Ohio Valley Medical Center Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Healing Flood Memories Through Music And Our Song Of The Week, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, even after the waters recede, they still can still leave a mark. We hear a story about a flood and the song Muddy Water by Allan “Cathead” Johnson, as well as our Song of the Week.

On this West Virginia Morning, WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital has awarded a contract to an out of state company to demolish the former Ohio Valley Medical Center, and virtual Town Hall meetings on the West Virginia 2024 Substance Abuse plan will be hosted by the DHHR.

Also in this show, a preview of this week’s Inside Appalachia looks at flooding. Even after the waters recede, they still can still leave a mark. Connie Kitts brings us a story about a flood and the song Muddy Water by Allan “Cathead” Johnson.

Finally, this week’s rebroadcast of Mountain Stage features our landmark 1,000th episode of Mountain Stage. Slide-guitar master Sonny Landreth and legend of the dobro and lap steel Cindy Cashdollar perform a fiery duo set. Our Song of the Week comes from Landreth and Cashdollar. We listen to “Prodigal Son,” the title track to Landreth’s 2004 album of the same name.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Our Appalachia Health News project is made possible with support from CAMC and Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Caroline MacGregor, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Delaney Wells, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Liz McCormick, and Randy Yohe.

Eric Douglas is our news director. Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and producer.

Teresa Wills is our host.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

1,079 to Lose Jobs When West Virginia, Ohio Hospitals Close

Notices filed in West Virginia and Ohio reveal that 1,079 workers will lose their jobs when two hospitals are closed this fall.

The Intelligencer reports Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filings indicate 736 workers will lose their jobs at Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling, West Virginia, and 343 more will lose their jobs when East Ohio Regional Hospital closes in Martins Ferry, Ohio. The notices are legally required ahead of mass layoffs.

California-based Alecto Healthcare Services owns the hospitals and announced this month they’d close as early as Oct. 7.

The newspaper says the closures are expected to leave medical and economic holes across state lines. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Rep. David McKinley have pledged to fill the gaps, but replacements haven’t been identified.

Six W.Va. Hospitals Having Medicare Funding Cut This Year

Six hospitals in West Virginia will have their federal Medicare payments cut this fiscal year as part of government penalties for having too many patient complications.

Federal numbers show the hospitals are among about 725 around the country that will have their payments reduced by 1 percent under the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program.

The total reduction in spending because of the program is estimated at about $373 million for fiscal year 2015.

The program is a new effort under the Affordable Care Act that builds on existing programs that uses public reporting and financial incentives to encourage improvements in patient safety.

According to public data on the Medicare.gov website, the hospitals in West Virginia having payments cut include Ohio Valley Medical Center, Cabell Huntington Hospital and Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital.