WVU Medicine East Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

New Health Care Facility Opening In September In Shepherdstown

Residents and university students in Shepherdstown will have access to a new health care facility starting next month.

WVU Medicine East announced this week that its new medical office building is expected to open mid-September.

The facility will provide new health care opportunities for people living in Shepherdstown and students at Shepherd University. It will offer primary and specialty care and have x-ray and laboratory services.

“We are excited to provide high-quality healthcare services in the Shepherdstown area,” said Aaron Henry, vice president of ambulatory operations for WVU Medicine East. “We have plans to add more primary care providers as the practice grows and will offer a number of our specialty services such as behavioral health and cardiology on a rotating basis.”

Up until now, people in the Shepherdstown area, with the exception of one primary care office, have had to drive anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes to receive medical care.

“The fact that Shepherdstown only has one primary care physician is why opening a medical facility there is so important,” said Teresa McCabe, vice president of Marketing and Development at WVU Medicine East. “[We are] pleased to be able to offer Shepherdstown residents improved access to primary and specialty health care services.”

The new WVU Medicine East location will staff two family medicine physicians and a pediatrician, according to a press release, and offer “walk-in” hours once it opens.

Additionally, the building will include a space for the WVU School of Medicine Eastern Campus to establish a teaching kitchen that will offer healthy cooking classes for patients as well as medical students in the MedChefs program, according to McCabe.

WVU Medicine operates more than 100 University Healthcare clinics, including physician offices, in the Eastern Panhandle region.

They also operate two hospitals in the area – Berkeley Medical Center and Jefferson Medical Center. These are the only hospitals available to residents in Jefferson and Berkeley counties other than the Martinsburg VA Medical Center.

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

WVU Medicine Lifts Zero-Visitation Policy At Eastern Panhandle Hospitals

WVU Medicine’s two Eastern Panhandle hospitals have lifted the zero-visitation policy put in place to combat the coronavirus.

Hospital inpatients and emergency department patients at Berkeley Medical Center and Jefferson Medical Center are now permitted to see visitors.

WVU Medicine East announced the policy shift this week.

Visitors will be allowed between noon and 7:00 p.m. at both Berkeley and Jefferson Medical Centers. They must be screened upon arrival, wear a mask and remain in a patients’ room for the duration of the visit. Patients are also only allowed one adult visitor per day.

Visitors are still not permitted on the Behavioral Health Unit.

“Our ambulatory surgery, outpatient services, physician clinics and urgent care centers will continue to discourage visitors with some exceptions,” said Samantha Richards, WVU Medicine East interim president and CEO, in a press release. “These visitation changes were made after a thorough review of the current COVID-19 pandemic in our area, and our continued response efforts keeping staff, patients and their families at the forefront of our considerations.”

More than a month ago, other hospitals in West Virginia began easing their own restrictions, such as Mon Health System and Charleston Area Medical Center Health System.

At that time, the Eastern Panhandle region, specifically Berkeley County, was seeing the highest rate of new coronavirus cases in the state.

Recently, Monongalia County has taken that lead with more than 800 coronavirus cases to-date, according to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

Meanwhile, other hospitals in West Virginia, including Boone Memorial in Madison, have reinstated a no visitor policy.

Similarly, some nursing homes in West Virginia have also had to reinstate visitor restrictions after outbreaks of COVID-19. Most recently, Princeton Health Care Center in Mercer County, currently has a confirmed total of at least 30 COVID-19 cases, according to Gov. Jim Justice’s office.

Visitation restrictions at nursing homes were lifted on June 17 in West Virginia, but only if a facility has had no cases of COVID-19 for the 14 consecutive day period following that date.

Masks Emerge As Top Issue At Eastern Panhandle Virtual COVID-19 Town Hall

The debate over whether to wear face masks to combat the spread of the coronavirus steered much of the discussion during a virtual town hall in the Eastern Panhandle Wednesday night. The Jefferson County Commission hosted the event with local medical professionals.

The aim of the event, attended by more than 50 people, was to educate and answer questions from the region experiencing the highest number of positive coronavirus cases in West Virginia.

Callers asked questions on a wide variety of topics, such as contact tracing, antibody tests, immunity and vaccines, but one issue came up frequently – whether cloth face masks should be mandated or continue to be voluntary, and how they help against the virus.

Gov. Jim Justice has repeatedly urged West Virginians to wear a mask while out in public but has not made it a requirement as some states and U.S. cities have done. He said Thursday in a virtual press briefing that he may institute a measure next week as state cases continue to rise.

Panelists did not say whether masks should be mandated in West Virginia, but Eastern Panhandle health officer Dr. Terrence Reidy did point to evidence that shows wearing a simple cloth mask while out in public does help protect others by limiting the spread of COVID-19.

“If I cough, if I sneeze,” Reidy said, “it’s going to greatly decrease the chance of spreading, if I happen to have the virus.”

As cases of the virus spike in some states, one caller asked whether West Virginia might experience another shut down as it did in March when Justice issued his stay-at-home order.

Panelist Dr. David Baltierra, interim chair of Family Medicine in Berkeley County under WVU Medicine East, said masks are key if West Virginians don’t want to see another statewide shut down.

“The masks actually keep you going,” said Baltierra. “And so, it’s a way to keep not having to close everything down.”

A month ago, the Shepherdstown Town Council passed a resolution strongly encouraging businesses in town to require face masks of customers.

Last week, the Harpers Ferry Town Council followed Shepherdstown’s example and passed a similar resolution.

On Tuesday, the Shepherdstown Town Council passed another resolution calling on the governor to require masks in public places throughout the state.

Berkeley County leads the state in positive case numbers with more than 440 confirmed. Its neighbor, Jefferson County, has confirmed more than 220 cases of the virus.

To-date, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reports that more than 3,000 cases of the virus have been identified in West Virginia, and at least 93 people have died.