“I have to travel 2.5 hours away to receive the care that I know I deserve… It limits my ability to have a normal life.”

– Elizabeth Greer

Martinsburg, West Virginia

Elizabeth Ann Greer’s story reveals how multiple systemic barriers within healthcare can compound to create profound inequities in health outcomes. As a Black woman, Medicaid enrollee, mother of medically complex children, and healthcare professional herself, she repeatedly encountered a system that delayed care, dismissed her expertise, and forced her to travel long distances to access services that should have been available close to home. Her experiences demonstrate that insurance coverage alone does not guarantee meaningful access to care. Even with Medicaid, she faced months-long waits, repeated cancellations, fragmented referral systems, and providers unwilling to engage with her as an informed partner in her own healthcare. The result was not only delayed testing and treatment, but a growing sense of mistrust in institutions that she believed were failing to meet even basic standards of care.

Her testimony also exposes the devastating consequences of bias and discrimination in women’s healthcare, particularly for Black women. Elizabeth describes being dismissed during miscarriages as a young professional in her twenties, told that if she was losing the pregnancy there was little to be done. The lack of appropriate treatment for those pregnancy losses had long-term repercussions, contributing to chronic reproductive complications, high-risk pregnancies, severe postpartum outcomes, and years of avoidable suffering. Her experiences mirror broader patterns documented across maternal health research, where Black women are more likely to have their symptoms minimized, their pain underestimated, and their concerns disregarded regardless of education, income, or professional status. Even as a perinatal mental health specialist, doula, and clinical herbalist with substantial medical literacy, Elizabeth found that her expertise did not shield her from dismissal. Her story demonstrates that disparities in care cannot be explained by patient knowledge or personal responsibility alone; they are rooted in the structures, biases, and practices of healthcare systems themselves.

Finally, Elizabeth’s experiences highlight the consequences of chronic underinvestment in healthcare infrastructure across West Virginia. From traveling hours for traumatic brain injury treatment and specialty reproductive care, to relying on out-of-state hospitals for life-saving interventions for herself and her children, she paints a picture of a healthcare system stretched beyond its capacity. The shortage of birthing hospitals, limited access to high-level maternal and pediatric services, and lack of nearby specialists create extraordinary burdens for families—especially those caring for medically complex children. For families without reliable transportation, flexible employment, financial resources, or the ability to advocate aggressively on their own behalf, these barriers can be insurmountable. At its core, Elizabeth’s story is a call for accountability: investment in local healthcare capacity, stronger maternal health systems, culturally responsive care, and policies that confront rather than ignore racial inequities in health outcomes. Her testimony reminds us that women should not have to survive multiple preventable harms before being believed, and that the measure of a healthcare system is how well it serves those who have historically been the easiest to overlook.

Hear more reproductive health stories from real women in West Virginia.