Tag: Rural Health Care

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

Child Behavioral Telehealth Services Coming To W.Va. Underserved Rural Areas 

Already underway in the Summers County community of Hinton, a prototype program is offering mental health support for pediatric patients with diagnoses including depression, anxiety and ADHD disorder.

A prototype program is offering mental health support for pediatric patients in the Summers County community of Hinton. Diagnosis and treatments include depression, anxiety and ADHD disorder.

The new program is a collaboration between Appalachian Regional Healthcare and Marshall Health Network. On appointment days, patients visit a rural health clinic, and are connected virtually to a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP). In addition to conducting initial psychiatric evaluations and follow-up appointments, the PMHNP also prescribes and evaluates psychopharmacologic treatments alongside a collaborating psychiatrist.

Dr. Susan Flesher is the Department of Pediatrics Chair at Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. She said psychiatric care is the perfect place for rural telehealth.

“It’s a little bit hard for us sometimes to think about a child coming in to look in an ear or listen to a heart,” Flesher said. “Those things take more technology on telehealth. With the care that we’re talking about, it’s a matter of talking with the child, the family, figuring out what the issues are, what the concerns are, doing some screening tests, providing therapy, medications, whatever the case may be. It’s perfectly suited to telehealth.”

Flesher said the program offers access to specific medical professionals that otherwise would not be readily available. 

“There is a real shortage of psychiatrists and mental health nurse practitioners in rural areas,” Flesher said. “This is a service that they otherwise would not be receiving, or would have to travel a long distance to receive.”

Flesher said the Hinton program is a first step of an anticipated child mental telehealth network.

“We are in talks with some other places to expand this,” she said. “We don’t have signed contracts in place yet so I’m not necessarily free to speak, but we are definitely trying to provide this service where it is so very much needed, and there seems to be a lot of interest.”

The program is accepting new patients by referral. For more information, contact the Summers County ARH Rural Health Clinic at 304-466-2918.

USDA Grants Support Local Projects In Rural Counties

In West Virginia, the investments announced on Monday total $16.9 million to address immediate needs and foster long-term economic growth.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Monday it is providing loans and grants to help people living in rural communities gain access to jobs, improved infrastructure, affordable housing and quality health care.

These grants are for communities in the federal government’s Rural Partners Network (RPN). Launched in April 2022 and expanded in November 2022, the RPN is now active in 10 states and Puerto Rico. 

West Virginia has two community networks listed on the network’s website. 

The first community network is “Southern West Virginia” and includes Mingo, Wayne, Lincoln, Boone, Logan, Wyoming, McDowell, Mercer, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers and Fayette counties. The Southern West Virginia Community Network is hosted by the WV Community Development Hub.

The second community network is “West Virginia Pioneer Community Network” and includes Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Nicholas, Roane, Webster and Wirt counties. The Pioneer Community Network is hosted by Glenville State University.

According to the RPN, more than 448,150 people live within the twenty West Virginia counties included in the community networks.

Community networks receive support from full-time USDA staff who live and work locally, helping community leaders navigate federal programs and prepare successful applications for funding.

In West Virginia, the investments announced on Monday total $16.9 million to address immediate needs and foster long-term economic growth.

Ryan Thorn is the West Virginia State Director for the RPN. He said projects like the Boone Memorial Health clinic, announced Monday, are funding investments to build stronger communities.

“This project has been in the works for a number of years,” Thorn said. “Rural Development is proud to partner with them to bring this project to fruition. It is estimated that this project will help more than 32,000 patients on an annual basis.”

Boone Memorial Health received a $14.4 million loan to renovate a facility into a health and wellness clinic along with a direct grant.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., attended the announcement event and called the project “an amazing development,” noting the health care that will be available to current and former miners in the state.

“I was able to get a $3 million direct grant for this facility because it was a high area of high need,” Manchin said. “A lot of people in Boone County and all around surrounding counties that have done a lot for the quality of life that people all around the country providing the energy and the fuel they needed with the coal they mined here. And now to have the ability to live here and still have the quality of health care is even that much more important.”

In West Virginia, the investments total $16.9 million and will support five projects in RPN counties:

  • Boone Memorial Health will receive a $14.4 million loan to renovate a facility in Danville into a health and wellness clinic. The project will provide quality outpatient healthcare and wellness services to a service area of approximately 32,200 rural residents.
  • The town of Bradshaw will receive a $1 million grant to convert its current wastewater system into a traditional gravity system. This project will consolidate most of the existing customers onto centralized pumping stations for system efficiency and energy savings.
  • The Forrest Place Preservation Association will receive a $904,783 loan to assist in the transfer, assumption, and rehabilitation of Forrest Place Apartments, an existing multi-family housing complex in Kermit.
  • The Lavalette Public Service District will receive a $616,000 grant to upgrade the German Ridge and Dickson areas of the Northern Distribution System to better serve the system’s customers with fire flow, reduced water loss, and reduced operation and maintenance costs associated with leak repairs.
  • The City of Smithers will receive a $17,200 grant to purchase a commercial tractor for the city’s street department. The vehicle is needed to maintain the city’s green spaces and for moving and clearing rocks, mud and debris from public areas.

USDA Grant To Provide Rural Healthcare

Boone Memorial Health will receive a $14.4 million loan to renovate a facility into a health and wellness clinic along with a direct grant.

Alongside policymakers and community members, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office announced Monday the construction of a new health and wellness center for Danville in Boone County.

Boone Memorial Health will receive a $14.4 million loan to renovate a facility into a health and wellness clinic along with a direct grant.

Sen. Joe Manchin attended the announcement event and called the project “an amazing development.”

“We were able to do this because of the American rescue plan. We put $8.5 billion in there to help rural hospitals,” Manchin said. “And that’s what this is really about, and I was able to get a $3 million direct grant for this facility because it was in high need.”

Construction will take about two years. Once completed, the clinic will provide outpatient health care and wellness services to approximately 32,200 area residents.

Ryan Thorn is the state director of Rural Development for the USDA. He said the project has been under development for a number of years and will benefit all aspects of society in rural areas.

“A company is not going to look at an area unless there are adequate health services,” Thorn said. “This project is really a catalyst to not only ensure that folks have access to quality health care, but also it sets the stage as a spur or catalyst for other opportunities.”

Diminishing Rural Health Care And What’s Happening In Coal States, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, nearly 150 rural hospitals in the U.S. since 2010 have shut down – all victims to the financial stresses facing the country’s health care. Residents in West Virginia’s Mingo County have watched as some of their health care options vanished.

On this West Virginia Morning, nearly 150 rural hospitals in the U.S. since 2010 have shut down – all victims to the financial stresses facing the country’s health care. Residents in West Virginia’s Mingo County have watched as some of their health care options vanished.

On the latest episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay looks at the challenges facing rural childbirth and obstetric care. About 10 percent of rural hospitals have stopped offering delivery care forcing many families to make tough decisions.

Also, in this show, West Virginia lawmakers have been trying to save the Pleasants Power Station in Pleasants County. A few other coal-producing states are working to protect power plants that burn coal. But they’re going against a national trend away from coal that has only accelerated in recent years.

Curtis Tate spoke with Seth Feaster, an energy analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, about what’s happening in coal states and nationwide.

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 West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.

Assistant News Director Caroline MacGregor produced this episode.

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

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