Sherri Young Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. State Health Officer Resigns

Updated on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 at 4 p.m.

The West Virginia Department of Health (DH) announced Monday that the state’s health officer had resigned.

The resignation from Dr. Matthew Christiansen was submitted on Friday. He told West Virginia Public Broadcasting he plans to return to his medical practice and serve his local community.

Christiansen has worked in West Virginia’s state government for about four years, first overseeing the Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) until he was appointed state health officer by Gov. Jim Justice in January 2023.

In announcing Christiansen’s departure on Monday, the West Virginia Department of Health (DH) highlighted his achievements as State Health Officer and thanked him for his service.

“I would like to thank Dr. Christiansen for his time serving as state health officer,” DH Secretary Sherri Young said in a press release. “We wish him nothing but the best as he explores new opportunities.”

During his tenure, Christiansen worked to rebuild the public’s trust by visiting all 48 local health departments in West Virginia and launching monthly engagement calls to coordinate support for those departments.

“One of the things I’m proud of is going out and visiting every single health department in the state, which is a first, as far as I know of, for a state health officer and rebuilding that relationship, so that when the next crisis hits, when the next whether it’s a flood or a pandemic or some of an issue that comes that threatens the health of West Virginians, there will be a strong infrastructure and backbone there to support, to support action and to support the solution for West Virginians,” Christiansen said.

Christiansen also said he is proud to have launched the state’s first anti-vaping campaign targeting youth.

According to the DH release, Christiansen established outcome measures for every office and division within the Bureau for Public Health (BPH) and restructured the Fatality-Mortality Review Team process.

Christiansen told West Virginia Public Broadcasting on Monday afternoon that he is ready to return to his medical practice.

“(I) don’t want to overstay my time in government, where I lose sight of some of the real problems and issues that people are facing on the ground,” Christiansen said. “So for me, from a career standpoint, this is really time for me to get back to the practice of medicine, and get back to rolling up my sleeves on the ground in the community.”

Christiansen will continue to represent Region Five on the board of the West Virginia First Foundation, the nonprofit responsible for dispersing the state’s opioid settlement money. He is also the organization’s vice chair.

With upcoming swearings-in and administration changes in January 2025, it is currently unclear who will appoint West Virginia’s next state health officer.

A representative from Gov. Jim Justice’s office provided West Virginia Public Broadcasting with a copy of Christiansen’s resignation letter via email and directed reporters to ask the Gov. during his next briefing if he plans to appoint Christiansen’s replacement before he is sworn in as a U.S. Senator in January 2025.

The following day, during Justice’s Dec. 17 administrative briefing, he said he will leave the appointment of the state’s next Health Officer to Governor-elect Patrick Morrisey.

“I think we should leave that to Patrick and his team,” Justice said. “You know, it’s too tight and everything. And I think they’ll do a good job picking somebody, and I think that ought to be their pick.”

Governor-elect Morrisey’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

**Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include Gov. Justice’s decision not to appoint a state health officer, which allows Gov.-elect Patrick Morrisey to fill the position after he takes office.

Lawmakers Hear Updates On DHHR Reorganization

The re-organization of the DHHR, as directed by lawmakers in 2023, is going well, with a few hiccups, Department of Health Secretary Sherri Young told a legislative committee on Tuesday.

One of the state’s top health officials updated lawmakers on the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources (LOCHHRA) Tuesday about the complex reorganization of West Virginia’s old Department of Health and Human Resources.

Secretary of the Department of Health Sherri Young presented an update to lawmakers who sit on the committee. The DHHR had long been troubled, but came under fire in recent years for staffing shortages and other problems, allegedly compromising the care provided to children in the foster care system or those living in state hospitals.

Following an investigation and the filing of a class action lawsuit, in 2023, the Legislature decided to divide the agency. House Bill 2006 was signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice on March 6, 2023.

The DHHR was split into three departments by an act of the Legislature in 2023. Those three departments are The Department of Human Services (DoHS), the Department of Health (DH) and the Department of Health Facilities (DHF).

The same legislative act directed the three departments to be overseen by the Office of Shared Administration (OSA) which consists of six offices: the Office of Finance, the Office of Human Resources Management, the Office of Constituent Services, the Office of Communications, the Office of Operations and the Office of Management Information Services.

In December 2023 lawmakers shared concerns about efficiency and fears of overlap in the restructuring process. Secretary of DH, Sherri Young told the committee following that December meeting that they could hold question-and-answer sessions with the heads of each of the six offices.

“We had a great discussion back in December, getting to know the directors of each of these offices…and it was felt at that time that this is where they rightly belonged and that they were able to serve all three departments as they continue to do,” Young said. “We had the office directors there, and sometimes it’s better to hear directly from the directors as to how are things going. It was a great meeting. I would put that up as an option again, if you’re interested in coming to talk to the directors and learning more about how OSA is going from an additional perspective.”

On Tuesday morning, during September interim meetings of the Legislature, Young told lawmakers about the ongoing development of the OSA, noting that officially, OSA has only been seated since July 1, 2024.

“But even with 70 days in, we’ve had a lot of wins and a lot of efficiencies and some heavy lifts in other places,” Young said. “If we had to give a percentage, we’re over 80 percent, but we still are committed to getting that work done.”

Young reported a small decrease in staffing in the OSA.

“We’ve had a net loss of a little bit more than five positions, some of those, they may have been open positions that may not have been renewed,” Young said. “I’ll give an example: in Operations where we had a retirement, we just eliminated that position and then moved his folks into other divisions, and [it] is actually working a little bit more efficiently, even.”

Individual Office Updates

During her December 2023 OSA presentation, Young described each of the six offices and their functions. During Tuesday’s testimony, she provided updates about the development of those offices.

“You’ve met with these directors,” Young said. “They do a fantastic job. They’re committed to making sure that the departments are up and running, and even though it’s been a heavy lift, we have an integrated support system. And with the three departments and the three department secretaries working directly with OSA, that has been a benefit because they also had that institutional knowledge.”

Young told lawmakers that institutional knowledge is vital to the future success of the DoHS, DH and DHF.

“They [OSA Directors] have been there far before the three secretaries came to be for the departments,” Young said. “So they are giving us that historical perspective of learning how to do budgets and learning how to manage HR, how to use communications, both internally and externally. So very important functions that they are doing to keep us going. So having that, as far as building out the departments, having that historical knowledge, has been very, very, very good.”

Young used the Office of Communications as an example of efficient downsizing done in the past year. She said when OSA started, the Office of Communications had five filled positions. Now they have four, but two are dedicated to DoHS, one to DH and one to DHF. According to Young, this new structure helps keep messaging consistent and allows for personal expertise.

“They do forward-facing communications,” Young said. “They do our social media, they do our press releases, they make announcements, but they do a lot of internal reviews as well. So any PowerPoint that goes out to for someone doing information at a conference, or any information that goes out to the public, it is vetted through communications for fact finding. It is vetted through communications to make sure everything is consistent, because we want to make sure that the message going out is consistent and that is appropriate for whoever is receiving that, whether it be press inquiries or anything that it does affect the public.”

Young also told lawmakers the Office of Finance has encountered the most obstacles in the transition because of the nature of their work.

“You’re not taking one big account and creating three separate accounts,” Young said. “You’re creating line items out of several little, little accounts that are directed towards offices. The great thing is, it gives more visibility, but that unwinding piece has taken a lot of time and a lot of effort.”

Young told lawmakers Finance also works to acquire funding from the federal government.

“It’s still a process just to get some of the paperwork changed to make sure we’re in compliance with federal government regulations to receive funds because their work was with DHHR previously,” Young said. “Now, their work is with the Department of Health.”

Young said the Office of Human Resources Management was “impacted” by the shift, because of the department’s work with the federal government.

“Benefits and everything change from one DHHR to again, going into the three different departments,” Young said. “Even how they list the open positions, has been a change. So all of that needed to be changed. The good thing is that those changes have been made. We’re doing good.”

Young also told lawmakers the OSA is continuing to work with the Department of Commerce on rebranding.

“We think that we have a good operational rhythm, and the three secretaries have respect of each other in respect of each other’s departments,” Young said.

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

New Competition Aims To Reward Schools’ Child Health Initiatives

Schools can win up to $2,500 to support health initiatives.

The West Virginia Healthy Habits School Contest aims to recognize and celebrate elementary schools across the state that are leading efforts to improve health outcomes for students and communities. The contest is a partnership between the West Virginia Department of Health, Department of Education, and AETNA Better Health of West Virginia.

Department of Health Secretary Sherri Young joined Gov. Jim Justice during his regular briefing Tuesday to announce the initiative. She said many of the state’s schools are already implementing health improvement procedures and initiatives.

“What we want to do with this program is to highlight those and encourage additional schools to make these strides and empower our youngest West Virginians to be healthy, making decades worth of impact,” Young said. “The first prize winner will receive $2,500 the second place winner will get $1000 and the third place winner will get $500.”

The prize money is intended to go to further support health initiatives within the winning schools, such as purchasing sports equipment or enhancing playground facilities.

The contest will officially kick off at the start of school this year and the deadline to apply is Nov. 5.

Participating schools can submit a two-minute video showcasing their creative initiatives to enhance health within their school or community, and a written summary of the school’s efforts may accompany the entry. Judging criteria will focus on creativity alongside the school’s commitment to promoting wellness.

State Officials Advise Vaccination Ahead Of Back To School Season

As summer comes to a close and back-to-school shopping begins, the Department of Health is reminding parents of the importance of immunization.

As summer comes to a close and back-to-school shopping begins, the Department of Health (DH) is reminding parents of the importance of immunization.

West Virginia law requires children entering school to get certain immunizations, also called vaccines or shots.

All children entering school in West Virginia, grades K-12, must show proof of immunization against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and hepatitis B unless a medical exemption is approved by the DH.

West Virginia is one of five states in the U.S. that does not allow religious or philosophical exemptions for vaccine requirements.

Additional proof of immunization is required for children entering grades 7 and 12 for diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and meningococcal disease unless a medical exemption is approved by the DH.

Health Secretary Sherri Young said immunizations are crucial in preventing severe and potentially fatal illnesses, noting that measles in particular poses serious health risks to children.

West Virginia saw its first case of measles since 2009 in April when an “under-vaccinated” Monongalia County resident traveled internationally and upon returning home was treated and later diagnosed at an outpatient clinic.

State health leaders learned that 128 West Virginia residents from 30 counties and 24 out-of-state contacts from four neighboring states were potentially exposed to measles.

As of May 10 the DH announced that the measles case had been officially contained and credited West Virginia’s strict immunization policies for the state’s herd immunity to the disease.

The DH recently set up a way for West Virginia residents to access their vaccination records at MyIRMobile for free. Patients or guardians can review their immunization history and print their official records from the site or app.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

W.Va.’s First Case Of Measles In More Than A Decade Contained

West Virginia’s first case of measles in 15 years was reported on April 22.

The Department of Health announced Friday that West Virginia’s first case of measles in 15 years is officially contained.

The case was reported on April 22 in Monongalia County and linked to international travel.

According to a press release from the Department of Health (DH) Friday, May 10 marked the last day when all first-degree contacts with the infected individual passed their monitoring period.

“Thanks to a swift and comprehensive response through aggressive contact tracing and cooperation from the public, I am pleased to report no additional cases of measles have been reported,” said Health Secretary Sherri Young.

Local health departments and the DH tracked more than 150 people who were potentially exposed, including 128 West Virginia residents from 30 counties and four states.

According to state Health Officer Matthew Christiansen, this case of measles was contained because West Virginia has strong herd immunity against the disease.

“The reason this case of measles was able to be contained is because West Virginia has strong herd immunity, which protects vulnerable people – infants, immunocompromised people, and older adults – from the spread of deadly diseases like measles. The MMR vaccine is the best defense against measles, not only to protect yourself but your loved ones as well,” said Dr. Matthew Christiansen, State Health Officer. “While this case was contained, outbreaks of the virus continue to plague other states. We encourage all West Virginians to check their vaccination records and get vaccinated if they are not immune.”

Despite recent legislative challenges, both doses of the measles vaccine are required for a child to enter kindergarten in West Virginia.

On March 27, Gov. Jim Justice vetoed a bill to ease vaccine requirements for many of the state’s school-age children.

On the final day of bill signing from the 2024 regular legislative session, Justice vetoed House Bill 5105.

The controversial bill would have changed West Virginia’s vaccination requirements by allowing virtual public school students to be exempt from vaccination policies and for private and parochial schools to institute their own policies either exempting students or not.

According to a press release from the DH this measles case highlights the importance of staying up to date on vaccinations.

The measles vaccine is typically given in two doses with the first recommended between 12 and 15 months of age. The second dose is recommended between four and six years.

Unless they have other evidence of immunity, adults born after 1956 should get at least one dose of MMR vaccine, and two appropriately spaced doses of MMR vaccines are recommended for healthcare personnel, college students and international travelers.

The Bureau for Public Health recommends MMR vaccination as part of a routine vaccination schedule for all children and adults.

MMR vaccines are available through healthcare providers and local health departments across the state. To find a local health department near you, visit dhhr.gov. To learn more about MMR vaccines, visit the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention’s website.

Lawmakers Fear Overlap In Newly Separated DHHR

The Office of Shared Administration will operate the newly separated West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources starting Jan. 1 during a meeting of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability.

The Department of Human Resources touches the lives of many West Virginians in one way or another. But the legislature determined that it was too large to be effective and split it into three departments: the Department of Human Services, run by Secretary Cynthia Persily, the Department of Health, run by Secretary Dr. Sherri Young, and the Department of Health Facilities, run by Secretary Michael Caruso.

The split takes effect on Jan. 1, 2024. The Office of Shared Administration consists of the three secretaries and heads the new organization.

These three departments will share six offices: the Office of Finance, the Office of Human Resources Management, the Office of Constituent Services, the Office of Communications, the Office of Operations and the Office of Management Information Services.

Young presented a “bird’s eye” view of the organization of the Department of Administration during a meeting of the Legislative Oversight Commission On Health and Human Resources Accountability (LOCHHRA) on Monday.

“This will be the last time that I address you as the interim secretary for DHHR,” Young said. “And in 20, short days, we will be the three departments that we have envisioned working towards.”

She said she anticipated a question and answer session between lawmakers and the heads of each of the six offices shared by the Department of Shared Administration and hoped it would quell lawmakers’ fears about overlap.

“They’re there to tell the story about what they do on a daily basis because it is truly immense the people that they serve and the programs that they cover,” Young said.

Del. Amy Summers, R-Taylor, asked Young if this new system was more efficient than past models.

“It’s very similar,” Young said. “And so when you’ve looked at the reporting structure, there could be some problems with having to go into the three departments. People have adjusted very well.”

Young began her presentation by explaining the Office of Finance, stating that 87 individuals work under Tara Buckner, chief financial officer. She said they oversee planning, coordinating, safeguarding and overseeing the daily financial operations.

Next, Young spoke about the Office of Human Resource Management under Chief Human Resources Officer, Angie Ferris.

“They are managing the benefits and payroll for 5,439 folks across DHHR,” Young said. “That takes about 76 folks.”

Young said the Office of Operations has 32 of 37 vacancies filled. She said this department, operated by George Montgomery, is responsible for the upkeep and management of the state’s health facilities, along with fleet management.

“They manage everything for real estate, making sure that the maintenance and warehouse and any new construction that you have, that these are getting executed as well as the large contracts to complete this work,” Young said.

The Office of Operations also takes care of the mail system within DHHR.

“The amount of mail that goes through that mail system, within a year we get on average 350 to 400 pieces of mail per day, and a staggering 90,000 to 105,000 pieces of mail passing through that office in the bottom of the Diamond building every year,” Young said.

Next, Young explained the structure of the Office of Communications, which contains five workers, two of whom are. Jessica Holstein and Whitney Wetzel. Both are listed as directors.

“We did name two directors so that we would have subject matter experts dealing with the Office of Human Services and then splitting the duties for the Department of Health and the Department of Health Facilities,” Young said.

According to Young, the Office of Constituent Services, directed by John Lopez, connects people with questions about their benefits with people who can help them within the agency.

“For 2021, they had 222,218 calls,” Young said. “For 2022, they had 222,336 calls, of which they answered and assisted folks. So far in 2023, they have had 434,385 calls as of last week. And we’re not quite to the finish line.”

Lastly, Young said that the Office of Management Information Services, directed by Chief Information Officer Shaun Charles, has 134 workers with 18 vacancies.

“They have the West Virginia ed(ucation) system, they support Bureau Medical Services data, both for verification and quality,” Young said. “But they also build and maintain internal and external dashboards.”

Young said she looked forward to letting the heads of the six offices explain their roles to lawmakers on Friday.

Other Action

The commission also considered four draft bills and unanimously passed them to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance for consideration during the regular session.

The first bill would remove “DHHR” from all state code, in line with the restructuring of the department.

The second bill removes a “drop dead date” placed in code which ended the authority of the department to keep foster care and managed care under Aetna management.

The third bill expands upon LOCHHRA’s own power, by allowing them to go into executive session in order to hear information from the departments of health, health facilities, and human services that is not able to be shared publicly.

Additionally, this draft bill would allow LOCHHRA to carry out performance evaluations of the departments.

The final draft bill creates a new chapter for the Office of the Inspector General to enhance its independence and takes the programs that are under the Office of the Inspector General and places those existing programs under the Inspector General.

Attorneys for the legislature called the bill a “reorganization and cleanup.”

The commission moved that all four bills be reported to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance with the recommendation that they will be introduced during the next regular session of the legislature.

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

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