West Virginia Bureau for Public Health Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Following His Resignation, Health Officer Reflects On 4 Years In W.Va. Government

After two years as West Virginia’s State Health Officer and four years working to improve the state’s health through the government, Dr. Matthew Christiansen resigned on Friday, Dec. 13. On Monday, he spoke with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Health Reporter, Emily Rice about his time in state government and what the future may hold.

The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.

Rice: State Health Officer was just one of the many hats that you wear in the healthcare industry in West Virginia. What made you decide to step down from this position?

Christiansen: This is really a personal decision. I’ve been in state government for about four years now, and never imagined myself being here quite this long. I brought a lot from my time in practice in medicine, experience from that practice, and 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. 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 and trying to do work and make progress for health in West Virginia in a little bit of a different way.

Rice: Who will make the decision on who your replacement will be?

Christiansen: So I don’t know the full answer to that. I presume that that will be up to, you know, either negotiations between Governor Justice and Governor-elect Morrissey, or Governor-elect Morrisey when he takes over at the beginning of next year.

Rice: Just in general, I was wondering, what does a state health officer do? What all was under your purview by the time all was said and done, kind of leading into what qualifications will the new state health officer need to have?

Christiansen: The state health officer role is a is a very dynamic role. It does require you to be a physician, but also to be a good administrator and a good communicator. You work with a lot of multi-disciplinary teams across the state, not only in the Bureau for Public Health and the Department of Health, but if you’re doing the job well and doing it to its fullest extent, you’re also engaging with other outside entities like health care organizations, hospitals, community health centers, traditional public health organizations like local health departments and WIC programs and many, many others. And so it is predominantly a health strategist role where you think about some of the biggest problems that West Virginia is facing, and what sort of assets West Virginia has, you know, whether it’s whether that’s from a funding standpoint, a political capital standpoint, a human resources standpoint, to try to be able to address some of those issues.

Rice: Do you know who will run the West Virginia fatality and mortality review team?

Christiansen: We have a strong team there that’s working on that program, Deputy Commissioners and others, the process that we redesigned lives in the office of Maternal, Child, and Family Health, but it also works very closely with our vital statistics unit and the office of chief medical examiner. And so those processes will all continue as well as will all of the boards and commissions and panels that run through the Bureau for Public Health will continue on.

Rice: What were your favorite or most impactful initiatives during your time as West Virginia’s state health officer?

Christiansen: Well, I’m really, I’m really proud of the work that we did in rebuilding trust in the Bureau for Public Health and in the institution of public health in West Virginia after COVID-19, obviously, there has been a big deterioration of trust in public health, which at its core is a misunderstanding about the goals of public health. And we did a lot of work to rebuild stakeholder engagement groups, teams with healthcare, with, again, traditional public health organizations and other nontraditional partners to talk about the really great work that happens behind the scenes in public health. 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, a first for a health officer, and again, rebuilding that relationship so that when, when the next crisis hits, when the next whether it’s a flood or a pandemic or an issue that comes that threatens the health of West Virginians, there will be a strong infrastructure and backbone there to support action and to support the solution for West Virginians. I’m also really, I’m really proud of the statewide anti-vaping campaign that we started. It has reached every county but two, as I understand as we currently sit. And we also built internal processes like leadership development programs for staff and a process for establishing outcomes for each office and division and every unit across the Bureau for Public Health, so that we can have clear, measurable outcomes for every office. And most of all, I’m proud of all the friendships and the relationship that I’ve built over the course of four years in state government, that the people that do the work in these agencies that is oftentimes thankless work, come to work every day with clear-eyed vision to protect the people West Virginia and advance their health. And it’s just been an honor to work with them and lead such a dedicated group of public servants.

Rice: What is next for you? Will you focus your work on the West Virginia First Foundation?

Christiansen: That will be a component of my work. I’m looking at options, but you know, certainly, I am dedicated to the health of West Virginia and finding new ways to address health issues here in the state, I do look forward to getting back to the practice of medicine and to seeing patients again, which for me, is a joy like no other. You know, to be able to sit down across from someone and have them share some of their critical issues and share trust is something that, as a physician, something that has been, over the past few years, very, very difficult for me to give up, and so I really look forward to getting back to that, but certainly staying active in public health as well.

West Virginia Health Officials Urge Flu Vaccinations

West Virginia health officials are encouraging providers to ensure their patients over six months old get flu vaccinations.

The Bureau for Public Health plans to kick off National Influenza Vaccination Week on Friday in Charleston with Commissioner Dr. Rahul Gupta and others discussing the importance of getting flu shots and the need for the most vulnerable people to get them.

While seasonal flu outbreaks can occur as early as October, they are usually most prevalent between December and February and can continue as late as May.

Flu Outbreak on The Rise in West Virginia

West Virginia’s health officer says the flu outbreak has increased statewide and is expected to peak in a few weeks.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, state health officer and commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health, says flu activity is widespread in the state.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the Department of Health and Human Resources monitors flu through reports from selected providers, emergency rooms and labs.

Gupta says it’s not too late to get a flu shot.

As of Friday, the DHHR estimated the percent of people seeing their health care providers for influenza-like illness in the previous week was 3.51, compared to 2.9 percent the prior week. It estimates the number based on reports from selected providers.

Gupta says 3.51 percent is higher than what’s typical this time of year.

Smoking Rates Decline in Pregnant W.Va. Women

New data from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources shows fewer women in the state are smoking while pregnant now compared to a few years ago.

DHHR’s Bureau for Public Health says the rate of West Virginia women who smoke while pregnant fell by four percent between 2014 and 2016.

BPH calls the rate a key public health indicator because smoking contributes to premature birth, certain birth defects and infant death.

The decline is similar to the decreasing rate of teens in the state who smoke. Between 2000 and 2015, that rate dropped from nearly 39 to 16 percent.

West Virginia’s Chief Public Health Officer Rahul Gupta attributes the decline of smoking rates among both groups to comprehensive efforts, including education programs.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Two Years After Chemical Spill, Water Utilities Submit Protection Plans

Source water protection plans are mandates water utilities are required to follow to keep drinking water safe. However, before 2014, following these plans in West Virginia was voluntary. Since the January 2014 Elk River chemical spill, though, legislation was put in place requiring about 125 water systems in the state to have these plans. The law also made what was already on the books much stronger.

Friday, July 1 is the deadline for water and sewer utilities to submit their new plans to the state Bureau for Public Health. Liz McCormick has been following this story and brings us a look into how two utilities – large and small – have been dealing with the new regulatory landscape.

Source water protection plans in West Virginia aren’t anything new, water utilities across the state have been asked to have them for years. But after a coal cleaning chemical leaked into the Kanawha Valley water supply in 2014 leaving, 300,000 people without drinking water, state lawmakers decided to make a change. Senator John Unger headed up that process.

“And then when the chemical spill happened, and the water became a top issue again. Then this was a time that we needed to address protecting our water resources here from chemical contaminations,” Unger said.

The 2014 bill did two things – it changed the way aboveground storage tanks are regulated, and it required 125 water systems in West Virginia to create and implement source water protection plans.

The Harpers Ferry Water Works. It’s a small utility that serves drinking water to about 800 customers in Harpers Ferry, Bolivar, and the National Park Service. The utility doesn’t provide sewer service.

“This facility was built in 1985, so it’s pretty old, but it’s worked pretty well,” said Josh Carter, the Water System Manager for the Harpers Ferry Water Works, “It’s a small operation, but it actually serves a whole lot of people.”

In fact, it’s the smallest water utility in Jefferson County falling under the new source water protection plan requirements. Those plans contain six things: a management plan, a contingency plan, engineering details, an inventory of potential sources of significant contamination, a communication plan, and an early warning monitoring system.

For larger water utilities – like the Morgantown Utility Board which serves 25,000 customers – those requirements were easy to meet.

“You know the honest answer is, it’s as tough as the utility chooses to make it,” explained Tim Ball, MUB’s general manager, “We made it tough on ourselves. We imposed a high standard. We tried to include multiple scenarios, and we’ve committed to a level of preparedness that I’m pretty confident that most of the state has not committed to.”

MUB was the first water utility in the state to provide its new source water protection plan to the public for comment. But Ball’s feelings weren’t shared by every water system.

As lawmakers crafted those requirements in 2014, many small utilities cried out for help, saying the plans would be too expensive to draft and implement. So, the state is providing about two and a half million dollars for these smaller systems.

“The funding has been provided through a series of grants during 2015 and 2016 to assist in the development of various sections of the source water protection plans for about 116 of the 125 public water utilities,” said Rahul Gupta, the Commissioner for the state Bureau for Public Health.

Harpers Ferry Water Works was one of those 116 water utilities in the state that qualified for the aid. Still, Barbara Humes, Harpers Ferry’s water commissioner, says her town already had a source water protection plan in place dating back to 2011. She says updating for the 2014 requirements wasn’t as difficult as it could have been.

“It didn’t really scare us at all, it didn’t… All we had to do was dig through our data and develop a team,” Humes said.

Harper’s Ferry, the Morgantown Utility Board and 123 other water utilities are required to turn in their source water protection plans Friday. From there, the state Bureau for Public Health will review the plans and give them a final approval. But Rahul Gutpa says these documents won’t just be put away.

“It’s important to highlight that this is not a stale document that gets put on the shelf,” he noted, “It’s a dynamic, living and breathing document.”

Utilities will be required to renew their source water protection plans in three years.

Northern Panhandle Pain Doctor Strikes Back

A Northern Panhandle pain doctor is suing two state government agencies after he was stripped of his medical license and his clinic was closed.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that Dr. Roland Chalifoux is suing the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health and a medical board. The suit states their actions forced him into debt and damaged his reputation.

The civil action filed in Marshall County Circuit Court seeks lost wages and damages.

In his lawsuit, Chalifoux said the Bureau for Public Health falsely accused him of reusing syringes after one of his patients contracted bacterial meningitis.

His medical license was suspended in July 2014, but a circuit judge reinstated it.

A spokesman for the Bureau for Public Health said the agency does not comment specifically on pending court cases.