeks in the NICU, far from home.
“It wasn’t just the birth,” Ambrose said. “It was the fear, the drive, the unknown. And knowing that families all around us are facing the same thing.”
Their story isn’t unique in that part of the state. Parents in the eastern panhandle often face a stark choice: have a home birth or travel long distances for hospital care that includes an adequate neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The one hospital in their region with NICU beds only has 12, far from enough, they argue, for an area serving over half a million people.
“There are good midwives here, and home births can be beautiful,” Mary Grace added. “But when you need access to medical care, you shouldn’t have to cross state lines to get it.”
The Ruckers are now speaking out, pushing for reform of West Virginia’s Certificate of Need (CON) laws. These laws require health care providers to receive state approval before opening or expanding services, which critics say makes it harder to improve access and stifles competition.
“There used to be a NICU closer to us,” Ambrose said, “but it was consolidated into one hospital for the whole panhandle. That consolidation left families like ours with very few options.”
While efforts to repeal CON laws stalled in the most recent legislative session, the Ruckers are staying engaged. With growing grassroots momentum and a governor who supports reform, they’re hopeful that real change is on the horizon.
“Our son Isaac just turned 13 months old,” Mary Grace said with a smile. “He’s crawling everywhere, curious about everything. We want more kids, but we want them to be born in a state where parents don’t have to choose between safety and geography.”
For families like the Ruckers, the fight for better care in West Virginia is more than policy, it’s personal.
