Four months after reopening, Dr. John P. Richards is open for business in a new fully functioning facility. At the end of June in 2016, Richards lost his entire family practice to six feet of water during the severe floods that hit West Virginia.
On June 23, 2016, Dr. Richards was forced to relocate after the devastating floods uprooted most of the state. Six feet of water destroyed his office of 27 years, washing away and ruining everything from staples to an EKG machine.
To provide care for his patients during the interim months, Richards set up a temporary office on the second floor of Dr. Rahman and Dr. Goldfarb’s office building in Kanawha City. While he began exploring new options for his future practice Richards was able to provide care for some patients and keep half of his staff members working in the temporary space.
Dr. Richards would see 40 patients a day on average at his previous location. Not only serving the Elkview/Big Chimney area, but a wide rural population that stretches from Charleston all the way to Ripley. With over 4,000 patients, Richards and his staff are having difficulty notifying this rural population of the reopen.
“I want to continue seeing new patients each week. We know that some patients have been kindly waiting for us to get situated, but we have no way to let the rest know we are here and ready to serve their health needs- less than a mile from our old location,” says Richards.
On October 17, 2016, Dr. Richards reopened his practice with his full staff, and hopes to regain his full clientele in 2017. As of now, he is seeing about half the number of patients as before.
Many of his patients in Clendenin and Clay County are still without internet, some still living in tents. “Seven months later patients do not know our new phone number or address,” says Assistant Accountant Stephanie Dodd. “He could have stopped, moved, retired, went to New Zealand, but he didn’t. We are so thankful he stuck with us. I’ve worked for him for 10 years helping my neighbors and elderly. This is ‘their doc’, and he wants them to know he did not abandon them.”
More info about the initial damage can be found at www.wvgazettemail.com. Please contact Dr. Richards after work hours or Friday 11am-4pm for questions.
