Primary Care: The Core of Every Community

By Christopher Newman, MD, MBA, President and CEO, Mary Washington Healthcare

This op-ed appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on November 21.

I began my medical career as a solo primary care physician in a small rural town in southern Illinois. For six years, I cared for families in their homes, in the ICU, in nursing homes, and even on the sidelines as the high school football team’s physician. I knew these families and their stories, celebrated their milestones, and felt the weight of their worries.

It was some of the most challenging—and most meaningful—work I have ever done.

Those years taught me that primary care is at the very core of every community. When people can see a doctor they know and trust, health outcomes improve, hospitals aren’t overburdened, and communities thrive. But when that connection is missing, the health of the entire region suffers.

That reality is one I see emerging now in the Fredericksburg region.

A Growing Community, a Shrinking Workforce

Home to more than 500,000 people, the greater Fredericksburg area is among Virginia’s fastest-growing regions. Growth like this brings incredible vitality and opportunity, but it also brings a fair share of challenges—especially for healthcare. This problem is not unique to Fredericksburg. Across Virginia, and the nation, families are feeling the impact of a deepening physician shortage.

This urgent physician shortage is straining the state’s healthcare system and the quality of services provided to the community. Across the state, nearly 44% of neighborhoods lack adequate access to primary care physicians. This is even more acute in rural communities, which—as my personal experience can attest—bear the brunt of this shortage. This means for even basic appointments, residents may face long wait times or be required to travel outside the immediate area for care.

As our population ages and chronic diseases increase, the strain will only deepen. New research from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce predicts a national shortfall of 189,000 physicians through 2032. Here in Virginia, that shortage could reach 4,000 by 2030. The data is clear: Virginia will need more than 1,600 additional primary care physicians by 2030 just to meet current levels of demand.

We Can’t Hire Our Way Out of This

I understand the instinct to ask, “Why don’t we just recruit more doctors?” The truth is that recruitment has become one of the hardest parts of healthcare today. The shortage is everywhere. It’s not about Fredericksburg competing with other communities. It’s about the entire nation struggling to fill the pipeline.

When physicians leave or retire—two in 10 doctors in the U.S. are age 65 or older—it can take years to replace them. Training a new doctor requires not just education, but mentorship, clinical exposure, and connection to a community. Without a pipeline oriented toward our region, many vacancies persist longer than we can afford.

We Need to Be Proactive

I joined Mary Washington Healthcare (MWHC) in 2019 as the system’s chief medical officer and chief operating officer. I was honored to transition to CEO earlier this year. During my time with MWHC, we have worked tirelessly to grow our medical group from a dedicated group of 50 physicians to now more than 500, all committed to improving the health of our community. And we have made other investments as well—launching new graduate medical education (GME) and fellowship programs. It’s a great start, but we know we can do more.

However, this is not just a hospital issue. It’s a community issue. If we want to ensure access to care for our children, parents, and neighbors, we must invest now—in people, in education, and in the infrastructure that supports both.

We need more local partnerships and more creative solutions. And we need more awareness that training the next generation of healthcare providers is one of the most important investments we can make.

The Time Is Now

When I think back to my years in rural Illinois, I remember how deeply intertwined a doctor’s presence was with the health of the community. I saw firsthand the impact a strong doctor-patient bond can have.

Fredericksburg stands at a crossroads. We can continue to react to shortages as they come, or we can act now to build a sustainable future for care.

The path forward is clear: Grow the next generation of healthcare providers right here at home. Not by waiting, but by working together—health systems, educators, civic leaders, and neighbors—we can ensure that every person in our region can see a doctor when they need one.

That’s what a healthy community looks like. And that’s the future we can—and must—create together.