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Leaders gather to celebrate improved services at DMC

Davis Health System President and CEO Vance Jackson, center, speaks to a large crowd Wednesday morning celebrating the hospital’s partnership with West Virginia University Medicine. Albert L. Wright Jr., right, president and CEO of WVU Health System, looks on.

ELKINS — Leaders from Davis Health System and West Virginia University Medicine hosted an event Wednesday morning that celebrated their “strongly aligned partnership” and highlighted improved services for heart and cancer patients.

More than 100 people gathered for the celebration Wednesday, which included speeches and refreshments in an event tent next to the Davis Medical Center’s Outpatient Center in Elkins. The crowd included physicians and employees from Elkins and Morgantown, local officials and other members of the community.

A partnership has existed between WVU Medicine and DHS for a number of years, but the two systems announced a larger collaboration in August that was designed to create the Heart and Vascular Institute and strengthen cancer, cardiology, pulmonology and vascular services.

Delegate William Hartman, who serves as chairperson of the DHS Board, provided opening remarks during Wednesday’s ceremony and highlighted a number of successful ventures that have been designed to improve healthcare in Randolph County and the surrounding area.

“This is a very important and exciting time for Davis Health System,” Hartman said.

Davis Health System President and CEO Vance Jackson said in this day and age, parternships are more important than ever because they allow hospitals, especially those in rural areas, to share resources and give patients “a much better system of care.”

“A physician once told me that medicine is about relationships, and if you want good medicine you build good relationships. That’s the core of what we’re trying to do here. … We want to build better relationships,” Jackson said, adding he wants to see fewer complexities and unnecessary costs when patients need to transfer from one hospital to another to receive care.

“What we have to do is work smarter and better,” he said, and the partnership between DHS and WVU Medicine allows them to do that.

Jackson said the long-term focus for the Heart and Vascular Institute will be to develop services that allow local residents to receive top-notch care in Elkins whenever possible, leading to fewer trips to Morgantown. He noted patients will have access to advanced diagnostics, expertise and resources in cardiology, pulmonology and vascular care in Elkins.

Albert L. Wright Jr., president and CEO of West Virginia University Health System, said he is pleased that the partnership is strengthening the care patients can receive in the Elkins region on a number of levels, particularly with heart and vascular services, but in other areas as well.

“Through our strongly aligned partnership, we have an opportunity and an obligation to improve the health of those in the state and the region,” Wright said, noting WVU Medicine and its affiliates have made significant investments to improve their reach through a “hub-and-spoke model” of care points throughout the state.

“We just couldn’t be happier with this partnership,” he added. “Davis (Medical Center) serves a critical part of the state, and our goal is to keep patients in their communities and only bring them to Morgantown when necessary.”

WVU President E. Gordon Gee was the final speaker during Wednesday’s event, explaining the “wonderful partnership” falls right in line with the university’s three main goals, which are education, health care and prosperity.

“The health of our people is absolutely critical. This relationship we’re building today is about helping people, and getting people to realize their lives can be better,” Gee said, noting West Virginia’s residents and smaller size are great advantages.

“We have much to celebrate in the past, but I believe the best days are in front of us,” he said.

The Heart and Vascular Institute relocated in early February to the second floor of DMC’s outpatient center. The specialty practice includes cardiologist Chalak Berzingi, M.D., vascular surgeon Alexandre d’Audiffret, M.D., thoracic surgeon Ghulam Abbas, M.D., and physician assistants Suzanne Brown and Ashley Nester.

Officials also noted the partnership to improve services at the Cancer Center will boost local cancer care by bringing new technology for radiation oncology, and a larger, renovated facility as needed for the medical oncology program. Coupling the expertise of both cancer programs will enhance regional accessibility to state-of-the-art cancer care.

A Certificate of Need was approved in March for the affiliation of the Davis Medical Center Cancer Care Center with the WVU Cancer Institute.

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