Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez Visits Pacific County Hospital to Discuss the Challenges Facing Rural Hospitals

Resources / Press Share on Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez Visits Pacific County Hospital to Discuss the Challenges Facing Rural Hospitals Oct 26, 2026 Press SOUTH BEND, WA — Last week, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez visited and toured Willapa Harbor Hospital, a critical access hospital in Pacific County. The Congresswoman spoke with hospital staff about new imaging suite improvements funded by her community project funding request and about the challenges facing rural healthcare. As a Critical Access Hospital, Willapa Harbor Hospital is more than 15 miles from the nearest hospital with only secondary road connections between facilities. Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez secured just over $1 million in community project funding for upgrades to Willapa Harbor Hospital in last year’s appropriations cycle. The hospital is using this funding to modernize their imaging systems with new X-ray, ultrasound and CT equipment. The hospital has already received new ultrasound equipment and has initial approval for a new CT system. They anticipate further upgrades to X-ray and scanning equipment will be approved in the near future. Having this equipment means patients can remain close to home while receiving the care they need. The previous old imaging equipment was past its service life and frequent outages required some patients take life flights to other hospitals. Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez meets with hospital staff to discuss the challenges of providing rural healthcare. “When you live in a rural community, there’s this constant back of mind worry about the what-ifs of healthcare access. Hospitals like Willapa Harbor are getting fewer and further between, and that really is an anxiety for so many people,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “Aging equipment and systems are becoming more and more expensive to repair or replace, and health cuts–like the ones I voted against–aren’t helping our communities get on their feet. I’m proud to be working to bring home funding that will go toward making sure our rural communities have reliable healthcare access.” Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez is working to improve access to quality, reliable healthcare in Southwest Washington. Earlier this summer, she visited Ocean Beach Health, another Critical Access Hospital in Pacific County, to see federally funded improvements and a new women’s clinic. This Congress she also passed the Rural Veterans’ Improved Access to Benefits Act , aimed at expanding access to disability exams to veterans living in rural areas, and introduced the More Nurses in Rural Schools Act to improve healthcare access for children in rural areas. Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez voted against H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law on July 4, 2025. This law eliminated Medicaid eligibility for roughly 17 million Americans–including 31,000 in Southwest Washington. The bill also terminated the temporary expansion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits, which helped cover healthcare coverage costs for lower-income households. Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez co-led the Bipartisan Premium Tax Credit Extension Act to extend these tax credits for one year and enact pharmacy benefit reforms to bring down the cost of healthcare. ### Share on