NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Jamestown resident is concerned about COVID-19 as there's not a hospital in Fentress County.
Jamestown Regional Medical Center closed last year which sent a shock wave through the community.
"It was a terrible economic blow," Deborah Welshans said, "I’m in a retired community where people have pre-existing conditions, and they’re quite frankly pretty worried."
Welshans said the nearest hospital to her is in Cookeville or Crossville which is nearly 45 minutes away.
Welshans said, "People that could become sick, I don’t know that they have transportation, and I just feel like, that the president has promised the government’s full capacity to ensure everyone has medical care, and I’m just asking him to please give our hospital back to us."
She believes it could free up hospital beds in case the state of Tennessee needs them. Perhaps, it could be used to fight the new coronavirus.
"I don’t know right now in Fentress County where we could be tested, it was my understanding you could be tested at drive throughs and Walmart, our Walmart is not set up for that," Welshans said,
Eleven other Tennessee counties have facilities where you can drive up and get tested for the virus.
Welshans said, "This virus travels at lightening pace."
She hopes one day soon they will have a hospital again, and a place to get tested for COVID-19.
When Jamestown Regional Medical Center closed, many healthcare workers lost their jobs in Fentress County. Welshans believes many of them would be willing to head back to work if the government reopened a hospital for them.
