By Stephen Smoot
Since WVUMedicine assumed responsibility and ownership of Grant Memorial Hospital, changes have come rapidly during the transition and through expansion of services and footprint.
Recently, the facility invited a number of community leaders from business, education, and other fields to share information and also learn more about how they can serve better.
Representation from Hardy County included Sheena Van Meter, superintendent of Hardy County Schools, and Derick Parks, principal of East Hardy High School. Others came in from Grant and Pendleton counties to share in the discussion.
John Sylvia, president and chief executive officer of WVUMedicine Grant Memorial Hospital, led much of the discussion. He came to GMH in late 2022 after serving on the leadership team at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
He opened by sharing that a number of the positive changes and expanded services at GMH since 2022 are not widely known about in the hospital’s coverage area. Additionally, GMH has earned a number of prestigious awards in the past two years that are not known as well. Sylvia stated that “we try as best as we can to get the word out through Facebook” but asked for ideas and help from attendees.
Staff also emphasized the informality of the meeting and encouraged questions and information sharing by all involved.
First, attendees saw a timeline of evolution since the November 2022 decision to move from a Grant County owned facility to the WVUMedicine network. One of the major milestones, one which had caused comment and challenges at the time, lay in switching over to the WVUMedicine records system. Other points shared lay in the time at which WVUMedicine doctors started serving the emergency room and the expectation that by this January, all providers will be part of the network.
They also discussed examples of added technology, including new Phillips monitors, identical crash carts in all departments, and medical grade glucometers. Staff revealed that previously they used blood sugar indicators available over the counter. Those in use now require constant testing to maintain accuracy and will not work if not regularly tested.
One major issue at a number of hospitals lies in turnover and staffing. Sylvia and his team related different ways in which GMH works to recruit and retain staff. Elaine Geroski, chief nursing officer and associate vice president of patient services, explained that she had gone to Moorefield High School, among others, to discuss job and career opportunities at the hospital.
She told of how “at Union (she was) talking about careers, encouraging them to go on with their careers.” Geroski shared the helpful news that “if you don’t want to leave the area, that’s great . . . if you don’t want to go to get a college degree” many good paying opportunities still await good local people to fill them.
Also, “anyone with a science degree can do a fast track” to lucrative laboratory and other tech positions. That includes a two-year surgical tech program at Potomac State College or a nine month program at a career and technical school. Three students at Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College recently received $5,000 in scholarship money apiece directly from WVUMedicine.
Sarah Moomau, Petersburg area business owner and member of the board of Seneca Rocks Regional Development Authority, praised “how visionary” the creative approach employed by the facility had been.
Retention efforts included raising salaries of workers. Under the former ownership, salaries could not keep up with other health care networks. WVUMedicine implemented a policy that used regional competing health care network salaries to establish competitive rates for all positions.
That led to the raising of the minimum salary from $10 to $15 per hour. Registered nurses at the lowest salary tier start at $31 per hour with night and weekend shifts paying up to $38 an hour. This has reduced the number of “travelers,” itinerant personnel who move from hospital to hospital as needed and make substantially more per hour, considerably.
Sylvia noted that the number needed at GMH dropped from 17 to four.
Other developments include the purchase by Grant County of a 17,000 square foot building in Petersburg to house expanding services. The “completely renovated” building currently has been cleared out and prepared for new construction, but it will, according to Sylvia “probably take two years for the buildout of it.”
Officials all emphasized that the technological upgrades, salary hikes, and expansion of both space and services comes at a cost. Felicity Ours, Chief Financial Officer, shared that the hospital had overcome the financial issues that led to WVUMedicine assuming authority over the facility. “We have to have a positive bottom line to put back into technology upgrades and other needs,” Ours said. She added that the hospital has embarked on capital fundraising projects. Tammy Kitzmiller, former Grant County Development Authority director, has steered that effort for the hospital. According to Ours, the hospital expects to need at least $3 million in the new building to get it ready and also install expanded services.
That may include the planned Rapid Care clinic to augment traditional emergency room services. Rapid Care would function as an urgent care, taking in those with minor injuries or illnesses and charging much less than the emergency room. The emergency room can then focus on major injuries, illnesses, and emergent threats to life.
All that said, officials also emphasized the limits of what they can do. The hospital’s operations must run entirely on money earned by providing services, hence the need for expanding fundraising efforts.
The meeting opened up to take questions from attendees. Van Meter asked if the facility could help with extreme cases of students needing mental health and related services. Currently, many of the available options used are costly and often far from the region. While WVUMedicine did not have many options, it was shared that some others in the area might have helpful programs now or in the near future.
Not every change, however, has gone into improved technology, expanded services, and staff retention. In the back of the hospital behind the conference room, but on a rise that provides a brilliant view of the ridges in the distance, the hospital placed a memory garden. It surrounds a fountain donated by the auxiliary and features rocks painted by those sharing a memory or appreciation.
People gather and paint their own rocks and bring them to the garden. Some carry a special thank you message to an individual doctor or staff. Others remember beloved family or friends that have passed.
All are invited to spend time and bring their own contributions.
