West Virginia Announces More Than $3.4 Million in Rural Health Awards: WVU Health to Expand Home Monitoring and a Mobile Care Workforce
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey announced in Charleston on October 19 that the West Virginia Rural Health Transformation Program has awarded more than $3.4 million to the West Virginia University Health System (WVU Health) to expand care for patients with chronic conditions and help rural hospitals address staffing shortages.
One award, totaling more than $2.5 million through the state's Connected Care Grid (CCG) initiative, will help WVU Health expand support for West Virginians living with diabetes and high blood pressure. A team of West Virginia-based nurses and healthcare staff will work directly with patients, help them monitor their health from home, and connect them with care when problems arise. The program is expected to serve approximately 1,200 patients in its first year, across all 55 counties, and eligible patients leaving the hospital can enroll in monitoring before returning home.
A second award of $900,000 through the Mountain State Care Force (MSCF) initiative will help WVU Health create a statewide pool of healthcare professionals who can be deployed to hospitals experiencing staffing shortages, with a focus on rural and critical access hospitals. The funding will also speed up the process of preparing providers to work across multiple WVU Health facilities.
Secretary of Health Dr. Arvin Singh said WVU Health already serves patients across West Virginia and the investment will help more people manage chronic conditions and stay connected to their providers. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said the federal Rural Health Transformation Program is giving states resources to strengthen rural health systems. The governor's office said additional awards will be announced as the program proceeds; the state program is supported by a CMS financial assistance award totaling about $199.5 million.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 位于 Charleston 的西弗吉尼亚州议会大厦金色圆顶。照片：Standardpizza 摄，CC BY 4.0，经维基共享资源／The golden dome of the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston. Photo: Standardpizza, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
