Health & Science Story Archives - Page 99 of 338 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Seminars Focus On Creating Healthy Workplaces For Employees In Recovery

A series of free virtual workshops will teach West Virginia employers to support employees recovering from substance use disorder.

The series is the product of collaboration among employment experts from Marshall University’s Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) and Marshall Health’s CORE (Creating Opportunities for Recovery Employment).

Ashley Shaw is the director of CORE and brings a decade of experience in workforce development to her position.

“The focus of the webinars is to assist employers in improving strategies to recruit and retain employees,” Shaw said. “A part of that also though does include taking a look at some of the populations that are non traditional talent pools that maybe employers haven’t tapped into that might be able to benefit and serve as an asset and can be assets to employers across our region.”

Shaw said the webinar series has multiple components that make it an effective training tool to help employers see individuals as assets to their business.

“The other piece of it is addressing policy of organizations, their education, how they are training their staff,” Shaw said. “How are you ensuring that your culture is well so that not only can you assist folks that you might hire who are in recovery, that employers can take an active role in preventing substance use disorder within the workplace as well?”

A healthy workplace, or “well culture,” as defined by Shaw, focuses on policies that benefit employees and employers.

“Employers should take a look at their organization’s morale, work demands and working conditions. Are we using stigmatizing language? All of those things play a key role in building a ‘well culture’,” Shaw said. “Those are practical things that employers can put in place to better retain the staff that they do have and to better recruit into the workplace.”

The free hour-long sessions will be held Jan. 10, Feb. 14, March 14 and April 11. For more information, see RCBI’s registration form.

Hundreds Hospitalized In Post-Holiday COVID-19 Infection Spike

During his regular briefing, Gov. Jim Justice reported 551 new positive cases of COVID-19 after the holidays with 360 patients hospitalized.

Officials have often said the state has a capacity of about 500 beds, but right now staffing shortages are raising concerns after the recent spike in case numbers.

“Remember, the number at 500 really, really puts a strain on our hospitals in West Virginia. This is a big number jump,” Gov. Jim Justice said. “And literally at the end of the day, we can live with this, but I really urge you to get vaccinated and get your booster shots.”

West Virginia lost 26 more people to the virus and has 1,439 active cases, making for a daily positivity rate of 11.29 percent. Justice reported that 56 of the 360 patients hospitalized in the state are in the ICU, 17 of whom are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

Coronavirus Czar Dr. Clay Marsh urged the public to take precautions for themselves and their loved one’s safety against new variants. An emerging mutation of COVID-19 called XBB1.5 now accounts for 75 percent of infections in the northeast United States and 41 percent of infections nationwide.

“So we know our older population now is going to be the one most vulnerable to those,” Marsh said. “And importantly in the United States, we just passed 100 million cases of COVID-19. And we know that this is by far the most infectious period today. And the virus continues to gain power. And so we need to also gain power to offset it.”

Cabell County Commission Approves Audit of Harm Reduction Program

The Cabell County Commission approved a resolution seeking an evaluation and audit of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department’s syringe exchange program.

Syringe exchanges are widely seen by public health experts as a key measure in preventing the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs.

“We feel that our effort has been successful while we search for people who are afflicted with this illness and get them the help they need,” said Dr. Michael E. Kilkenny, executive director of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department. “So these restrictions have had some impact on our ability to prevent disease.”

The audit of Cabell-Huntington’s program comes over a year after a new state law went into effect, Senate Bill 334, which requires programs offering syringe exchanges to host a number of other harm reduction services, force them to deny clean needles to those who don’t return with their used needles and require them to only serve clients with state IDs in order to operate.

“As a licensed entity we are fully aware that we are subject to review by not only Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification (OHFLAC), who issues our license but also by our main granting organizations through the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) so we are certainly open and willing,” Dr. Kilkenny said. “We are actually even eager to have an inspection and make sure that we are complying with all aspects of the law. We are hopeful that the audit will provide clarity to the county commission.”

Kilkenny noted that the Cabell-Huntington Health Department’s syringe exchange program informed national harm reduction strategies and said he sees the audit as an opportunity to show success within the program and inform local citizens about the program’s benefits.

“I think we have established the basic understanding of Appalachian injection drug use and that has been used to inform the national strategy and we have been informed by the national strategy as we work toward that 2030 goal,” Dr. Kilkenny said. “I think that is what they are looking for and I think they will better understand what it is we do and how effective it is.”

State Officials Warn Of Post-Holiday COVID-19 Surge

While reports of COVID fatalities have slowed down over the holidays, state officials are asking the public to prepare for a surge and report any illness to their physicians.

Despite the encouraging news that no new COVID-19 fatalities have been reported in the last 11 days, state officials are asking the public to prepare for a surge and report any illness to their physicians.

In a press briefing Tuesday, Gov. Jim Justice, Interim Head of the DHHR Jeff Coben and Ret. Gen. James Hoyer encouraged the public to stay vigilant as fear of a post-holiday surge in cases mounts.

“I also remind you about getting your flu shot, you know, whether it be this RSV or flu or COVID,” Justice said. “There’s three things going around and pretty nasty stuff, and everything, but protect yourself as best you possibly can. We all know that wintertime is with us.”

Hoyer pointed out a vulnerable age group shown in new data from West Virginia University (WVU).

“As we continue to manage COVID and stay in this study phase, what we see is that the bulk of our hospitalizations tend to be people aged 65 and above as we pointed out, as well as with the fatalities, but what we see in the surge periods is a greater increase in hospitalizations of people in the age group 50 to 59,” Hoyer said.

State officials asked the public to stay up to date on their vaccinations, and to not depend solely on at-home tests and report any illness or positive test to their physician.

“The good news is that the numbers right now are manageable,” Hoyer said. “But as pointed out, we can continue to get people to take those vaccinations, whether it’s a flu vaccine, the COVID vaccine. Those will help us blunt those particular surges and allow us to manage our way through this more effectively.”

Resources Available For Holiday Mental Health Concerns

During the holidays, feelings of sadness and depression can become even stronger and it's important to recognize signs and symptoms of mental health concerns before they become a problem.

During the holidays, feelings of sadness and depression can become even stronger and it’s important to recognize signs and symptoms of mental health concerns before they become a problem. But, according to Interim Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Dr. Jeffery Coben, there are several resources available to offer help.

“Someone who is suffering from mental health problems may have feelings of intense sadness and confusion, excessive fears of worries and guilt feelings,” Coben said. “We (DHHR) have several resources that are available for those who may have mental health concerns for family members and friends who are concerned about their loved ones.”

DHHR mental health resources include:

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, providing 24/7 free and confidential support prevention and crisis resources.

HELP4WV offers 24/7 confidential support and resources referrals along with a specific children’s crisis and referral line. Residents may call HELP4WV at 844-HELP4WV, text at 844-435-7498 or chat at www.help4wv.com.

HELP 304 offers social and emotional counseling through its professional crisis counselors. They are available at 1-877-HELP304, text at 1-877-435-7304 or chat at http://help304.com.

“The Department of Health and Human Resources encourages anyone experiencing signs or symptoms of mental health disorders or behavioral concerns to seek assistance from those resources available to all West Virginians,” Coben said.

Eastern Panhandle Remains Child Protective Services Recruitment Focus

Several new workforce recruitment initiatives pinpoint the Child Protective Services plight in the Eastern Panhandle.

In Gov. Jim Justice’s Tuesday coronavirus briefing, Interim Health and Human Resources Secretary Dr. Jeffery Coben offered updated information on several new workforce recruitment initiatives recently put into action. The moves pinpoint the Child Protective Services plight in the Eastern Panhandle.

Coben said three of the previous four offers of Eastern Panhandle employment have been accepted, including two CPS workers and one youth service worker. He said their start dates are this week and they will begin their training immediately.

Coben also said one retired CPS worker accepted a new position and will begin in January. He said the initiative of enticing DHHR retirees to return to work on a limited basis without losing any of their retirement income will continue.

“We’re very excited to have them all join our workforce and to help keep our children safe as it relates to allocating funds for additional workers in the Eastern Panhandle,” Coben said.

Recently, Justice admitted the moves were made, in part, as a response to a publicly shared letter he received from Sen. Charlie Trump, R-Morgan, identifying crisis-level child welfare shortcomings specific to the Eastern Panhandle.

“These are addressing the needs that Sen. Trump brought up,” Justice said. “We have authorized the $2,500 CPS hiring bonus for CPS workers in Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson counties be moved to $5,000.”

Other DHHR recruitment initiatives recently announced by Coben include reaching out to high school programs, the Mountaineer Challenge Academy, vo-tech programs and WVU health sciences students.

Coben has also said he’s working on plans to acquire additional technology allowing DHHR people to work smarter and more efficiently to manage cases that are in the system, both now and in the future.