Residents throughout rural West Virginia may soon enjoy enhanced health care, thanks to a new patient-focused program that will expand throughout the Mountain State.

HEALTHeWV, a disease-management software tool based on the award-winning HEALTHeFORCES program developed by the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and now under the auspices of the U.S. Air Force, is now ready to be adapted for use in West Virginia’s rural communities because of a collaborative effort among the Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC) at Wheeling Jesuit University, the U.S. Air Force, and Marshall University’s Robert C. Byrd Center for Rural Health Care.

“HEALTHeWV addresses West Virginia’s high incidence of chronic illness, specifically targeting diabetes, breast cancer, pediatric asthma, and heart and lung disease. This program will help overcome the barriers of geographic isolation and improve the health care of patients residing in West Virginia’s medically underserved, rural areas,” says Rev. Joseph R. Hacala, S.J., President of Wheeling Jesuit University.

A $1 million grant secured last year by Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., provided the initial funding for HEALTHeWV. The Senate recently approved an additional $5 million that Byrd added to the Fiscal Year 2006 Defense Appropriations Bill million to allow the NTTC, Marshall University, and the Air Force to add approximately 40 more West Virginia clinics to the HEALTHeWV system.

“For far too long, rural health care has meant inferior health care. HEALTHeWV allows West Virginia’s rural medical facilities to provide better care and treatment to their patients, thereby furthering the goal of health care equality. I encourage clinics throughout the state to participate in this life-changing program,” Byrd said.

West Virginia ranks high in the nation in many of these chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease. This program will expand health care opportunities for all West Virginians, especially those living in rural areas.

“We’re grateful for Sen. Byrd’s leadership in addressing this critical rural health care issue. HEALTHeWV is the first step for us, and can serve as a model for the rest of the nation,” says,” says J. Davitt McAteer, vice president for sponsored programs at Wheeling Jesuit University. Mazharullah Shaik, M.D., director of the HEALTHeWV program, notes that HEALTHeWV allows patients in rural areas to take a far more active role in their care and gives physicians access to real-time clinical information and enhanced decision support.

In addition, a new Web site will provide West Virginia’s rural physicians with detailed information about HEALTHeWV and its potential use in their facilities.

The Lavalette Clinic, in Wayne County, W.Va., served as a pilot site for HEALTHeWV. The clinic officially launched the program on April 4, 2005. The program is ready to expand throughout the state, with five clinics having already signed letters of intent to participate: Wheeling Health Right Inc., Ohio County; Wirt County Health Center, Wirt County; Mercer Health Right Inc. and Bluestone Health Center, Mercer County; and Fairmont Clinic, Marion County.

HEALTHeWV partners receive a Web-based disease-management system (including hardware, software, networking, installation, training and support services) that will create and maintain electronic patient records, improve patient-provider communication, provide access to patient educational materials, and allow rapid access to the latest in evidence-based medicine. The program offers key benefits to participating clinics: enhanced patient care, lower costs in delivering care, and improvement in patients’ overall health outcomes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 90 million Americans live with chronic illnesses, the costs of which account for more than 75 percent of the nation’s overall $1.4 trillion in medical care costs. Moreover, chronic diseases account for 70 percent of all deaths in the United States.
“HEALTHeWV will give rural physicians a vital new tool that taps both the extensive health experience of the military and the power of computers,” says McAteer. “The program will permit physicians to monitor the health of people who have chronic disease and provide preventive treatment or treatment that hastens recovery.”

Clinics that wish to partner can sign up by contacting the NTTC at (800) 678-6882 or healthewv@nttc.edu.

“With HEALTHeWV’s technology and IT resources, you can eliminate the barrier of geographic isolation and provide all your patients with uniform, high-quality health care,” says Shaik.