Mon Health System Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Top Doctors Named Across W.Va.

Doctors across eight specialties within Mon Health System were named Top Doctors by Castle Connolly and published in local publications.

Updated on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.

Doctors across eight specialties within Mon Health System were named Top Doctors by Castle Connolly and published in Pittsburgh Magazine and West Virginia Living.

Castle Connolly Top Doctors are a part of a peer-nominated network, with each selection vetted and chosen by their expert team of researchers.

Doctors recognized by West Virginia Living included Dr. John Battin, Urologist; Dr. Matthew Darmelio, Orthopedic Surgeon; Dr. Wissam Gharib, Cardiologist; Dr. Anthony Marcucci, Primary Care Physician; Dr. William McBee, Gynecologic Oncologist; Dr. Tom McClellan, Plastic Surgeon; and Dr. Jennifer Sivak-Callcott, Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstrutive Surgeon.

Dr. John Sunyecz, Gynecologist at Mon Health OBGYN in Hopwood, Pennsylvania, was recognized by Pittsburgh Magazine.

David Goldberg is the president and CEO of Mon Health System and executive vice president of Vandalia Health.

“Our physicians being recognized as Top Doctors is a testament to their unwavering commitment to providing exceptional care to our patients, and to their tireless efforts to stay at the forefront of medical innovation and expertise,” said Goldberg. “We congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition and thank them for their dedication to enhancing the health of the communities we serve, one person at a time.”

Karen Friggens serves as the vice president of Mon Health Systems and said this honor shows the dedication of the system’s doctors.

“They are some of the best in the area,” Friggens said. “Their skill, their excellence, and their patient-centered care is really what makes us different at Mon. When we say, feel the difference, it’s these types of providers in our organization.”

Castle Connolly evaluates physicians’ professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation and disciplinary history.

The organization has named nearly 200 West Virginia physicians as Top Doctors in their fields. There are 91 Top Doctors located in Morgantown, 43 near Huntington and 42 near Charleston.

***Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include other West Virginia doctors named Castle Connolly Top Doctors.

New Mobile Simulation Lab To Provide Medical Training To Rural Populations

The mobile simulation lab will provide access to nursing education for both currently practicing nurses and future nurses currently in nursing school.

The West Virginia Junior College (WVJC) School of Nursing at Mon Health has a new 38-foot mobile nursing lab, customized with two simulation hospital rooms and other equipment and supplies needed for practical nursing skill training.

The mobile simulation lab will provide access to nursing education for both currently practicing nurses and future nurses currently in nursing school.

David Goldberg, president and CEO of Mon Health System, said mobile training units help reach nurses and students in rural areas.

“As everyone knows, West Virginia, we’re a rural state,” Goldberg said. “So, making sure that we have tools to be able to train our staff that are all around the state with consistency is important. A lot of our rural communities don’t have access to state-of-the-art simulation equipment. This vehicle will give us the ability to go out to rural communities and reinforce opportunities to the nurses.”

The mobile unit will help with the healthcare worker shortage in the state by offering new and required training, brought to them on wheels. The highly specialized vehicle features a central control room, realistic simulation manikins, video recording and viewing technology.

“Our healthcare system is always in need of skilled nurses throughout the state,” said Chad Callen, CEO of WVJC. “This collaboration will allow our 18-month nursing program to extend the geographic reach of simulation training, especially in rural communities where access may be limited.”

The mobile simulation lab was made possible through donations by Ron and Stephanie Stovash, The Health Plan and the Hazel Ruby McQuain Trust.

Program Aims To Address Nursing Shortage In W.Va.

A West Virginia healthcare system has partnered with a junior college on a program aimed at addressing the shortage of nurses in the state.

Mon Health System and West Virginia Junior College signed a letter of intent on Monday to launch a nursing education program that will put students at the school on an accelerated path to becoming nurses, officials said during a signing ceremony.

Mon Health nurses will serve as faculty and the students will have digital coursework as well as learning through work at the hospital, what Mon Health System President and CEO David Goldberg called patient-side, The Dominion Post reported.

The program plans to open enrollment in September and start its first class next April.

The collaboration, Goldberg said, will serve “to bring not only the best nurses to patient-side through Mon Health, but keep people in this community, grow our own, take care of our own neighbors, family members and friends, so we continue to be the best health care location in north-central West Virginia and improve our health care outcomes.”

West Virginia Junior College CEO Chad Callen said nursing shortages are at near crisis levels in some areas of the state.

“Such challenges require bold thinking and innovative, out-of-the-box approaches,” he said.

Some Hospitals In W.Va. Will Remain Under A ‘No Visitor’ Policy As State Continues To Reopen

Updated on June 19, 2020 at 5:30 p.m.

As West Virginia continues to ease coronavirus-related restrictions this week under Gov. Jim Justice’s safer-at-home order, including nursing home visitations, some hospitals in the state are choosing to keep their doors shut to most visitors.

This week, WVU Medicine announced it would begin easing visitation restrictions at their hospitals statewide ⁠— except WVU Medicine East in the Eastern Panhandle.

A zero visitation policy remains in effect at Berkeley Medical Center and Jefferson Medical Center, with exceptions for end-of-life care, pediatrics, the neonatal intensive care unit, and obstetrics patients. To enter the hospital, everyone is required to wear a mask at all times.

The two medical centers are the only hospitals to serve Berkeley and Jefferson Counties, with the exception of the Martinsburg VA Medical Center.

WVU Medicine said in a news release the decision to keep the no visitor policy in place in the Eastern Panhandle was because the region continues to see an increase in coronavirus cases.

Berkeley County has seen the highest number of new positive cases in the state for weeks.

Charleston Area Medical Center Health System has had a no visitor policy in place since March, but that changed on Jun. 15, 2020 when the health system began implementing a phased reopening for visitations. The health system will enter phase II of its reopening on Monday.

Mon Health System, however, began easing its visitation restrictions on June 9, requiring all visitors to wear masks and to be screened at the entrance. To date, visitors under 18 are still prohibited, and visitors will be asked to use hand sanitizer before and after visiting a patient’s room or the facility.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Marshall Health and Charleston Area Medical Center.

Mon Health and WVU Medicine Collaborate to Provide Better Care to Stroke Patients

Mon Health System and WVU Medicine have announced a collaboration to provide round-the-clock teleneurology services at three hospitals. The initiative is designed to provide quicker care to urgent stroke patients.

The services will be available at the three Mon Health hospitals in Morgantown, Kingwood and Weston. As part of the collaboration, Mon Health physicians will have access to Board Certified Neurologists from WVU who will quickly assess and recommend treatment for urgent stroke patients, according to a press release.

Stroke patients have the best chance of recovery when diagnosed and treated quickly.

Following initial treatment, patients will be evaluated to determine where and what kind of further care they should receive.

The idea is to expand services in local communities so stroke patients can be taken to the nearest facility and receive timely care. The collaboration began July 1st.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Marshall Health and Charleston Area Medical Center.

WVU Medicine, Mon Health System Require Employees get Flu Vaccination

WVU Medicine and Mon Health System are requiring employees and volunteers to be vaccinated against the flu as a condition of employment.

The mandatory flu inoculation policies include an exemption on religious or medical grounds. The organizations said in a joint statement the requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and are not a guarantee of exemption.

Many national health advisory organizations such as the American Hospital Association support mandatory influenza immunization for health workers. Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Clinic and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia already have mandatory flu vaccination policies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that flu vaccination coverage among health care workers is about 75 percent.