Governor Justice Announces New
Drug Disposal Kit Program
Governor Jim Justice recently joined with officials from
UnitedHealthcare and Recovery Point of West Virginia to
announce a new program that will assist West Virginians in
disposing of unused opioids and other drugs.
UnitedHealthcare is donating 10,000 opioid disposal kits
to Recovery Point for disbursement to citizens so they have a
convenient way to remove unused opioids from their homes
and prevent misuse or diversion.
“This is another step forward in our battle to eliminate drug
abuse,” says Justice. “UnitedHealthcare is committed to com-
bating the opioid crisis that has been so destructive to our com-
munities. The opioid disposal kits can remove more opioids
and prescription pills from West Virginia homes, hopefully
preventing substance use disorder before it even starts.”
Partnership Launches Statewide Study
of Human Trafficking in West Virginia
A statewide study of human trafficking in West Virginia has
launched as a joint endeavor between West Virginia Univer-
sity (WVU) School of Medicine’s Charleston campus and the
West Virginia Human Trafficking Taskforce. The principal
investigator for the study is Patrick Kerr, Ph.D., associate profes-
sor of behavior medicine and psychiatry at WVU’s Charleston
campus and chair of the Human Trafficking Activity Moni-
toring Committee for the task force.
The Mountain State Human Trafficking Mapping Project will
be the first statewide study on human trafficking. This study is
a collaborative effort between the West Virginia Human Traf-
ficking Taskforce and the Department of Behavioral Medicine
and Psychiatry at WVU-Charleston. Over the next six years,
the researchers will collect data on encounters with survivors
of both sex trafficking and labor trafficking in several different
sectors across the state, including health care, social services,
law enforcement and educational settings.
The study is aimed at better understanding the prevalence
and patterns of human trafficking in West Virginia, the health
challenges faced by human trafficking survivors and the services
human trafficking survivors commonly need. This data will
contribute to providing better services of all forms to survivors
of human trafficking over time, which will reduce the risk of
survivors being trafficked again in the future.
Boone Memorial Hospital Laboratory Receives
Accreditation from College of American Pathologists
The Accreditation Committee of the College of American
Pathologists (CAP) has awarded accreditation to the Boone
Memorial Hospital Laboratory Department in Madison, WV.
The award was based on the results of a recent on-site inspec-
tion as part of CAP’s Laboratory Accreditation Program.
Boone Memorial Hospital’s laboratory is one of more than
8,000 CAP-accredited facilities worldwide.
“We are thrilled to be part of this national recognition,”
says Debbie Randant, Boone Memorial Hospital’s laboratory
director. “I am proud of our staff for continually striving for
excellence.”
During the CAP accreditation process, designed to ensure the
highest standard of care for all laboratory patients, inspectors
64
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
Boone Memorial Hospital
Laboratory Department
in Madison, WV.
examine the laboratory’s records and quality control of proce-
dures for the preceding two years. CAP inspectors also examine
laboratory staff qualifications, equipment, facilities, safety
program and record and overall management.
West Virginia Child Advocacy Network
Announces New Executive Director
West Virginia Child Advocacy Network (WVCAN), the
statewide agency supporting the work of West Virginia Child
Advocacy Centers (CACs), has announced the hiring of Kate
Flack as its new executive director.
“When Kate speaks
about the work of
CACs, her compas-
sion for victims, op-
timism for survivors,
enthusiasm for the
CAC model and the
promise it holds for
West Virginia and her
commitment to our
mission stand out,”
says WVCAN Board
President John Arti-
mez. “Our board is
firmly convinced Kate
will keep WVCAN
Kate Flack.
on its upward path.”
Since its inception
in 2006, more than 27,000 children have been served in the
statewide network of CACs. A CAC is a child-friendly facility
with staff members who work to provide professional, com-
passionate care to child abuse victims in order to reduce the
trauma often experienced by victims of abuse.
“We’re at a pivotal point in our state’s history,” says Flack.
“West Virginia is on the front lines of the drug epidemic with
the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the country. During
the last year, children served by West Virginia CACs were six
times more likely to be victims of drug endangerment than the
national average. One in 10 West Virginia children will be a
victim of sexual abuse—most at the hands of a trusted adult
or guardian. Now, more than ever, we must step up as stew-
ards of our state’s most precious and vulnerable resource—
its children.”