Harrison County WIC continues to offer free lead testing to clients

April 29, 2023

Harrison County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is taking extra steps to offer free lead testing for WIC clients in response to high levels of lead found in homes in Clarksburg. The lead testing program was a part of a year-long pilot program that was set to expire June 30. Now, WIC will try to renew the grant for at least one more year of free lead testing. WIC encourages participants coming in for an appointment to get a blood test for lead. Staffers also provide education on lead exposure. Initially, the Harrison-Clarksburg Health Department offered free lead testing, ...

WVU Medicine Children’s sixth floor tends to kids needing critical care, and their families

April 22, 2023

MORGANTOWN — A friendly West Virginia black bear greets families arriving on the sixth floor of WVU Medicine Children's. It's a place where kids face difficult medical challenges and friendly warmth is important. The floor houses the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, the Cardiac Intensive ...

WVU Medicine Children’s NICU offers family friendly environment for care of newborns

April 22, 2023

MORGANTOWN — After WVU Medicine Children's opened in September, Dr. Autumn Kiefer recalls seeing a dad sitting in a comfy chair in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, holding his son and watching a Mountaineer football game. “That was really just a normal thing that we never had ...

Mon County ranked healthiest in W.Va.; STI rates high

April 22, 2023

According to the latest annual report from the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, Monongalia County is the healthiest in West Virginia. Monongalia County outperforms the state average for nearly every health category and even surpasses the national average in several categories. One of the standout areas for Monongalia County is its premature death rate, which is lower than the state and national averages. Monongalia County has a premature death rate of 6,400 years of potential life lost per 100,000 population, significantly better than the state and national averages of ...

DHHR extends financial support for child care providers

April 20, 2023

CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), Bureau for Family Assistance today announced additional funding to allow child care providers to be reimbursed based on enrollment through August 2024. The pay-by-enrollment methodology was instituted during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency using federally allocated funds to provide financial stability and continued assurance of available child care, and was projected to be exhausted by September 2023. “By reprioritizing use of available funds, DHHR can help child care providers continue to ...

Justice: No fed investigation into Babydog sweepstakes; provides roadwork, other updates during Wednesday briefing

April 19, 2023

MORGANTOWN – Back on March 20, state Senate Finance chair Eric Tarr asked the U.S. Treasury Office of Inspector General to investigate whether the transfer of $28.375 million in unappropriated CARES Act funds to a discretionary account of Gov. Jim Justice violated any federal law, ...