Wheeling Hospital 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

PEIA Finance Board Decides On Straight Premium Increases

The Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) finance board voted Thursday in favor of straight premium increases. The board’s decision follows four public hearings on changes to PEIA and comes after the idea of adopting two blended approaches was rejected.

The Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) finance board voted Thursday in favor of straight premium increases.

The board’s decision follows four public hearings on changes to PEIA and comes after the idea of adopting two blended approaches was rejected.

Those plans would have resulted in lower premiums but higher deductibles, out-of-pocket and prescription costs.

Under the new plan, state employees and educators will see a nearly 24 percent increase in premiums, effective July 1. The change reflects a return to the 80/20 employer/employee premium split.

Employees insured by local government agencies that opt into PEIA can expect premium increases of 15.6 percent.

A monthly surcharge of between $140 and $150 will apply to spouses of active policyholders who opt into PEIA. The cost will vary based on the plan’s tier levels.

Also effective July 1, reimbursement to providers will increase to a minimum of 110 percent of Medicare’s reimbursement.

The changes to PEIA follow legislative efforts to rescue the insurance carrier from fiscal insolvency and more recently, the announcement by Wheeling Hospital that it would no longer accept the insurance carrier.

For more information on the new PEIA plan, visit peia.wv.gov.

Wheeling Hospital To Stop Accepting PEIA Patients July 1

From July 1, WVU-Wheeling Hospital said it will deny future PEIA patients because of “inadequate" PEIA reimbursements.

WVU-Wheeling Hospital said it will no longer accept patients with West Virginia Public Employees Insurance (PEIA) due to a financial deficit in its budget.

PEIA provides health insurance for state employees like those in public schools and the West Virginia Department of Corrections among others.

Jim Kaufman, president and CEO of the West Virginia Hospital Association, said PEIA is paying much more in reimbursements to out-of-state hospitals than to in-state facilities like Wheeling Hospital.

“Wheeling Hospital has been struggling financially for several years, having multi-million dollar losses,” he said. “One of the things they’ve looked at is various cost cutting efforts and PEIA is paying them significantly below the cost of care.”

Kaufman said PEIA is paying hospitals in West Virginia 50 percent of the Medicare rate but four to five times more for the exact same service at out-of-state hospitals.

“In West Virginia PEIA dictates the rate they pay providers whereas out of state they actually have to negotiate,” he said. “And they negotiate using United Healthcare which is the nation’s largest insurance plan, and it just shows you the disparity between what out-of-state providers are able to negotiate versus what PEIA dictates in the state.”

Kaufman says Wheeling Hospital wants to avoid disrupting continuity of care and will continue to treat PEIA patients in an emergency situation as well as work with PEIA beneficiaries until they transition out of the network.

Kaufman said he is hopeful the legislature and policy makers can address the issue of reimbursements before it gets to that point.

Gov. Jim Justice’s office released the following statement:

“The governor’s office is discouraged by WVU Medicine’s position to stop accepting patients with PEIA at Wheeling Hospital. The Justice Administration has been extremely supportive of WVU Medicine’s acquisition of Wheeling Hospital. The West Virginia Hospital Association’s announcement today was a surprise to us, as we are engaged in good faith negotiations – and prior to this announcement today – had anticipated a resolution during the upcoming legislative session.”

Kaufman said Wheeling Hospital’s July 1st deadline offers the governor and legislature a chance to fix a serious problem that impacts health care workers as well as patients.

“One of the biggest reasons nurses haven’t recertified in-state is compensation,” he said. “If you think about it, we’re taking West Virginia dollars and shipping them out of state. That puts hospitals in West Virginia at a severe disadvantage in being able to recruit and provide care to treat all West Virginians.”

Storm Leaves Downtown Wheeling, Hospital Without Power

Updated on Tuesday, June 14 at 4:10 p.m. Power was restored to Wheeling Hospital just before 4 p.m., according to a representative from WVU Medicine via email. Wheeling Hospital, as well as much of downtown Wheeling, is without power after a strong storm early Tuesday morning caused widespread damage in the Wheeling area.

Updated on Tuesday, June 14 at 4:10 p.m.

Power was restored to Wheeling Hospital just before 4 p.m., according to a representative from WVU Medicine via email.

Wheeling Hospital, as well as much of downtown Wheeling, is without power after a strong storm early Tuesday morning caused widespread damage in the Wheeling area.

Lou Vargo, the Director of the Wheeling–Ohio County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said a storm came through Ohio County around 1 a.m. with sustained winds of 60-70 miles per hour, and gusts of up to 80 miles per hour.

“The Emergency Operations Center has been activated and the city of Wheeling has declared a state of emergency which we are passing on to West Virginia Emergency Management Division and to the governor in case this becomes a prolonged power outage,” Vargo said.

Vargo estimates as many as 16,000 people are without electricity, including all of downtown Wheeling and Wheeling Hospital. He said the hospital has been on generator power since 1 a.m.

In an email, a WVU Medicine spokesperson confirmed that the hospital has had to suspend service in some areas.

“No surgeries are being performed. The public pharmacy and cafeteria are closed. The hospital is on full diversion for trauma, heart attacks, and maternity care,” the email said.

WVU Medicine went on to clarify that all inpatients are still receiving quality care and there has been no disruption in their service.

“Luckily we did not receive any flash flooding from the rains because our creeks are well below,” Vargo said. “But we did sustain some major damage from the winds. We have trees and powerlines down throughout the county.”

According to councilwoman Rosemary Ketchum, reported damage included government and community buildings.

“Our DHHR had the roof partially blown off,” she said. “There was a fire related to a downed power line in our Centre Market.”

With power out to so much of the city, including traffic lights, Vargo is warning citizens to limit travel to necessities and to treat all intersections as four-way stops.

“Even our first responders coming into work this morning, they had to go different routes because a tree was down,” Vargo said. “They would try an alternate route, a tree was out there.”

Heat is another concern if the power outage continues into tomorrow.

According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), temperatures are expected to rise into the high 90s Wednesday, with the potential for a heat index of 105 degrees. As defined by NOAA, heat index is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature.

“That’s been the big topic of discussion because when you need to open the heat shelters you’re looking for cool places with air conditioning, but as I said most of the downtown area and most of the city is without power,” Vargo said. “We do have a contingency plan. There are areas in the city that do have power like South Wheeling.”

Three High Ranking Priests Step Down From Leadership Roles in W.Va. Following Investigation

Three priests have resigned from their high-ranking positions in West Virginia, according to a press release from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

The latest news from the Catholic Church in West Virginia follows an ongoing church investigation, which found that high ranking priests enabled predatory and harassing conduct by Former Bishop Michael Bransfield. Bransfield has denied wrongdoing.

Archbishop William Lori announced the resignations on Monday, saying monsignors under Bransfield’s command enabled misconduct and misspending. Monsignors Frederick Annie, Anthony Cincinnati, and Kevin Quirk will step down from their leadership roles, but remain priests. According to the press release, Quirk is also stepping down from his position on the Board of Directors at Wheeling Jesuit University and Wheeling Hospital.

Lori says the following personnel changes are effective immediately:

Father James DeViese Jr., J.C.L., will assume the responsibilities of the Judicial Vicar on an interim basis and oversee the Office of the Tribunal, while continuing in his role as Pastor of St. Patrick (Weston) and St. Boniface (Camden) Parishes and Good Shepherd Mission in Glenville.

Monsignor Joseph Peterson, currently Pastor of St. Michael Parish in Wheeling, will serve as Interim Rector of St. Joseph Cathedral and Reverend Carlos Melocoton Jr. will serve as Pastor of St. Michael.

Fr. Dennis Schuelkens will serve as Interim Director of Clergy Personnel while continuing as Pastor of St. Joseph the Worker and Sacred Heart Parishes in Weirton.

Mr. Lawrence Bandi, President of Central Catholic High School in Wheeling will serve as the Archbishop’s representative to Wheeling Hospital. The Archbishop will soon appoint his representative to Wheeling Jesuit University.

“I am grateful to all of these individuals and to my brother priests for their hard work and dedicated service to the Church, especially in these challenging times,” Archbishop Lori said.

May 31, 2008: Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy Graduates Last Class

The Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy in Wheeling graduated its last class of students on May 31, 2008.

Bishop Richard Whelan founded the school in 1848 after encouraging eight Visitation Sisters from Baltimore to establish the Wheeling Female Academy. During the 1840s, scores of Catholic Irish immigrants were pouring into the Wheeling area to work on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The school was initially located in downtown Wheeling but in 1865 moved to a new building on the former Steenrod farm, three miles outside the city.

Until 1982, Mount de Chantal was a boarding school, known for its strong academic and fine arts programs. Declining enrollment and financial support led to the school’s closing in 2008, ending 160 years of education at the Mount.

Architecturally, the Mount de Chantal building was a good example of eclecticism with ‘‘Mission’’ style features. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

After the school closed, Wheeling Hospital purchased Mount de Chantal and demolished the building. Wheeling Jesuit University is establishing the Mount de Chantal Conservatory of Music in honor of the Visitation Sisters.