Spirit of Teamwork Takes Wheeling Hospital to Next Level By DEREK REDD Staff Writer In medicine, just as it is in so many other aspects of life, there’s nothing like teamwork. The staff at Wheeling Hospital feels that way. Executives there believe that teamwork, between doctors and between hospitals, will help take the hospital to the next level and keep executing the game plan — to give people in the Ohio Valley a stay-at-home option for high-level care. Wheeling Hospital CEO Douglass Harrison is a firm believer in the institute model of hospitals. That’s the strategy WVU Medicine is using, and that’s the road Wheeling Hospital is taking as part of the WVU Medicine network. The relationship is a “hub and spoke model,” Harrison said. WVU Medicine’s epicenter, Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, is the hub. Wheeling Hospital is one of the spokes. Yet, Harrison said, Wheeling’s role as a spoke doesn’t mean it’s an afterthought. The WVU Heart and Vascular Institute has a home at Wheeling Hospital. So does the Rockefeller Neurosci-
Medical Care n Wheeling Hospital is embracing the “institute model” of medicine, which turns the hospital from a standalone operation to one partnering with WVU Medicine. n With that model, Ohio Valley residents will be able to access the high-level health care in fields such as cardiovascular medicine and neuroscience that they used to have to visit different states to get. n In a team-based approach, physicians and clinicians come together daily to devise the appropriate plan for care for each patient. ence Institute. The hospital’s NICU is managed by WVU’s Women and Children’s Hospital. And starting July 1, the WVU Cancer Institute will manage and oversee Wheeling Hospital’s Schiffler Cancer Center. “So you should be able to, in an institute model of care, get the same level of care, of medical treatment, from a local facility, coordinating that care through the institute model,” Harrison said. “So if you need advanced care, then we take care of
that and align with our partners in Morgantown and get you to Morgantown for that advanced care.” What makes the institute model work, Harrison said, is that the same physicians in Morgantown are also coming to Wheeling to provide the same service. All those physicians, be it in Wheeling or Morgantown or both, are working together to provide the best care for patients. There is no competition between the doctors to be
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Wheeling Hospital is now home to several institutes of medicine and is taking full advantage of its relationship with WVU Medicine.
the one who gets to have the “aha!” moment. They collaborate to have that moment together. Dr. Vinay Badhwar, executive chair of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, said that belief is shared between all his institute’s doctors from the top down. For instance he does not view himself above Dr. Chris Allen, a
member of the WVU HVI and chief of cardiology at Wheeling Hospital. “Dr. Allen is my partner, not an employee, nothing like that,” Badhwar said. “Our job is to provide the best for our patients, like they’re our family members. Because the model allows it.” Harrison offered the example of a 97-year-old
woman dealing with congestive heart failure and some other comorbidities. In the past, one physician may walk in, look at her and say she needed a heart catheter and open heart surgery. Then she’s headed in for a procedure with a slim chance at survival.
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Outdoor Wellness Shifting to the Individual By ALAN OLSON Staff Writer It goes without saying that 2020 wasn’t a great year for social activities, but even many groups focused on outdoor activities, such as cycling and hiking, went on hiatus for the year. Instead, people started to form their own pods of individuals they could more easily ensure made healthy decisions and limited their exposure to outsiders. The move to these pods saw outdoor activities continue in much smaller groups, rath-
er than the larger social clubs of years past. Jim Adams, a spokesman for Bike Wheeling, said the 2020 season was a desolate one for the bike club. Many of the members, he said, were age 50 and
Outdoor Wellness n The COVID-19 pandemic took the wind out of the sails of many outdoor wellness clubs. n The impetus to go out and get active has shifted back to the individual, as individual people or a small group of friends is the new workout unit. n Trails were more utilized than ever last year, with individuals taking to trails with only a few friends, rather than with larger groups.
older and took the necessary precautions for their health seriously, avoiding gathering in groups even at a distance. “We basically put Bike Wheeling on a shelf,” Adams said. “A lot of our members didn’t feel like it was a good idea to continue to meet and ride, and so for that reason, we have no activities planned, nor have we met in a year. Our last activity was last February; if we weren’t in a pandemic, we’ve got lots of stuff going on and planned in the spring. But there’s nothing on the calendar, and honestly I’d be shocked if we had anything planned before summertime.” However, many members continued riding on their own, outside the group, he said. “What I see in the running and cycling is that people are still doing it on their own, individually — there’s nothing organized,” Adams said. “There’s trail runners who meet at Grand Vue Park and Barkcamp, and they basically run the same trails that we ride mountain bikes on, and they’re doing their own thing. What you’re finding is that maybe
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two or three people will go out. It’s been a long year, and we’re weary. We’d like to get back out.” Adams said that, nationally, individual cycling has become increasingly common among those forced to look elsewhere for their exercise — according to a study by the Aspen Institute, time spent on a bicycle did not fall as other exercise and sporting trends did during the pandemic, rising from the 19th most popular activity pre-pandemic to the third most popular, as of September. The Northern WV Composite Mountain Bike Team, for sixth through 12th grade students, has continued riding outdoors in smaller groups. Adams, the team director, said the team draws around 25 people. Other teams throughout the state in Morgantown and Charleston have around 100. “God willing, in April, we will start doing stuff again … ,” he said. “It’s become quite a thing. Because of the pandemic, Photo provided there is a rise in cycling.” The Northern WV Composite MTB Team rides Her(Please see OUTDOOR, Page 7)
itage Trail in Wheeling, one of few to do so over the last year, as many outdoor wellness clubs have deteriorated.
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here are times when you shouldn’t ignore what your body is telling you and you need to seek medical care. At Wheeling Hospital, we want you to know that we are taking every precaution to make your visit as safe as possible. This is true throughout our campus - in our ER/Trauma Center, our physician offices, our Surgical Center and on our patient floors. The pandemic isn’t over, but be assured that we are ready when you need us.
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