Vandalia Health thanks Governor Morrisey for Rural Health Transformation Program investments totaling more than $7.2M

Vandalia Health thanks Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the West Virginia Department of Health for announcing more than $ 7.2 million in Rural Health Transformation Program funding for Vandalia Health and its affiliate, Minnie Hamilton Health System, to expand access to care, support rural emergency response and reduce administrative work for providers.

The awards were announced yesterday during separate press conferences at Vandalia Health Mon Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital and Minnie Hamilton Health System. Vandalia Health will receive seven awards totaling over $3.2 million, while Minnie Hamilton will receive three awards totaling more than $4 million.

Vandalia Health Mon Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital, Vandalia Health Mon Marion Neighborhood Hospital, Vandalia Health Mon Preston Memorial Hospital, Vandalia Health Webster Memorial Hospital, Vandalia Health CAMC Plateau Medical Center and affiliate Minnie Hamilton Health System will each receive $363,000 to implement ambient listening technology.

With a patient’s permission, ambient listening technology captures the conversation during a visit and uses artificial intelligence to create a draft clinical note. The provider reviews, edits and signs the note before it is entered into the electronic health record. The technology is designed to reduce time spent documenting visits so providers can focus more fully on patients. Results from Vandalia Health’s ambient listening pilot program at participating primary care clinics showed a 27% decrease in time providers spent documenting patient visits and a 25% decrease in physician documentation time after 5 p.m. Participating clinics also reported a 5% increase in patients seen, supporting improved access to care. Additional reported benefits included more attentive patient interactions, more accurate documentation and faster availability of visit notes in the patient portal. Reduced after-hours documentation also helped ease the workload that can contribute to provider burnout.

“For patients, some of the most meaningful moments in a visit happen when they have their provider’s full attention,” said Krystal Atkinson, DNP, RN, CNOR, Chief Administrative Officer Vandalia Health Mon Medical Center and Senior Vice President of Vandalia Health. “Ambient listening helps our clinicians spend less time entering information into a computer and more time listening, answering questions and discussing care. We’re excited to bring this technology, which we’ve been piloting in our clinics, into inpatient care settings.”

Vandalia Health Broaddus Hospital was awarded $500,000 to establish the Mansfield Place Telehub Pilot. The project will use telemedicine technology to expand access to specialty care, behavioral health services and urgent clinical consultation for rural skilled nursing units.

Vandalia Health also received a $900,000 award through the Mountain State Care Force to establish the Mountain State Practice and Place Collaborative, a regional rotational staffing pool designed to help rural hospitals and clinics more quickly address clinical staffing needs. The program will prioritize West Virginia-licensed healthcare professionals and connect them with opportunities to serve communities where their skills are needed most. In addition to helping fill immediate staffing gaps, the initiative is designed to strengthen recruitment and retention by creating opportunities for healthcare professionals to build long-term careers and establish roots in West Virginia communities.

“Thank you to Gov. Morrisey and the West Virginia Department of Health for investing in the hospitals and providers who serve our rural communities,” said Jeff Sandene, president and CEO of Vandalia Health. “These grants will help us bring care closer to home, strengthen emergency response and give providers more time with their patients. These investments support our commitment to finding practical ways to improve access and enhance the health of communities across West Virginia.”

Minnie Hamilton will receive $1.7 million for its mobile medical clinic project to bring primary care, behavioral health screening and referral, wound care, chronic disease management and telehealth specialty consultations to residents of Calhoun and Gilmer counties and surrounding rural communities. The clinic is designed to reduce transportation barriers and connect patients to coordinated care closer to home.

With an additional $2 million award, Minnie Hamilton will also lead the Rural Health Logistics Integration Initiative, a collaboration among hospitals and emergency medical services organizations. The project will use drones and shared dispatch coordination to support the delivery of emergency medical supplies and blood products, transport laboratory specimens and resupply emergency responders. The initiative is designed to reduce time spent on medical transport tasks and keep emergency crews available for patient care.

“We are grateful to Gov. Morrisey and the West Virginia Department of Health for investing in the future of rural healthcare,” said Stephen Whited, MBA, CEO of Minnie Hamilton Health System. “For the communities we serve, distance and transportation can make getting care difficult. Our mobile clinic will bring services closer to residents, while our emergency medical logistics initiative will help responders get critical supplies where they are needed. Together with ambient listening technology that gives providers more time to focus on patients, these projects will help us better serve our rural communities.”

The awards are part of West Virginia’s Rural Health Transformation Program, which supports efforts to improve access to care and strengthen rural health care across the state. Yesterday’s awards build on $612,000 in Rural Health Transformation Program funding announced Sept. 4 for Vandalia WorkWell Connect. The program will connect employees of participating companies to primary and specialty care through employer-based access points, Vandalia Health’s primary care locations, mobile clinical services and telemedicine hubs. It is designed to identify chronic disease risk earlier and reduce avoidable health events.