Leading the Way
BLAIR DOWLER WVU PHOTOGRAPHY
WVU Drives Change in West
Virginia’ s Health Care Infrastructure
As the state’ s public land grant institution for higher education, West Virginia University( WVU) is a pillar of the economy in North Central West Virginia. By that same token, hospitals and health care providers throughout the Mountain State are an integral part of the infrastructure needed to support economic development. Combining innovation, education and forwardthinking minds, WVU Medicine is expanding the state’ s health care infrastructure through substantial economic investments.
“ What we’ re trying to do is build the capacity to take care of any level of complexity of illness here in Morgantown,” says Clay Marsh, MD, vice president and executive dean for the WVU Health Sciences Center( HSC).“ We’ re building five service line programs that we call signature programs— cancer, heart and vascular disease, trauma and critical care, women and children and neurologic health and disease— that really facilitate and help us recruit the top doctors and researchers in the world.”
To deliver the most advanced care today, WVU Medicine connects physicians and scientists of the HSC with its hospitals, clinics and health professionals. WVU Medicine also includes the physicians, specialists and sub-specialists of the WVU School of Medicine; other HSC-affiliated schools, like the WVU School of Public Health; four community hospitals, like Jefferson Medical Center in Ranson; three critical access hospitals; and WVU Medicine Children’ s.
This endeavor begins with an investment in people and their talent and knowledge to revitalize the overall health care of the state. Pioneering physicians, like nationally recognized neuroscientist Dr. Ali Rezai, have recently taken on leadership roles at WVU Medicine in Morgantown to combat major health issues impacting the state and the country, like the opioid epidemic.
Dana King, MD, chair of the WVU Department of Family Medicine, examines a patient.
While the overall health care system is anchored by the academic medical center of J. W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, WVU Medicine’ s economic investment spans beyond recruitment efforts in Morgantown into capital and innovation that is transforming the health care infrastructure throughout the region.
“ There is a great waiting list of people who are looking for the kinds of services we are now providing,” says Marsh.“ Through our health care system, we have built new outpatient facilities like the one recently opened in Fairmont. We also recently opened a new cancer center at Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale, and we see there is a continued waiting list of people to be seen there.”
WVU Medicine is also further developing health care infrastructure and providing life-changing outcomes by connecting with patients in the vastly remote, rural areas of the state.
For instance, when doctors in Cabin Creek were having trouble finding help dealing with a widespread outbreak of hepatitis C, which was related to the IV drug abuse problem in the area, a group from WVU and WVU Medicine traveled with the folks from Cabin Creek to the University of New Mexico to be trained for a program called Project ECHO, which stands for extending community health outcomes.
“ It’ s really a tele-training approach, where community providers can learn from specialists about how to treat complex problems, and we’ ve used it effectively now to start to deal with the hepatitis C problem,” Marsh says of the program.“ We’ re also using it to deal with addiction treatment and behavioral health. Ultimately, we are trying to answer the call using technology and networks to create channels for people to interact in a rapid manner to try to solve problems.”
It is easy to see the investment in and development of West Virginia’ s health care infrastructure with WVU Medicine at the forefront. And while most West Virginians and those in surrounding areas are in awe of the discoveries and strides made so far, Marsh says the health system is only about a quarter of the way done with this transformation— there is much more to follow.
“ I think if we can help the state of West Virginia become the healthiest state, which is not traditionally our position, we can take the money we spend in sick care and reinvest it differently to drive the economy and start to build the infrastructure and communities,” says Marsh.“ That’ s really where our vision is, so we will keep bringing in new people and building the capacity to do more innovative things.” •
54
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE