Compiled by Kenzie Dye
Marshall Health Expands Pathology Team
Marshall Health and the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine recently welcomed the following pathologists and faculty and added molecular genetic pathology to their list of specialized training and experience.
Saadia Haleema, M.D., is a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist with subspecialty certification in hematopathology, which is the study of disease of blood and bone marrow. She obtained her medical degree from Khyber Medical School in Pakistan and completed an anatomic and clinical pathology residency at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL and a surgical pathology fellowship as well as a hematopathology fellowship at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT.
Waqas Mahmud, M.D., is a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist with subspecialty certification in molecular genetic pathology, which confirms clinical diagnoses of genetic and other disorders and advises targeted therapies. He graduated from Rawalpindi Medical College in Pakistan and completed an anatomic and clinical residency at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, a molecular genetic pathology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a clinical/pathology informatics fellowship at Stony Brook University Hospital in New York.
Yanina Nikolaus, M.D., is a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist with subspecialty certification in cytopathology, which is the study and diagnosis of disease at the cellular level. She obtained her medical degree from Universidad Adventista del Plata in Argentina and completed her anatomic and clinical pathology residency and cytopathology fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA.
Haleema, Mahmud and Nikolaus all serve as assistant professors at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. Marshall Health pathologists work collaboratively with other clinicians throughout Marshall Health Network and area hospitals to evaluate blood/body fluid samples and microscopic tissues. Marshall Pathology also accepts specimens and cases from other health care facilities and physicians’ offices for diagnosis or consultation.
WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute Achieves Greater Reduction in Brain Amyloid Plaques
A potential advancement in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease was announced recently by researchers at the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI). A first in-human study, featured in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrates that focused ultrasound in combination with anti-amyloid-beta (A) monoclonal antibody treatment can accelerate the clearance of amyloid-beta plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Monoclonal antibody therapies, such as aducaumab, lecanemab and donanemab, can reduce amyloid-beta plaques and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s. Until now, these promising antibody therapies had limitations in reaching the brain due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a protective barrier between blood vessels and the brain that blocks harmful substances from getting into the brain but also limits the access of therapeutics. More than 98% of drugs do not readily cross the BBB, thus requiring systemic treatments with higher doses and more frequent therapies.
RNI scientists used a focused ultrasound system (FUS) developed by Insightec to safely and temporarily open the BBB to allow the A antibodies increased access to targeted areas of the brain. The FUS MRI-guided treatment helmet holds more than 1,000 ultrasound transducers, which were directed to specific brain regions with high amyloid-beta plaques.
In this first in-human proof-of-concept study, three patients—two male and one female, aged 59-77—with mild Alzheimer’s disease received six standard monthly infusions of aducanumab antibody, immediately followed by FUS-mediated BBB opening in regions with high amyloid-beta plaques. The results demonstrated the safety of this approach and increased reduction of amyloid-beta plaques measured by PET scans.
“After six months of antibody treatment, we observed an average of 32% more reduction in amyloid-beta plaques—53% centiloid—in brain areas with blood-brain barrier opening compared to areas with no such opening,” says Ali Rezai, M.D., lead author of the study and executive chair of the RNI. “Focused ultrasound is a non-invasive outpatient procedure for BBB opening with great promise for improving drug delivery to the brain. The next phase of the clinical trial will begin this year to explore how to further accelerate amyloid-beta removal in a shorter time with focused ultrasound in combination with lecanemab antibody.”
“This is an exciting time in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Marc Haut, Ph.D., director of the RNI Memory Health Clinic. “We are hopeful the work we are doing may lead to improvements in outcome for many other patients and their families coping with Alzheimer’s.”
Highmark West Virginia Charitable Fund for Health Continues to Invest in Health Programs
Officials from the Highmark West Virginia Charitable Fund for Health recently announced its fourth quarter grant funding to nonprofit organizations throughout the Mountain State. These grants help fund programs and initiatives that effectively address oral, community and family health initiatives to benefit West Virginia individuals, families and communities.
The grants approved in the fund’s final meeting of 2023 total nearly half a million dollars and were awarded to nine organizations, including:
- Capital City Give Kids a Smile: Capital City Give Kids A Smile Day 2024
- Children’s Home Society of West Virginia: Children’s Home Society Parkersburg Program Needs
- Golden Girl Group Home: Family Kitchen and Food Pantry Program
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation: Breaking Barriers in the Mountain State Program
- Mountaineer Food Bank: Veterans Table Feeding Program
- University Physicians and Surgeons: Caring for Smiles of Those Who Served Dental Event
- Variety – the Children’s Charity: Mobility and Communication Programs
- West Virginia Independent Colleges and Universities: WVICU Circle of Vision Scholarship Program
- Wood County Society: Expansion of Vital Services in the Mid-Ohio Valley Region
“We are proud to support these nonprofit organizations that are working tirelessly in the communities throughout the state day in and day out,” says Cathy McAlister, executive director of the Highmark West Virginia Charitable Fund for Health. “Their hands-on efforts help move the needle to improve the health and well-being of our neighbors, and we greatly appreciate their commitment to community.”
The fund has awarded more than $5 million in grants to more than 100 organizations since its launch in 2021. To date, these grants support programs that address social determinants of health, oral health, substance use disorder, community health and family health.
Moore Presents Unclaimed Property Check to Wheeling Hospital
State Treasurer Riley Moore visited Wheeling in December to present an unclaimed property check worth more than $84,000 to benefit WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital—funds to be used for a new pediatric outpatient center.
“I’m thrilled to partner with Wheeling Hospital once again to return their unclaimed funds,” Moore says. “This year, my office’s Unclaimed Property Division has reunited Wheeling Hospital with nearly $170,000 worth of its unclaimed property, and I’m proud these funds are being used to support the hospital’s innovative approach to providing high-quality health care services to the greater Wheeling community.”
Moore presented an unclaimed property check worth $84,097.57 to Wheeling Hospital President and CEO Doug Harrison and Associate Vice President of Foundations and Community Relations Jessica Rine.
“We are very grateful to the state of West Virginia and the treasurer’s office,” Harrison says. “This is the second unclaimed property check we’ve received from the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office, and we are going to put these funds toward our new pediatric outpatient center that we’re currently fundraising for. It is meaningful to know that this money is going to help children in the valley.”
Moore recently launched a new partnership with the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) that will promote the treasurer’s office’s unclaimed property program at DMV locations statewide. Unclaimed property ads and signage will be displayed at all 26 DMV regional offices to inform patrons about the state’s program.
Additionally, patrons will be able to check if they have unclaimed property on their phones by scanning available QR codes that will take users directly to the treasurer’s office’s online unclaimed property database. The treasurer’s office currently has more than $400 million worth of unclaimed property listings in its database available for claim.
West Virginia Hospital Association Elects New Officers and Trustees
The West Virginia Hospital Association (WVHA), representing 69 acute care and specialty hospitals and health systems in West Virginia, recently elected new officers and at-large members for 2024-2025.
“We thank our hospitals’ leaders for their willingness to work together and serve on the board for the West Virginia Hospital Association,” says Jim Kaufman, WVHA president and CEO. “We know serving on the board takes time away from their day-to-day operations running large, complex health care organizations, but their willingness to work together to improve quality and access to care for all West Virginians is a testament to their vision of a stronger, healthier state. We are fortunate for their leadership and commitment to their communities.”
Officers include Skip Gjolberg, FACHE, president of WVU Medicine St. Joseph’s Hospital; Vice Chair/Treasurer David Goldberg, president and CEO of Mon Health and executive vice president of Vandalia Health; and Andrew Weber, vice president and administrator for CAMC Women and Children’s Hospital.
At-large members include Steve Altmiller, CEO of WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center; Doug Bentz, CEO of Roane General Hospital; Karen Bowling, CEO of WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital; Jeremy Hall, regional CEO of Beckley ARH; Douglass Harrison, CEO of WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital; David Ramsey, president and CEO of Vandalia Health; Angela Swearingen, COO of St. Mary’s Medical Center; Virgil Underwood, CEO of Boone Memorial Health; Frank Weber, CEO of Select Specialty Hospital; Stephen Whited, CEO of Minnie Hamilton Health System; Albert Wright, president and CEO of WVU Medicine – WVU Health System; and Kevin Yingling, M.D., president and CEO of Marshall Health Network.
Swearingen will chair the Health Care Education Foundation, Underwood will chair West Virginia Health Services, and Goldberg has joined the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board.
CAMC Urology Offers New Treatment
CAMC Urology now offers Bulkamid, a minimally invasive procedure to quickly treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women.
SUI is a condition that causes leaking of urine that women can’t control during activities that put pressure on the bladder, such as coughing, sneezing, laughing or exercising.
Bulkamid is a water-based gel that is injected into the wall of the urethra, creating a supportive cushion that helps prevent urine leakage during moments of increased pressure on the bladder. The 10-to-15-minute procedure is performed under sedation and has a short recovery time.
About one in three women will experience SUI at some point during their lives, according to the Urology Care Foundation. Childbirth is one of the main contributing causes of the condition.
“This innovative new treatment offers a much-needed solution for patients dealing with stress urinary incontinence,” says Joshua Lohri, D.O., the urologist at CAMC who performs the procedure. “We are excited to bring this advanced technology to our community to help improve the lives of those affected by this common condition.”
SMMC and CCEMS Partner in Blood Administration Program
St. Mary’s Medical Center (SMMC) and Cabell County Emergency Medical Services (CCEMS) have partnered for a pre-hospital ground transport blood administration program. The program is the first in West Virginia and will serve as a model for other services across the state.
The intent of the blood administration pilot program is for pre-hospital emergency services to carry whole blood or packed red blood cells for use in trauma patients in the pre-hospital setting. The blood is carried by CCEMS supervisors who are automatically dispatched to the types of calls that may require certain interventions, such as blood transfusions.
CCEMS is one of 116 agencies in the U.S. to have pre-hospital blood administration capabilities.
“Cabell County EMS has been a long-time, valuable partner in helping us provide lifesaving emergency care,” says Angie Swearingen, COO of SMMC. “This program allows us to enhance that care through providing lifesaving blood product resources when time is of the essence.”
According to CCEMS Director Gordon Merry, whole blood is liquid gold in the trauma world and very difficult to obtain.
“Working together with St. Mary’s, this program will allow us to utilize this precious resource through our trauma services,” he says.
The pre-hospital blood administration pilot program is approved by the West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services. West Virginia is the first state to have statewide pre-hospital blood administration protocols.
Studies across the country have shown that pre-hospital blood administration has significantly improved outcomes for patients with hemorrhagic shock. Hemorrhage related to trauma is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for people 46 and under.
BMH Welcomes Pulmonologist and Sleep Medicine Specialist
Boone Memorial Health (BMH) is pleased to announce Barry Dicicco, M.D., FCCP, FACP, joined its growing team of medical specialists in January.
Board certified in pulmonary, critical care and sleep disorder medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dicicco is welcoming patients in need of care for respiratory and sleep disorders.
“There is tremendous need for pulmonary care in Southern West Virginia,” says BMH President and CEO Virgil Underwood. “Our goal is to continually improve our patients’ access to high-quality care close to home, and we are so pleased to once again expand that access with the addition of such a highly qualified and experienced pulmonologist to our team.”
Having actively practiced medicine for more than 35 years, Dicicco has extensive experience diagnosing and treating conditions that include asthma, chronic bronchitis, COPD, emphysema, insomnia, lung cancer, lung disease, pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, sleep apnea, tuberculosis and more. He will also provide evaluation and direction for the sleep studies performed at the BMH Sleep Center.
Dicicco graduated magna cume laude from Yale University prior to receiving his medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He then continued his medical education at Georgetown University Hospital, where he completed a residency in internal medicine followed by a fellowship in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine.
Fairmont State University Receives Grant to Fund Community Health Program
Fairmont State University has been awarded $20,000 in grant funding from the Milan Puskar Foundation to implement the college of nursing’s Caring for Our Neighbors and Beyond – The Underserved Population project. This project aims to help individuals who lack access to health care services in six counties in North Central West Virginia.
The Fairmont State University College of Nursing will work to promote the mission of the Milan Puskar Foundation by providing health care, training and educational benefits to improve lives in West Virginia.
Through this project, nursing faculty and students will provide health care services, which include screenings, referrals, educational resources, community-based health fairs and hygiene and health promotion kits, to support at least 500 community members in need. Faculty and students aim to expand the project’s impact on the community through continued collaboration with local organizations and individuals.
“We aim to foster stronger community engagement by involving local organizations, volunteers and students in our initiatives,” says Lisa Eades, the project lead and assistant professor of nursing. “This collaboration will enhance community awareness about the challenges faced by those experiencing homelessness and underserved populations, encouraging a more empathetic and proactive community response.”
The project proposal was developed by a team of college of nursing faculty, including Eades and Laura Clayton, dean of the college. It is an expansion of the college’s 2022 Caring for Our Neighbors: The Homeless Population project, which was also funded by the Milan Puskar Foundation.
“The expansion of the grant to include surrounding counties beyond Marion County allows us to address the needs of a wider and more diverse population,” Eades says. “By being inclusive with the definition of homelessness, we can now support individuals and families who may have been previously overlooked, such as those living in temporary accommodations or facing imminent risk of homelessness.”
The goal of this project is to not only assist community members in need but also to create an environment in which nursing students can develop their skills in health care services.
