Mike Grace , Amy Bush , Dr . Federico Seifarth , Dr . Jeffrey Lancaster , Mary Fanning , Dr . Sarah McCollester and Rachel Blasko inside of WVU
Medicine Children ’ s Hospital . Photo by Tracy A . Toler Photography .
W VU Medicine Children ’ s Hospital
CATHY BONNSTETTER
Albert Wright Jr ., president and CEO of the West Virginia University ( WVU ) Health System , came to the Mountain State in 2014 prepared to grow the health care network , which is now the largest one in the state , to include all West Virginians — even the smallest ones .
During his first week at the helm of the WVU Health System , Wright toured the children ’ s hospital , which was actually a hospital within the hospital on the sixth floor of the WVU Ruby Memorial Campus in Morgantown . After that tour , Wright decided that these young patients , their families and the medical professionals who cared for them deserved their own space , designed specifically for their needs — a space designed to make this hospital experience just a little bit easier for families and children .
Wright put the wheels in motion and persevered through a pandemic , significant inflation , supply chain shortages , staffing shortages and even national hospital closing trends . Eight years later , on September 22 , 2022 , the first patient was wheeled from Ruby Memorial Hospital to the brand new , free-standing WVU Medicine Children ’ s Hospital — by design , a child-loving , family-friendly facility .
“ WVU Children ’ s Hospital is one of those hospitals you build hoping people will never need , but it ’ s there when they do need it ,” Wright says . “ We had challenges that delayed the project a little , but we had a plan , and we opened a beautiful hospital that is functioning well .”
The goal of the 150-bed hospital is to give all West Virginia families the best treatment possible so they do not need to leave the state to find care . Wright knows from experience how important it is to families to find proper care that is convenient and close to home .
“ I am the father of a child who spent time in a neonatal intensive care unit ( NICU ), and I am the father of a child who needed major surgery ,” he says . “ When you have a sick child , it throws your life upside down .”
With 90 specialist providers , WVU Medicine Children ’ s Hospital offers the entire range of specialties in pediatrics . In fact , the hospital hosts the only pediatric cardiac surgery program in the state . Every hospital room is equipped with cardiac monitoring capability so that patients do not need to be moved should they develop a need for cardiac care during their stay .
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