WV Medicaid Services Memorandum on Telehealth COVID-19 and News Link

View Original Memorandum : Telehealth COVID Precautions Message from Cynthia Beane, MSW, LCSW, Commissioner: "Due to the World Health Organization declaring Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a pandemic, the West Virginia Bureau for Medical Services (BMS) is allowing all telehealth services listed in the BMS policy manual, and the temporary telehealth services approved during the COVID-19 pandemic, referenced in BMS release memos, ... Read More

FAQs for Opioid Use Disorder Prescribing and Dispensing in the COVID-19 Emergency

The WV Bureau for Behavior Health  would like to share the following  information from SAMHSA on OUD Prescribing and Dispensing during the COVID-19  emergency: 5600 Fishers Lane • Rockville, MD 20857 www.samhsa.gov • 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727) FAQs for Opioid Use Disorder Prescribing and Dispensing in the COVID-19 Emergency In response to the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, SAMHSA is providing answers ... Read More

How to Care for Pregnant Patients During the Opioid Crisis

View original PEW news article here As the opioid epidemic has unfolded in the United States, many newborns have had to grapple with the health effects of their mothers’ substance misuse. Federal statistics show that between 2004 and 2014, for example, the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) among babies born to women receiving Medicaid increased more than 400 percent. ... Read More

West Virginia study published in Pediatric Research on prenatal alcohol exposure in late pregnancy

Local researchers published a study in Pediatric Research estimating the most recent prenatal alcohol exposure prevalence data for the state of West Virginia (WV) and associated factors. Researchers tested  newborn residual dried blood spots and used data from the states PROJECT Watch program to find that the prevalence of prenatal alcohol exposure for all births in WV was 8.10%. This ... Read More

Perinatal health experts encourage less smoking, more breastfeeding for southern West Virginia

By Wendy Holdren, The Register-Herald See the Original Article Photo by: Rick Barbero Smoking and breast feeding are two major areas for perinatal health improvement in southern West Virginia. As part of Wednesday's conference "Focus on Perinatal Health — Strengthening Regional Partnerships to Improve Outcomes," Candice Hamilton, assistant director of Project WATCH, reviewed a number of statistics for Region 1, which includes Mercer, ... Read More

West Virginia Bucks Rising United States Maternal Mortality Trend

By Kara Leigh Lofton, West Virginia Public Broadcasting See the Original Article The United States has some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world -- and unlike most other first-world countries, our rates are going in the wrong direction. American women are three times more likely to die during or after birth than women in Great Britain ... Read More

Maternal Smoking Before and During Pregnancy and the Risk of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death

  See original CNN article: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/11/health/smoking-infant-sudden-death-risk-study/index.html See journal article: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2019/03/07/peds.2018-3325 Researchers from the Seattle Children’s Research Institute in Washington analyzed data on smoking during pregnancy from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s birth/infant death data set between 2007-2011. They recently published their findings in the scientific journal, Pediatrics. They found that the risk of death rises by .07 … Read More

PUBLICATION: Novel Withdrawal Symptoms of a Neonate Prenatally Exposed to a Fentanyl Analog

The health care team at Marshall University and Cabell Huntington recently published a case report in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care regarding withdrawal symptoms of a neonate exposed to a fentanyl analog in utero. The researchers highlight the complex medical and social issues involved with treating infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome that were exposed to many substances. Read Journal Article Here: Novel Withdrawal ... Read More

Thomas Memorial Hospital Introduces Grace’s Closet

Thomas Memorial Hospital Introduces Grace's Closet for Mothers in Early Recovery Grace's Closet from Recovery Point West Virginia on Vimeo. Within the walls of Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston, West Virginia, there are rooms filled with baby clothes, shoes, diapers, baby wipes, toys, and early childhood essentials. They call this area Grace's Closet. The rooms serve as an area for mothers in recovery to get ... Read More

ABC News report highlights WVU Medicine’s care for drug-exposed babies

  View Original Article and Video: https://abcnews.go.com/US/cuddle-volunteers-soothe-west-virginias-drug-exposed-babies/story?id=58535423 Drug exposed babies are an insidious after-effect of the opioid epidemic that has swept West Virginia. A recent ABC news story, "Cuddle volunteers help to soothe West Virginia's drug-exposed babies," spotlighted the care WVU Medicine gives to these newborns. The story shows Pat Holgorsen, one of dozens of cuddle volunteers at WVU Medicine. ... Read More