Tag: Health Care

Health Care Providers Expand Substance Use Disorder Resources For Veterans

As fentanyl overdose deaths rise nationally, West Virginia health care providers are looking for new ways to support veterans struggling with substance use disorder or mental health issues.

As fentanyl overdose deaths rise nationally, veterans face new challenges overcoming historic barriers to health care.

Mark Mann, chief of staff for mental health services at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center (VAMC), said that West Virginia’s veteran community has been no exception to this struggle.

“The VA is doing a good job of curbing that, but we still are losing veterans every year to poisoning from fentanyl and other things that are mixed into the drugs,” he said.

Veterans have long faced bureaucratic difficulties and stigma when seeking support for substance use disorder. But the rising prevalence of fentanyl has also tested current mental health resources for veterans, requiring new strategies. 

In response, health care providers at the VAMC are working to expand current resources to better serve veterans struggling with substance use disorder and other forms of mental illness.

On Friday, medical professionals and members of the local community gathered at the facility for a summit on substance use disorder among veterans.

The event featured discussions from both national and local medical professionals, who discussed substance use disorder among veterans at large and specific services at the VAMC supporting veterans’ mental health needs.

Those resources include traditional medical resources, like residential inpatient services, intensive outpatient programs and medication-assisted therapies, Mann said.

But it also includes providing a full “continuum of care,” supplementing medical services with social interventions and support.

In 2022, Mann said staff members at the VAMC helped advocate for the creation of a three-digit hotline number for suicide and mental health crisis intervention, 988.

Joseph Liberto, national mental health director for substance use disorders at the Department of Veteran Affairs Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, answers audience questions.

Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Some veterans who contact the hotline are put in touch with the VAMC, who can then provide follow-up services and ensure they are safe.

Mann said providing a simple and remote resource like this has helped the VAMC provide more immediate support to veterans in need, and keep lines of communication open once patients step off the facility’s Martinsburg campus.

The VAMC has also created on-campus resources that provide counseling, like a chaplain assigned specifically to support veterans with difficulties surrounding mental health or substance use.

Roosevelt Brown, chief chaplain at the VAMC, said that the creation of this position allowed the VAMC to directly help local veterans, and point them to resources specific to their mental health needs.

“Part of what we’re doing now is trying to say, ‘Hey, how can we make sure we open the door and let them know that we have services available for them?’” he said.

As chaplains, Brown said that he and his colleagues offer spiritual or emotional guidance to patients at the VAMC, and also encourage them to access specific resources that could support them through periods of difficulty.

Brown said that fewer people used the VAMC’s chaplain services during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that turnout has returned to pre-pandemic levels with the creation of these new resources.

He added that he hopes this trend will continue, and that the VAMC will be able to further support veterans struggling with substance use disorder.

“We’re motivated to do something about those who need help,” he said. “My hope is that what we can do is [bring] a better quality of life [to] veterans.”

State Awards Company $5 Million To Test Medicines With Artificial Intelligence

GATC West Virginia, a health tech hub, was awarded $5 million to hire new staff. The company uses artificial intelligence to test the efficacy of new medications.

As overdose rates continue to rise nationally, a health company with West Virginia ties will soon receive $5 million in state funds to further research on substance use disorders.

GATC West Virginia — an in-state hub of the health technology company GATC Health — will use the new investment to develop medical treatments through artificial intelligence.

The company uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict how effective and safe new medicines will be, and to preemptively identify side effects.

New treatments must still be tested using clinical trials. But GATC claims using simulations can increase the likelihood of a medication’s success and expedite the development process.

Provided by the West Virginia Economic Development Authority and West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust, the new funding will allow GATC to hire tens of new employees at their location in Morgantown.

In a Friday press release, Gov. Jim Justice said the collaboration would put West Virginia at the forefront of developing health technology.

“West Virginia is leading the way in revolutionizing the pharmaceutical industry and making a huge difference in medicine discovery,” Justice said. “This initiative places West Virginia on the map as a leader of innovation as we bring cutting-edge technology right to our backyard to find effective medicines.”

Martinsburg Physicians Develop New Approaches To Rural Veteran Health Needs

A program at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center trains medical providers to better serve rural veterans, who often face a number of barriers to accessing health resources.

The Martinsburg VA Medical Center (VAMC) serves veterans across county and even state lines.

With such an expansive patient base, the medical center’s health care providers not only have to consider veteran needs, but also disparities in rural health care access — and the ways these experiences overlap.

That is where the VAMC’s local chapter of the national VA Rural Interprofessional Faculty Development Initiative (RIFDI) comes in. The voluntary program trains medical professionals to better serve rural communities, and the veterans who call them home.

Over a two-year period, the program provides physicians lectures, group discussions and project-based learning on rural health care.

So far, three cohorts have completed the program, and RIFDI is still admitting new cohorts of health care providers.

VAMC Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Zapor began the Martinsburg RIFDI program, and said that it helps fill gaps where disparities in veteran and rural health care access overlap.

Veterans living in the rural United States often have less access to stores, transit options and the internet, which limits the health care resources at their disposal, he said.

“When you’re talking about … ‘We’re going to leverage telehealth.’ Even that is not a silver bullet for everybody, because we’ve got some veterans who don’t have computers,” he said.

This requires health care providers to consider the needs of rural veterans across the region and develop strategies to better provide them with health services.

In response, RIFDI considers “innovative ways” to serve the local veteran community, Zapor said. This includes educating veterans on proper nutrition, and offering a mix of in-person and telephone-based services so veterans can choose the resources best suited to their lifestyles.

In developing these strategies, physicians also learn about the health care experiences of the patients they serve.

“We leverage all kinds of ways to be able to project that care out to the more rural remote veterans who may have more difficulty accessing it,” he said.

For more information about RIFDI, visit www.ruralhealth.va.gov.

**Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Michael Zapor founded the VA Rural Interprofessional Faculty Development Initiative (RIFDI). Instead, he launched Martinsburg’s local RIFDI program. The story has been updated with the correction.

W.Va. Health Centers To Receive $6 Million In Federal Funds

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has allocated more than $6 million to health services in West Virginia, including health centers in Greenbrier, Hancock and Webster counties.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has allocated $6,448,505 to health services in West Virginia.

The new slate of funding will go toward health care centers in Hancock, Greenbrier and Webster counties, as well as the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

The funds aim to bolster public health infrastructure in West Virginia. Nationally, rural health care centers face an increased likelihood of closure, often because of funding issues tied to lower patient volumes.

This can leave rural residents at risk of reduced health care access. But the new funding aims to reinforce services already in place.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., shared news of the new investment in a press release Wednesday.

Manchin said the new funding’s impact will extend beyond the health care centers themselves, directly supporting the residents of West Virginia.

“The awards announced today will support public health infrastructure statewide,” he said.

The following health care resources were selected for funding:

  • West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources: $3,025,950
  • Change, Inc., Hancock County: $1,196,097
  • Rainelle Medical Center, Greenbrier County: $1,184,522
  • Camden on Gauley Medical Center, Webster County: $1,067,886

Further Reducing Unemployment Numbers In W.Va.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, West Virginia, like most of the country, is enjoying record setting low unemployment numbers after the coronavirus pandemic. Briana Heaney sat down with Josh Sword, president of West Virginia’s AFL-CIO, and Del. Clay Riley, R-Harrison, to discuss two bills that would reduce unemployment benefits in the state.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, West Virginia, like most of the country, is enjoying record setting low unemployment numbers after the coronavirus pandemic. Briana Heaney sat down with Josh Sword, president of West Virginia’s AFL-CIO, and Del. Clay Riley, R-Harrison, to discuss two bills that would reduce unemployment benefits in the state.

Also, we’re in the final two weeks of the 2024 state legislative session. All bills, except for the budget bill, must be out of their chamber of origin by the end of the day Wednesday to give time to consider the bill. This is called Crossover Day.

In the House Monday, lawmakers passed bills on third reading altering the state’s definition of human trafficking and a separate bill increasing leniency over youth vaccination. Jack Walker has the story.

In the Senate, the chamber passed and advanced bills concerning marital sexual assault and unemployment benefits. Briana Heaney has the story.

Finally, it was Nursing Day at the Capitol. Bob Brunner spoke with nurses about the challenges they face, and he spoke with a leader who runs a retreat for nurses who are burned out.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Black Nurse Community Calls For Culturally Informed Health Care In W.Va.

Black nurses in West Virginia can face fewer identity-specific resources and culturally uninformed workplaces. But groups like the Black Nurse Collaborative aim to change that.

West Virginians face an above-average risk of death from strokes, heart disease and even injury.

This leaves Black residents especially vulnerable, because they already face disproportionate risks in the U.S. health care system.

But Black nurses are coming together to provide better care for patients and new opportunities for Black professionals.

On Thursday, members of the Black Nurse Collaborative (BNC) set aside their scrubs for a visit to the Martinsburg VA Medical Center.

The group, which is based in Bowie, Maryland, provides Black nurses identity-specific professional support. This week, they came to West Virginia to hold a panel on inclusion and racial inequity in their industry.

Speakers’ stories often overlapped. Many recalled patients and coworkers doubting their qualifications simply because of their race.

Nurses already face a power imbalance in health settings, because doctors have more authority over medical decisions.

Together, these biases and professional barriers can make it hard for Black nurses to speak up when they disagree with something.

For Meedie Bardonille, president and founder of the BNC, that is a problem.

She said when a patient has a health care provider that looks like them, “it’s clearly documented from numerous studies that health care outcomes are positively impacted.”

“Whether you’re a male nurse caring for another male patient, whether you’re a Black nurse caring for another Black patient,” Bardonille said.

West Virginia is predominantly white. This means that Black nurses and patients are less likely to encounter people who share their racial and cultural experiences, both of which shape health care outcomes.

In West Virginia, medical officials are looking to make a change. Chief of Staff Ngozi Efobi said the Martinsburg VA is recruiting nurses from all different backgrounds, including historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

“I don’t know that historically an attempt has been made to meet them where they are,” Efobi said. “So we’re being very intentional about working with our fellow hospitals and universities, especially HBCUs, to just let them know that we’re here and that we’re interested.”

Through this, Efobi said the hospital center is making sure “we have a diverse population to take care of our diverse veteran population.”

Still, working in predominantly white places like West Virginia comes with challenges.

According to Bardonille, that is where professional support groups like the BNC come in. They help ensure Black nurses find resources and community, regardless of where they live, she said.

“You’re able to learn and hear from those individuals and experiences that can have a direct impact on your career,” Bardonille said. “More importantly, also the community that you’re seeking to serve.”

For Bardonille, providing culturally competent care means forging community with others who share your experience, and helping educate individuals who do not.

“You have to create your own table, bring your own chair and actually create the menu as well,” she said.

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