The questions came from a young couple, freshly married and considering a move to Sullivan County. 

Is it a good place to raise kids? What’s access to medical care like?

There were others about jobs and veterinary care and taxes and the myriad factors that go into making a particular place your home. 

Still, I couldn’t help but be stuck on these two questions, and these two questions put together in today’s climate. 

As a mom of a high school senior and a county native who cares deeply about our community, I’d love to see young couples make it in Sullivan County. 

But I couldn’t, in good conscience, paint a rosy picture of the current status of medical care for families in Sullivan County. 

Plan to get pregnant? Good luck. 

The obstetrical care has been sliced and diced in recent years. We’re now limited to just a few physicians who practice in our county, and their offices are located a good hour (or more) from many homes. With the literal dozens of appointments required for even the most basic prenatal care, pregnancy is quickly becoming fraught for young women in our county who have to juggle work and travel time. 

And what happens when the baby arrives? 

We have some wonderful pediatricians and cradle to grave physicians in our county. But recent decisions by our county’s main hospital to shutter pediatric care and the fact that many physicians already had a caseload miles long means the chances of getting on a pediatrician's roster are bleak. 

Again, travel considerations are added for each appointment, something worth considering when a healthy baby is expected to have six well care visits before their first birthday. 

A look at 2022 data regarding medical care here in our county estimates we have primary care physician per 2,900 people. The national average? It’s 1 primary care doctor per 1,310 people. We’re looking at more than double the burden on our providers and more than double the challenge to get care. 

If we want to measure the health of our community on the investment we are making in our future generations, is it any wonder we're 61st out of 62 counties in the state for health rankings?

I made a conscious choice to raise my child here in a community that I love. I want to see my child return one day and bring back all the skills developed in college to help make our county even stronger. 

But as I said to this particular young couple: "Our county needs smart young couples who want to make a go of it, and I truly LOVE where I live. But I don't want to sugarcoat it either."

If we want to sustain our community, the most important questions we should be asking ourselves are the ones young couples ask themselves before they move into a new community.

After all, these are the exact questions that our current kids will be asking before they consider moving back after college or stints outside of the county. 

If we want them back, we need to give them better answers.