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This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage revisits our 2021 Holiday Special. The episode features seasonal songs, old and new, all recorded live over the years on the Mountain Stage.
Appalachia Health News is an ongoing series that tells the story of our health challenges and how we overcome them throughout the region. Our reporters cover topics such as women’s health, chronic disease and substance abuse, as well as documenting the health-related innovation, improvement and success within the Appalachian region.
Our Appalachia Health News Reporter is Emily Rice.
Appalachia Health News is produced with support from CAMC and Marshall Health.
On this West Virginia Week, we hear about some of the health challenges facing West Virginians — including lung disease, HIV/AIDS outbreaks and recovery.
On a national level, the end of pandemic-era benefits will affect child care costs and access. West Virginia hopes to avoid those shortfalls by relying on individual child care subsidies that date back to the 1960s.
West Virginia allows for medical exemptions to vaccines but does not allow for exemptions based on religious or philosophical beliefs. Some lawmakers would like to see those laws change.
A film called Impossible Town, based in Minden, West Virginia features Dr. Ayne Amjad’s efforts to relocate the town’s residents after decades of exposure to chemical contamination during her tenure as the state’s health officer.
Sherri Young, the interim secretary of the DHHR, and incoming secretary for the new Department of Health, spoke with Appalachia Health News Reporter Emily Rice about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
A $1 million grant provided by UniCare helped establish a program aimed at improving the livability and conditions of five homes throughout West Virginia.
The three appointed secretaries of the new bureaus of the DHHR provided lawmakers with updates on restructuring within the department. Legislation passed in 2023 required the department to be reorganized and split into three agencies after concerns of inefficiencies in the system.
State health care leaders met Thursday at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting and business summit at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs.
Staffing shortages place an immense strain on the entire health care system, leaving hospitals and medical centers overwhelmed and unable to provide optimal care for patients.
During the interim legislative session, Commissioner of the Bureau for Social Services Jeffrey Pack provided updates on hiring and retention initiatives in the department.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services aims to improve health care in rural areas with the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program in Lewisburg, West Virginia by establishing new Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) access points.
Medical experts at West Virginia University are excited about the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of Beyfortus as a major advancement to prevent RSV.
A new federal grant is expected to support a three-year, rural internal medicine residency program aimed at improving the needs of rural communities in Appalachia.
Mission West Virginia and the West Virginia Department and Health and Human Resources (DHHR) have partnered to electronically publish a quarterly newsletter for families called West Virginia Kids Thrive.
The new three-digit national crisis line took five million calls in its first year of operation. Federal officials say that is up 35 percent compared to the old 10-digit line.
The CEG is a non-profit organization with its base of operations in Lost River, West Virginia. The organization focuses on the “syndemic” or synergistic epidemic in Appalachia.
Morrisey informed elected officials and the public about the next steps following the creation of the foundation, as well as information about the settlement funds.
When it comes to decoding the language of the drug epidemic, advocates say compassionate language plays a crucial part in discussing the drug epidemic.
In a weekly update, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reported six additional deaths attributed to the virus in the past week bringing the total number to 8,155.
West Virginia’s hospitals continue to navigate an altered landscape since the onset of COVID-19. While there has been progress over the past year, hospitals in West Virginia still face a broad ranging shortage of healthcare workers. Health care providers struggle with a backlog of care for patients, problems with supply chains, mounting financial pressures and legislative changes to insurance.
Alongside health officials from West Virginia University, Gov. Jim Justice announced Thursday that $50 million of the state’s surplus funding will support investment to attain National Cancer Institute designation for the WVU Cancer Institute.
In Mercer County, nearly 175 food-insecure families get free, nutritious meal deliveries via DoorDash to combat rural child hunger in the Mountain State.
Researchers at Marshall University are seeking participants 55 and older to examine the effect of visual art activities on the well-being of aging adults.
According to the Air Now Fire and Smoke Map, West Virginia’s panhandles are experiencing the majority of particle pollution in the state, especially in the Eastern Panhandle, where Shepherdstown has been issued a code red warning for “unhealthy” air quality.
According to provisional data, the state’s overdose rate fell from February 2022 to February 2023. The data shows that opioid overdose rates have dropped by approximately 8 percent, marking the most substantial decrease since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A team of cardiologists at Marshall Health and St. Mary’s Regional Heart Institute successfully used new technology to achieve better visualization and access to the heart, improving the success rate of cardiac ablation procedures.
WVU’s Center for Excellence in Disabilities has been in operation for 43 years. It does not focus on one disability in particular but instead cares for those with disabilities at every age.
The safest way to consume any food is to wash it with a specialty cleaner made for produce, or a mixture of water and vinegar upon arrival at the home, and again before preparing or eating it.
During a briefing, Dr. Jeff Coben, interim secretary of the DHHR, was asked multiple questions about the progress of the restructuring process of the agency.
The MATCH survey allows West Virginia community needs to be matched with health resources and provides information to support decision making on state and local levels.
Less than three percent of people raised in state care nationwide obtain a college degree. One West Virginia University (WVU) Newman Civic Fellow aims to change that statistic.
West Virginia lays claim to Lily’s Place, the nation’s first medical center specifically created for infants born from addicted parents. The Huntington facility is now expanding their services to support these growing infants’ siblings and families.
This week, the FDA is expected to authorize a recommendation of an additional shot for those who are immunocompromised as well as those over the age of 65.
The Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability (LOCHHRA) met Tuesday for an update on the DHHR’s years-long overhaul of critical computer systems.
Legislators learned the path to reorganize the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) remains uncertain during the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability meeting Monday.
With the federal COVID-19 public health emergency ending, West Virginia will issue Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) to qualifying K-12 students over the summer. This will be the final payment with CARES funds.
The COVID-19 pandemic may seem to be a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean the fight against it is over. Since last week, 16 West Virginians died from COVID-19. The nationwide average is 225 deaths a week. The West Virginia death total since the beginning of the pandemic is 8,083.
On average, 11,000 people die each day who are considered medically suitable to donate and don’t. About every 10 minutes, someone new is added to the national transplant waiting list.
A local nonprofit healthcare quality improvement company, Quality Insights, is marking its 50th anniversary by offering $100,000 in grants to nonprofits and community organizations seeking to improve health and health care in West Virginia.
While Friday’s rulings are not directly related to West Virginia’s lawsuit, GenBioPro, the maker of Mifepristone, reacted to the legal wrangling and announced it is reviewing both federal court orders.
Until recently, Narcan was only available with a prescription, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a specific naloxone product for use without a prescription: a four-milligram naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray.
Xylazine is a non-opioid agent linked to a growing number of overdose deaths across the country. As a non-opioid, the drug poses a threat to humans, in part because it does not respond to typical revival methods like Narcan.