Rural Virginia doctor expands practice by opening office at a truck stop in high-traffic area

While many physicians are staying away from rural areas in favor of more prosperous practices in urban areas, a rural physician in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley has found a unique way to remain in the rural home he loves, despite living in a high-poverty area where many patients lack health insurance, Sandy Hausman reports for NPR. Dr. Rob Marsh's rural practice has succeeded by opening an office at a truck stop in area that sees 20,000 truckers pass through every day. (Hausman photo: Dr. Rob Marsh)

"Marsh accepts walk-ins who complain of backaches from sitting long hours behind the wheel, injuries suffered while hooking trucks to cabs and headaches caused by endless traffic jams," Hausman writes. That's good news for truckers like Christopher Sims of Blountsville, Ala., who was fighting a virus for several days but was on deadline and couldn't fit his truck into the parking lot of an urgent care facility.

Marsh told Hausman, "There is a significant percentage of truck drivers—I've heard anywhere from 15, 20 percent—that their truck is their home. So they don't have a home doctor, and we're becoming that. They know that they come through this truck stop once a week or twice a month or whatever and that we'll be here for them." (Read more)