BELHAVEN — As Belhaven’s mayor leads a march on Washington, D.C., following the closure of the town’s hospital, Vidant Health officials are focusing on the organization’s role in providing healthcare to the rural area.

Vidant Pungo Hospital closed July 1, triggering strong opposition from town officials, representatives of the NC NAACP and other community groups.

Low patient volume and the deteriorating condition of the hospital building contributed to an unsustainable model, said Roger Robertson, president of Vidant Community Hospitals.

Vidant has shifted its focus to continuing healthcare in Belhaven, where it operates three doctor’s offices and a 24/7 clinic offering primary care. The clinic offers a facility to handle overflow and patients who need to be seen promptly, said Dr. Greg Jones, physician and chief medical officer at the 24/7 clinic.

Belhaven Mayor Adam O’Neal recently embarked on a march to the nation’s capital to protest the hospital closure and advocate for rural healthcare.

O’Neal said he and NC NAACP President Rev. Dr. William Barber will hold a rally Monday and hope to meet with President Barack Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss the healthcare situation in Belhaven.

O’Neal has said Vidant breached its contract in handling the hospital closure, but Robertson says that is not true.

“We have not breached anything, either in our contractual arrangements with the hospital corporation, or now Pantego Creek,” Robertson said. “We haven’t breached anything in the mediation agreement that we had. In fact, if anything, we’ve gone beyond what that’s actually called. We are very comfortable that we’ve done everything we’ve committed to.”

Robertson said Vidant came up with a model that called for access to around-the-clock healthcare, based on the needs of the community.

“We know that closing a hospital or ceasing operations is not positive,” Robertson said. “It’s not anything that we wanted to do, but we were also very clear and understanding on the front end that it might not feasible for that community.

“Locally, there’s some misperception it is our intention not to be there and that is totally false and inaccurate. One thing I will keep saying is our mission is to be there and provide healthcare for the future.”

Spokeswoman Christine Mackey echoed Vidant’s commitment to the area in the wake of the hospital closure.

“We think we have what might be the most sustainable long-term model of care for the community,” Mackey said. “We are not leaving the community, we are continuing to provide healthcare services and we intend to build the multi-specialty clinic. In the meantime, there is access for people to get healthcare and if they do have an emergent problem, we’re going to get them transferred to the right level of care.”