Community Care
of West Virginia
In the past two decades, Community Care
of West Virginia (CCWV) has transformed
from a single entity focused on primary care
to 15 medical centers, eight pharmacies, a
dental clinic and 53 school-based health
centers throughout nine counties in North
Central West Virginia. It now treats 45,000
patients per year.
In 1984, CCWV qualified to operate as a
federally qualified health center (FQHC) under
the U.S. Department of Health & Human
Resources, allowing it to serve patients
who cannot pay or do not have adequate
medical insurance.
CCWV began operating school-based health
centers to provide care to children who would
otherwise not receive it and teach youth about
healthy living. It has grown exponentially in
the past six years.
overall health plan that attempts to avoid
emergent or short-term treatment needs
by working with the customer to focus
on long-term well-being.
“While this is clearly in the best inter-
est of those we treat, the financial reim-
bursement system is continuing to change,
creating challenges that were previously
unseen,” he says.
According to Simon, the growth and
success of CCWV can be accredited to
two things: people and vision.
“The people I have worked with at
CCWV from day one have been the back-
bone of this organization,” he says. “The
vision for our organization was developed
by a tremendous senior leadership group
anchored by Sarah Chouinard, M.D.;
Patricia Collett, PA-C; Connie Johnston;
and Michele Williams. These folks are
why we are what we are today.”
Simon credits the success he has helped
CCWV achieve to his stubborn optimism.
“I believe success is a direct result of
hard work and dedication and a unity of
effort,” he says. “Any organization that
is willing to strive together for a common
goal has the potential to achieve success.
Over the years, I have refused to accept
failure simply because success is difficult.
My belief is that there are always better days
to come, and if we all work together, we
can continue to improve our organization.”
One goal he has not yet accomplished
but is determined to address is find-
ing better ways to develop CCWV’s
workforce.
“We need better ways to develop em-
ployees who embrace constant change as
a part of the normal work environment,”
he says. “I think our biggest challenge
aligns with the John Maynard Keynes
quote that says, ‘The difficulty lies not
so much in developing new ideas as in
escaping from old ones.’”
CCWV also offers a pain management
program that provides alternatives to opioids to
help patients avoid substance use disorder.
CCWV primary care providers no longer
write long-term opioid prescriptions. The
organization’s new Addiction and Recovery
Program, which is designed for those facing
substance use disorder and other addictions
like food and gambling, will officially launch
in the summer of 2020. It will offer medical
management, counseling, case management,
peer recovery and community outreach
services.
With an eye on healthy eating to combat
nutrition-related diseases, CCWV’s FARMacy
program provides diabetic patients with
prescriptions for fresh produce and nutrition
education, along with clinical pharmacy
intervention, and it has shown positive
outcomes. After recognizing a clear need
in the community for food assistance, CCWV
partnered with Mountaineer Food Bank’s
Together We Grow program. Last summer,
the partners held a food bank drive at CCWV’s
Rock Cave location, the donations of which
served 250 families.
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WINTER 2020
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