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Saint Francis (which is now a partner with WVU Medicine) will close its Emergency Dept. at the beginning of February. The goal is to make the hospital the state’s first fully comprehensive orthopedic hospital. They want to make it a destination for orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation. There wasn’t much need for an ER right there anyways with CAMC General not far away, and Thomas having an ER under the WVU umbrella.
I like the idea a lot! I think that there’s great potential for Charleston to become more of a healthcare hub than it already is. With CAMC/Mon Health growing their brand also, I can see some services being provided that aren’t currently in the region.
I think just having that WVU logo plastered on the side of the hospital right in downtown, with cars on the highway being able to clearly see it, will be a physiological plus for the city!
Saint Francis (which is now a partner with WVU Medicine) will close its Emergency Dept. at the beginning of February. The goal is to make the hospital the state’s first fully comprehensive orthopedic hospital. They want to make it a destination for orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation. There wasn’t much need for an ER right there anyways with CAMC General not far away, and Thomas having an ER under the WVU umbrella.
The previous owner was unable to find a buyer for St. Francis and was planning to shut it down. Thomas bailed it out. The ER had not performed well after a major renovation back in the early 2000s and it was closed and an urgent care clinic opened in that space. They had just recently reopened the ER.
With the quality of services being offered at CAMC, including orthopedics, I don't see why this is anything to be excited about. I hope while they are making this change that they don't allow the one thing that hospital has excelled at to lapse. They are the destination of choice for retinopathy care. Many diabetics develop diabetic retinopathy, requiring highly specialized injections and laser treatments. Doctors at CAMC refer patients there.
There is also a specialized rehab care facility operated by Select Care that is inside St. Francis hospital. I hope that continues to operate as well.
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I like the idea a lot! I think that there’s great potential for Charleston to become more of a healthcare hub than it already is. With CAMC/Mon Health growing their brand also, I can see some services being provided that aren’t currently in the region.
Charleston is already a health care hub. A patient can get virtually any kind of care they need in hospitals in Charleston, Huntington, or Morgantown. The level of care is really remarkable for a population as small as ours. Each of these cities have trauma centers and specialized care for everything up to multiple transplants.
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I think just having that WVU logo plastered on the side of the hospital right in downtown, with cars on the highway being able to clearly see it, will be a physiological plus for the city!
I'm failing to see the logic in this statement. Do you really think someone driving by on the Interstate Highway is going to get off to go to a hospital because they like the logo on the side of the building? WVU Medicine already has multiple facilities in the Charleston area, so signs are all over, including billboards visible from the Interstate.
The good thing for Charleston is that the hospital isn't going to be closed.
The previous owner was unable to find a buyer for St. Francis and was planning to shut it down. Thomas bailed it out. The ER had not performed well after a major renovation back in the early 2000s and it was closed and an urgent care clinic opened in that space. They had just recently reopened the ER.
With the quality of services being offered at CAMC, including orthopedics, I don't see why this is anything to be excited about. I hope while they are making this change that they don't allow the one thing that hospital has excelled at to lapse. They are the destination of choice for retinopathy care. Many diabetics develop diabetic retinopathy, requiring highly specialized injections and laser treatments. Doctors at CAMC refer patients there.
There is also a specialized rehab care facility operated by Select Care that is inside St. Francis hospital. I hope that continues to operate as well.
Charleston is already a health care hub. A patient can get virtually any kind of care they need in hospitals in Charleston, Huntington, or Morgantown. The level of care is really remarkable for a population as small as ours. Each of these cities have trauma centers and specialized care for everything up to multiple transplants.
I'm failing to see the logic in this statement. Do you really think someone driving by on the Interstate Highway is going to get off to go to a hospital because they like the logo on the side of the building? WVU Medicine already has multiple facilities in the Charleston area, so signs are all over, including billboards visible from the Interstate.
The good thing for Charleston is that the hospital isn't going to be closed.
For starters, Charleston is not a healthcare hub. People in the KV are regularly going to see specialist in Morgantown, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, even Lexington, KY. I constantly hear from people that are having to go out of town because something isn't available for them in Charleston.
CAMC is a mess. I know that in the past they have carried a good reputation for care and services provided. However, those days are in the past. Interaction that I have had with them in recent years has forged an unfavorable opinion of their level of healthcare knowledge.
With that being said, I will always root for CAMC. I hope that their partnership with Mon Health can get them turned in the right direction.
In addition to all that:
I have never been a fan of the monopolization of healthcare in WV. WVU Medicine will eventually control half of the market for healthcare. I have repeatedly made the case on this forum that competition in healthcare is healthy. It improves care, and ultimately employs more people due to redundancy.
But the deal between Thomas Health and WVU Med is in the books. There's no going back. Charleston might as well enjoy the benefits from having them as an additional resource. I believe that their plan to convert St Francis into a specialized hospital is wise. There is no need for them to operate 2 full service hospitals in the area. Especially considering that CAMC already has the majority of the market in the Valley.
WVU Medicine is becoming a major brand in healthcare. The WVU logo alone carries a lot of value. There is something to be said about a place that has recognizable brands associated with their city. That's by a bank will paste a giant version of their logo on an office building that might have 5% of the floor space in that same building.
It boils down to marketing. Subconsciously, people recognize particular logos and form opinions about a certain place based on what they perceive to be offered there. Having the "flying WV" is a value asset to the city. I don't know why that's difficult to understand, but I guess not all of us took marketing in college.
There is no billboard that is going to advertise better than the actual facility. St Francis has a unique location in that anyone driving along the interstate can see it clearly and recognize that it is a hospital. No other city in WV has that type of a setup where travelers are getting a giant glimpse of what the city has to offer. I would imagine that WVU Med will go some slight improvements to the façade in the same way that they have done to their other partner hospitals.
WVU is arguably the biggest brand of the state. Them having a presence in the heart of the capital city is a message. It's a change from the past, and shows that there is change happening in the city. In the same way that the expansion to the Civic Center suggests to travelers that the city isn't still stuck in 1980.
The opposite is also true. The lack of a logo on the side of the CTC (thinking specifically of the former Macy's) sends the message that the city is dying. People who drive down Lee street see a vacant department store and subconsciously associate decline with that.
Just adding fresh paint can go along ways in changing people's minds about things. So imagine what having WVU Medicine located downtown will do for people's perception of the city. It's an improvement!
For starters, Charleston is not a healthcare hub. People in the KV are regularly going to see specialist in Morgantown, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, even Lexington, KY. I constantly hear from people that are having to go out of town because something isn't available for them in Charleston.
CAMC is a mess. I know that in the past they have carried a good reputation for care and services provided. However, those days are in the past. Interaction that I have had with them in recent years has forged an unfavorable opinion of their level of healthcare knowledge.
With that being said, I will always root for CAMC. I hope that their partnership with Mon Health can get them turned in the right direction.
In addition to all that:
I have never been a fan of the monopolization of healthcare in WV. WVU Medicine will eventually control half of the market for healthcare. I have repeatedly made the case on this forum that competition in healthcare is healthy. It improves care, and ultimately employs more people due to redundancy.
But the deal between Thomas Health and WVU Med is in the books. There's no going back. Charleston might as well enjoy the benefits from having them as an additional resource. I believe that their plan to convert St Francis into a specialized hospital is wise. There is no need for them to operate 2 full service hospitals in the area. Especially considering that CAMC already has the majority of the market in the Valley.
WVU Medicine is becoming a major brand in healthcare. The WVU logo alone carries a lot of value. There is something to be said about a place that has recognizable brands associated with their city. That's by a bank will paste a giant version of their logo on an office building that might have 5% of the floor space in that same building.
It boils down to marketing. Subconsciously, people recognize particular logos and form opinions about a certain place based on what they perceive to be offered there. Having the "flying WV" is a value asset to the city. I don't know why that's difficult to understand, but I guess not all of us took marketing in college.
There is no billboard that is going to advertise better than the actual facility. St Francis has a unique location in that anyone driving along the interstate can see it clearly and recognize that it is a hospital. No other city in WV has that type of a setup where travelers are getting a giant glimpse of what the city has to offer. I would imagine that WVU Med will go some slight improvements to the façade in the same way that they have done to their other partner hospitals.
WVU is arguably the biggest brand of the state. Them having a presence in the heart of the capital city is a message. It's a change from the past, and shows that there is change happening in the city. In the same way that the expansion to the Civic Center suggests to travelers that the city isn't still stuck in 1980.
The opposite is also true. The lack of a logo on the side of the CTC (thinking specifically of the former Macy's) sends the message that the city is dying. People who drive down Lee street see a vacant department store and subconsciously associate decline with that.
Just adding fresh paint can go along ways in changing people's minds about things. So imagine what having WVU Medicine located downtown will do for people's perception of the city. It's an improvement!
I disagree with you on several points. CAMC is doing just fine, as is Mountain Health. In the past few years, I have had family members spend time in both CAMC Memorial and CAMC General. I've visited them in 6 different ICUs. They have had surgery for several different issues, up to and including heart bypasses. In one case, we went to Memorial because we knew Thomas was not capable of handling the situation. In every case, the service they received was as good as it could be.
Do things get referred out of state? Absolutely. The one case I know about was in 1996. My friend had bladder cancer. Because of the position of the tumor, the recommended course of treatment was to remove his bladder and build a new one with a section of his large intestine. One doctor in all of West Virginia said he had participated in such a surgery at that time, so they recommended he go elsewhere. He went to the Cleveland Clinic, although he also had recommendations for Duke and Johns Hopkins. The Cleveland Clinic surgeon had done several dozen of those procedures. (Incidentally, the surgery was successful and he lived for another 24 years.) In other words, people aren't going elsewhere for treatment just because they thing CAMC is a second rate facility. It definitely is not that.
I hope the experiment at St. Francis succeeds, but I am not optimistic. That hospital has been at the bottom of the list since all the small hospitals (like Mt. State, Statts, and Kanawha Valley) in Charleston closed.
I'm happy for you for liking the flying WV logo. I don't think a sports logo has much impact on the choices people make when they are looking for health care.
I disagree with you on several points. CAMC is doing just fine, as is Mountain Health. In the past few years, I have had family members spend time in both CAMC Memorial and CAMC General. I've visited them in 6 different ICUs. They have had surgery for several different issues, up to and including heart bypasses. In one case, we went to Memorial because we knew Thomas was not capable of handling the situation. In every case, the service they received was as good as it could be.
Do things get referred out of state? Absolutely. The one case I know about was in 1996. My friend had bladder cancer. Because of the position of the tumor, the recommended course of treatment was to remove his bladder and build a new one with a section of his large intestine. One doctor in all of West Virginia said he had participated in such a surgery at that time, so they recommended he go elsewhere. He went to the Cleveland Clinic, although he also had recommendations for Duke and Johns Hopkins. The Cleveland Clinic surgeon had done several dozen of those procedures. (Incidentally, the surgery was successful and he lived for another 24 years.) In other words, people aren't going elsewhere for treatment just because they thing CAMC is a second rate facility. It definitely is not that.
I hope the experiment at St. Francis succeeds, but I am not optimistic. That hospital has been at the bottom of the list since all the small hospitals (like Mt. State, Statts, and Kanawha Valley) in Charleston closed.
I'm happy for you for liking the flying WV logo. I don't think a sports logo has much impact on the choices people make when they are looking for health care.
It's more than a sports logo. It's the logo for the largest and by far most successful research university in the state. WVU Medicine (an extension of that university) carries more prestige than anything Charleston currently offers in terms of healthcare.
Again, it's about marketing. Your brain is wired to recognize certain images and associate thoughts/feelings/emotions/etc... with them. People don't just consciously choose to be impacted by them, but rather it happens regardless. There's a reason that every time I see a Dairy Queen commercial, logo, etc... I have the wrestle with the temptation to go and buy a cookie dough blizzard!
On the matter of CAMC, I guess we will just have to disagree. I'm glad that you have had good experiences there. Not every case is the same, nor every outcome. My experience with them has left a poor taste in my mouth. Like I said before, I root for CAMC. I want them to be better, employ more people, build new facilities, and grow their brand! I think that will happen now that they are in partnership with Mon Health. But I know that things could go down hill as well for them. They could consolidate resources, and eliminate certain things offered in Charleston. We have to remember that Charleston is a shrinking city, and that is going to have an impact on attracting new services.
I had three procedures completed downtown CAMC from April 6 to July 15. The treatment and care I received was very satisfactory. The April 6 surgery to cut out a large kidney stone was a positive experience.
The July 15 procedure unfortunately ended with septic shock sending me to the ICU for a couple of days. The care I received was excellent in ICU. The negative was they wanted to send me home after the surgery that afternoon due to short staff limiting available rooms. I insisted on not leaving. My 9:30 AM procedure and a long stay in recovery waiting on a room then being transferred to ICU proved me correct. Honestly, I was very happy in the care of the ICU staff. Compassionate and caring personnel.
I had three procedures completed downtown CAMC from April 6 to July 15. The treatment and care I received was very satisfactory. The April 6 surgery to cut out a large kidney stone was a positive experience.
The July 15 procedure unfortunately ended with septic shock sending me to the ICU for a couple of days. The care I received was excellent in ICU. The negative was they wanted to send me home after the surgery that afternoon due to short staff limiting available rooms. I insisted on not leaving. My 9:30 AM procedure and a long stay in recovery waiting on a room then being transferred to ICU proved me correct. Honestly, I was very happy in the care of the ICU staff. Compassionate and caring personnel.
I hope that you managed to make a full recovery, and I am glad yo had great care,
A plastic recycling plant is going in the former 84 Lumber in Quincy.
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QUINCY, W.Va. (WCHS) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced 40 full-time jobs are coming to Quincy as part of a $50 million investment.
CleanVision Corp. is building a manufacturing facility in the eastern Kanawha County community to convert plastic into clean energy. A worldwide corporation, this would be the first manufacturing facility for the company in the United States.
UC opens Innovation Hub in downtown. Its aim is to a resource for small businesses, offering workshops and training. The office is located in the former Chesapeake Bagel space, on Capital St.
CAMC celebrated the opening of their 60k sq ft Outpatient Center in Teays Valley. They also announced a $70 million investment in the hospital building itself in Teays Valley. Big news for Putnam County, and continued momentum for Vandelia Health as they continue to expand statewide.
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