Photo by WVU Medicine Children ’ s .
“ We are a rural state , and some people come from Ripley or Charleston . A hotel is expensive . Mom and Dad can stay for free at the hospital and be with their sick child .”
Photo by WVU Medicine Children ’ s .
The hospital also houses the state ’ s only level four NICU , the highest level of care for these patients . In addition , the hospital offers a complex neurosurgical program , including brain surgeries and an epilepsy monitoring unit equipped to serve children , and a 27-bed pediatric intensive care unit .
“ We are the only health care system in the state that does several things ,” Wright says . “ We work hard to keep viable programs to make sure children in the state who need them can get them here .”
WVU Medicine Children ’ s Hospital also offers high-risk maternal and gynecological care . The hospital is physically attached to Ruby Memorial Hospital . This arrangement is designed so that patients can flow between the two hospitals if needed , rather than be transported by ambulance and separated by miles .
Not only does the hospital offer state-of-the-art care , it also offers families comforts that can make big differences during stressful times . At WVU Medicine Children ’ s Hospital , every room , including the NICU rooms , is designed so that parents can stay with their sick child . Wright says this arrangement in neonatal intensive care is almost unheard of , but in West Virginia , logical and necessary . All the rooms have showers , team areas , patient areas and family areas with couches that pull out into beds and closet space .
“ We are a rural state , and some people come from Ripley or Charleston ,” Wright says . “ A hotel is expensive . Mom and Dad can stay for free at the hospital and be with their sick child .”
The entire hospital design is conducive to family healing and health . Amy Bush , chief administrative officer for WVU Medicine Children ’ s Hospital , explains that just as there is evidence-based medicine — medical care that emphasizes the practical application of research findings — there is also evidence-based design .
“ We call it the healing environment ,” she says . “ Access to light and nature , noise control and the ease of finding your way around are part of that . All the non-clinical things you also associate with a hospital — the gift shop , the family resource center and cafeteria — are here with a pediatric theme . We want to create an environment for patients and families that is as homelike as possible . This helps to decrease anxiety and stress , which helps promote healing . Private rooms also help reduce the spread of germs . We wanted our environment built so that our care team members can care for kids in a manner that is of the highest quality , safety and efficiency so we can get kids back home . We want the best environment for our team to work in as well .”
The hospital ’ s care for and impact on families is not limited to what is contained within its walls .
“ WVU Medicine Children ’ s Hospital is our hospital in Morgantown , but WVU Medicine Children ’ s is really throughout the state and region in all of our clinics and health system ,” Bush says . “ Whether it is our pediatricians working primary care or prevention or our specialists seeing kids in the communities before or after surgery , we want to be partners with the hospitals within our system in West Virginia and the surrounding regions , as well as with the pediatricians and specialty clinics we set up . We also partner with a number of hospitals to help their pediatric units and their newborn nurseries at these hospitals .”
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