WVU Medicine Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Berkeley Medical Center Resumes Surgical Operations After Flooding

Berkeley Medical Center resumed full surgery operations Monday, with eight of its 10 operating rooms reopened. Flooding in late May temporarily suspended non-emergency services.

Patients seeking surgical care in the Eastern Panhandle can now return to the operating rooms of the Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg.

In late May, a construction mishap caused extensive flooding in the facility’s 10 inpatient operating rooms, forcing their indefinite closure and temporarily suspending non-emergency medical services. Patients were referred to other nearby hospitals like the Jefferson Medical Center in the town of Ranson.

But WVU Medicine, which operates the facility, announced Monday that Berkeley Medical has now resumed its full surgical operations.

Two of the facility’s operating rooms reopened June 28, two more reopened July 3, and an additional four operating rooms reopened July 15.

The operating rooms reopened after an inspection from the West Virginia Department of Health last week, WVU Medicine said in a Monday press release.

The hospital will continue to work with other hospitals to coordinate patient services in the weeks ahead, WVU Medicine said.

Navigating Early Childhood Nutrition And How A Plant Closure Is Affecting A PA City, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, from allergies to introducing solids, the first few years of a child’s life have a surprising number of decisions for parents to make. In our latest entry of “Now What? A Series on Parenting,” Chris Schulz talks with Isabela Negrin, an assistant professor of pediatrics at WVU Medicine, about the ins and outs of early childhood nutrition.

On this West Virginia Morning, from allergies to introducing solids, the first few years of a child’s life have a surprising number of decisions for parents to make. In our latest entry of “Now What? A Series on Parenting,” Chris Schulz talks with Isabela Negrin, an assistant professor of pediatrics at WVU Medicine, about the ins and outs of early childhood nutrition.

Also, in this show, it’s been a year since Pennsylvania’s largest coal-fired power plant shut down. Like hundreds of these plants around the country, the Homer City generating station in Indiana County faced stiff competition from natural gas and renewables. The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier went to Homer City to find out how the closure is affecting a community that relied on this plant for decades.

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 Shepherd University.

Eric Douglas produced this episode.

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

Berkeley Medical Center Operating Rooms Indefinitely Closed Due To Flooding

WVU Medicine’s Berkeley Medical Center has temporarily suspended use of its operating rooms due to flooding damage to the facility’s first floor.

WVU Medicine’s Berkeley Medical Center indefinitely suspended use of its operating rooms Tuesday.

The announcement followed severe flooding that wrought damage across the facility’s first floor, according to a Tuesday press release.

The facility will temporarily only admit trauma, obstetric and emergency surgery cases. It will refer patients with other medical needs to its Outpatient Surgery Center or the Jefferson Medical Center, which is located roughly 20 miles away.

To evaluate patient needs and coordinate facility referrals, Berkeley Medical Center has opened a new command center.

A timeline for the facility’s repair has not yet been announced.

New Tool Helps West Virginians Find Autism Resources

West Virginians seeking services or resources related to autism have a new way of finding them.

April is World Autism Month and the West Virginia University (WVU) Center for Excellence in Disabilities has developed a new directory and interactive map of available autism resources across the state.

Lesley Cottrell, the center’s director and a professor in the WVU School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatric Research, said finding services like family support groups or music therapy has been the most common issue for the center’s patients and clients for years.

“We were providing that verbally when they would come see us, but then there was this larger group who was in that middle gray area who were experiencing the same challenges,” Cottrell said. “We knew over time, West Virginia was advancing in the number and variety of services for individuals with autism, neurodivergent individuals and their families. So we wanted to showcase that, we didn’t want to just list WVU services. Someone from another area of the state might have a place right next to them that they could go to.”

Now, the new website allows Cottrell and her colleagues to direct people across the state to their local services.

“We tried to tap into existing structures, but then really take a team approach, a statewide team approach with our partners to provide this,” she said.

Cottrell said the team welcomes feedback to ensure their directory is up to date both with providers and types of services needed by the community.

“We tried to be very exhaustive in our list,” she said. “And then related to that, as providers may come and go, we keep that updated, so that someone can find it in maps, the actual address, the phone number, the office hours are on there. We try to keep that as up to date as possible. If we did miss something, or if there’s a type of therapy that they’re looking for that is not on this list, to keep it going it’s really important to get that feedback.“

WVU Medicine Reopens Diabetes Self-Management Program In Martinsburg

WVU Medicine is accepting new applications for its diabetes self-management program based in Martinsburg at the Berkeley Medical Center. The program runs for six weeks in February and March.

WVU Medicine is accepting new applications for its diabetes management program based in Martinsburg. The program helps participants learn strategies for independently managing their condition.

During the program, participants will explore topics like healthy eating, exercise, stress management, meal preparation, nutrition and healthcare access, according to a press release.

Dana DeJarnett, health promotion coordinator for WVU Medicine, said the self-management program also helps participants develop problem-solving and action-planning skills, which makes program lessons more effective.

“It may not sound like anything specific to diabetes, but it really helps you focus on what are the most important things you need to take care of,” she said. “The things that you need to know to manage your health on a day-to-day basis.”

As part of the program, participants will develop action plans each week, incorporating new habits they hope to implement and community resources they are going to integrate into their daily routine.

WVU Medicine’s Berkeley Medical Center and Jefferson Medical Center assumed oversight of the program last year, running it in partnership with Quality Insights.

But originally the program was overseen by the Berkeley-Morgan County Health Department, funding it through a state grant beginning in 2013.

From DeJarnett’s perspective, the program is valuable as a supplemental resource for individuals already receiving primary care for their diabetes.

“It helps you take control of your health. It helps you learn that there are steps that you can take, and that you can have control of,” DeJarnett said. “And it doesn’t take away from what you’re doing what your physician tells you to do.”

WVU Medicine’s new program will run six weeks, meeting every Thursday from 9 to 11:30 a.m. from Feb. 22 to March 29 at the Dorothy McCormack Center, located at 2000 Foundation Way in Martinsburg.

The program is free but requires advance registration. Individuals living with or caring for someone with diabetes are eligible to apply for the program through Feb. 14.

Prospective participants can register or seek further information by contacting DeJarnett at dana.dejarnett@wvumedicine.org.

BridgeValley Nursing Students Receive Financial Assistance For Daily Expenses

Nine nursing students will receive money for day-to-day expenses with support from the WVU Medicine Aspiring Nurse Program.

On Aug. 15, nine students from BridgeValley Community and Technical College were accepted into the WVU Medicine Aspiring Nurse Program, which provides each student with up to $25,000 to support their day-to-day expenses as they attend school.

Dr. Greg Rosencrance, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals said this inaugural cohort shows the organization’s commitment to nursing careers.

“We strive to be the best place to receive healthcare and also the best place to work in healthcare,” Dr. Greg Rosencrance, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals said. “This program is a reflection of our health system’s commitment to our nurses and works to provide a foundation for a successful nursing career.”

Each student accepted into the program will receive their funds over four semesters, including a sign-on bonus in exchange for a three-year work commitment following graduation.

Casey Sacks, Ph.D., president of BridgeValley, said this initiative aims to address the financial challenges faced by nursing students by creating a pathway for them to excel in education and career.

“By offering financing support and recognizing the real challenges faced by nursing students, this program will help alleviate the financial stress students often experience while they are studying,” Sacks said.

Students accepted to the program will also receive support from academic success coaches and complete clinical rotations at Thomas Hospitals to ensure they receive hands-on clinical immersion experiences to assist them as they transition to professional nursing practice.

BridgeValley Community and Technical College was selected as one of the first two community colleges to participate in the program, which was made possible by the partnership between WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals and BridgeValley.

For more information on the WVU Medicine Aspiring Nurse Program, visit WVUMedicine.org/Aspiring-Nurse-Program.