WVU Healthcare Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

$50 million In State Surplus Awarded to WVU Cancer Institute

Alongside health officials from West Virginia University, Gov. Jim Justice announced Thursday that $50 million of the state’s surplus funding will support investment to attain National Cancer Institute designation for the WVU Cancer Institute.

“I am thrilled to deliver this $50 million check to the West Virginia University Cancer Institute in their pursuit of an official cancer center designation by the National Cancer Institute,”. Justice said. “I want to express my deep gratitude to the West Virginia Legislature for allocating these crucial funds, and to WVU Medicine for pursuing this incredible goal, because we all recognize the importance and significance of obtaining this recognition from the NCI, as it is only bestowed upon the nation’s top cancer centers. This funding will serve as a catalyst to jumpstart our progress towards that goal, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

The funding was included in House Bill 2024 as part of the Fiscal Year 2024 budget passed by the West Virginia Legislature.

According to a press release, the money will be used for comprehensive research programs, faculty and facilities that will directly lead to innovative approaches in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

“Our goal is to place the WVU Cancer Institute in the top 2 percent of cancer centers nationwide, which will improve the health and wellness of the people in our state, particularly in southern West Virginia, by reducing cancer occurrence rates and increasing cancer survival,” WVU President Gordon Gee said.

The National Cancer Institute leads cancer research across the country and recognizes cancer centers with an official NCI designation, the highest federal rating a cancer center can achieve.

Justice made the announcement at WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital with Gee, WVU Health System President and Chief Executive Officer Albert L. Wright, Jr., WVU Health Sciences Chancellor and Executive Dean Dr. Clay Marsh and WVU Cancer Institute Director Dr. Hannah Hazard-Jenkins.

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

WVU Nursing Programs Target Addiction Treatment

West Virginia University has two new online nursing programs that target Substance Abuse Disorder (SUD).

The Addiction Nursing Care courses were developed by Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) within the WVU School of Nursing.

The courses are Office-Based Medication Assisted Treatment and Nursing Competencies in Addiction Care. Both emphasize a non-judgmental, empathetic and compassionate approach to their patients’ recovery, according to the course description.

Course facilitator, Dr. Susan McKenrick, leads one of two Comprehensive Opioid Addiction Treatment clinics at Milan Puskar Health Right.

“No matter what venue a nurse is working in, she (or he) is going to encounter persons with substance abuse disorder (SUD), ” McKenrick said. They really need to be able to care for them not only in an educated way, but in a thoughtful way.”

McKenrick said the courses are a direct response to the prevalence of substance abuse in West Virginia.

“Particularly in the southern part of the state, the opioid epidemic – it really is at crisis level.”

While the triggers that lead a person down the road to addiction are countless, McKenrick cited depression, anxiety and other mental health illnesses as top reasons many people choose self-medication to numb their pain.

Watching her patients struggle to become sober is not easy. McKenrick said often patients are exposed to family members or friends who are still in addiction. For many, the temptation can be overwhelming. For others, the determination to remain sober is key to their success.

“To be able to watch them make those major milestones, and get to the point where they’ve accomplished three months, then six months, and get to a year of being sober,” she said. “It’s just amazing.”

Despite the toll of addiction on families in West Virginia, McKenrick is optimistic there is hope at the end of the tunnel. The Addiction Nursing Care courses are not the antidote to substance use disorder but through specialized nursing care they offer people in addiction a fighting chance.

Both courses teach nurses how to care for people with substance use disorder by treating addiction as an illness. McKenrick said restoring a patient’s dignity through compassionate care is key to substance use recovery.

In addition to general medicine, the program offers nurses the opportunity to learn about the intricacies of pain management and the administration of treatments like suboxone and newer non-narcotic non-addictive treatments like vivitrol for opioid dependence. Nurses also learn how to effectively counsel and educate patients in crisis to help them recognize, avoid, and manage high risk situations that expose them to drugs.

Both self-paced nursing courses are $50 and offer 29 hours of continuing education credit including 8 hours of pharmacology.

Princeton Community Hospital, Bluefield State College Join to Help Improve Healthcare Shortage in Region

Princeton Community Hospital in Mercer County is hoping an agreement with a local college will help support more training for new nurses and address the healthcare shortage in the region.

Bluefield State College (BSC) is purchasing the former site of Bluefield Regional Medical Center (BRMC) and the surrounding 68 acres.

Bluefield State came to agreement with Princeton Community Hospital on Monday. The hospital acquired the medical center in October 2019 and has continued to offer some medical services from there.

According to a release from Bluefield State, the college plans to lease portions of the facilities to PCH. The hospital will maintain the Emergency Division and related medical services.

Bluefield State plans to expand course offerings in health science programs, and provide more student housing.

Meanwhile, just last week the West Virginia University Health System announced an agreement between Princeton Community and WVU Hospitals. The hospital entered into a management agreement and clinical affiliation with WVU Hospitals, the state’s largest health system.

It’s not clear what the WVU agreement with Princeton Community Hospital will mean for Bluefield State College.

Healthcare Representatives Say Obamacare is Good for W.Va.

The MBA program at Shepherd University hosted a panel discussion in Martinsburg Wednesday night that drew in a large crowd. The topic – the Affordable Care Act. The goal of the discussion was to look at the good, the bad, and the unknown and discuss how it directly affects West Virginians.

Dozens of people attended the event at the historic McFarland House in Martinsburg. Like most controversial pieces of legislation, the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, has received plenty of attention since it was first enacted in 2010 – good and bad.

Four panelists from various healthcare organizations were invited to speak Wednesday both in support of and against the law more commonly called Obamacare.

Louise Reese is the CEO of the West Virginia Primary Care Association and was one of the four speakers. She says it’s highly unlikely the nation will see a full repeal of the law like many opponents have called for.

“We have implemented so many components of the Affordable Care Act that trying to repeal or bring it back would create more chaos then it would be to correct the problems,” Reese explained, “so even if our political change is shifted to a Republican base where they would prefer to repeal Obamacare, I don’t think that, that is a reality once they begin to look at all the successes of the program that it would do more harm than intended if they were to try and repeal it.”

Reese believes many who call for the repeal don’t fully understand how the Affordable Care Act works. For West Virginia, Reese says Medicaid expansion alone under the ACA was a game changer.

“When people realize that they will have access to primary care, that they can go to have a radiology procedure that they were afraid to have done because of the cost, there’s just a tremendous burden taken off their shoulders. So most of the patients that the health centers are serving are thankful when they learn that they will now qualify for Medicaid.”

Reese says before the ACA passed, West Virginia had one of the highest rates of uninsured Americans. In the first year of expansion, more than 70,000 West Virginians were able to obtain coverage under Medicaid.

The third open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act will begin on November 1 and end in late January 2016.

New Unit at Ruby Memorial Hospital is Ebola-Ready

Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown is now equipped and prepared with what’s called an Infection Prevention and Containment Unit, complete with five isolations rooms, in the event that any sick person be admitted who has had any possible exposure to the Ebola virus.

A WVU Healthcare Ebola Task Force is now prepared for any potential encounters with the virus. Personnel from emergency medicine, infectious diseases, nursing, and several other areas of the hospital have undergone training and the hospital spent half a million dollars converting a section of its emergency department into a special unit designed to protect both patients and healthcare workers.

Medical Director of the Emergency Department, Dr. Owen Lander says the facility is modeled on facilities in the country that have already effectively contained and treated Ebola patients.

“I think it’s important to emphasize that the risk is low, but the stakes are high,” he said.

In addition to the isolation rooms, the Infection Prevention and Containment Unit includes a lab for blood tests, and specific rooms for donning and removing protective clothing and equipment. Patients who arrive at the hospital are triple-screened using protocols recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WVU Hospitals Names New President and CEO

A University of Pittsburgh Medical Center administrator has been named president and CEO of West Virginia University Hospitals.

Dr. Albert L. Wright Jr.’s appointment is effective Aug. 1. He will replace Bruce McClymonds, who is retiring at the end of May.
West Virginia United Health System president and CEO Dr. Christopher C. Colenda announced Wright’s appointment Tuesday.

Wright currently is vice president for operations at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Shadyside.

West Virginia United Health System includes hospitals in Morgantown, Parkersburg, Bridgeport, and the Eastern Panhandle.