Dr. Phillip Surface on Rural Access, Policy, and the Future of Mobile Healthcare

In a wide-ranging interview with Farber Specialty Vehicles, Dr. Phillip Surface, an orthopedic surgeon and political candidate currently running for state-senate in the state of West Virginia outlined a clear and urgent vision for rural healthcare in America: access must come before expansion.

Surface, who has spent nearly three decades practicing medicine in West Virginia, framed the issue not as a lack of quality care, but as a fundamental failure of proximity. “We have a great healthcare system in the state [and our country], but we do have an access problem,” he explained, citing geography, aging populations, and long travel times as persistent barriers to care.

The interview centered around a major upcoming shift in federal funding. Recent legislation associated with the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ out of Washington indicates [...]