Nearly $17 million from Rural Health program coming to WV diabetes care, other programs

In a whirlwind day of back-to-back press conferences, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced nearly $17 million will be dispersed from the Rural Health Transformation Program to organizations mostly in Huntington, West Virginia.

The money will target “diabetes and chronic-disease care, expand access to technology-enabled healthcare, improve care coordination, and build the rural healthcare workforce,” according to a news release. 

The Marshall Research Corporation, a nonprofit that finds grants for Marshall University, will receive $11.4 million for three separate programs for remote patient monitoring on patients with diabetes and hypertension, implement lifestyle and nutrition programs for managing diabetes and training for emergency medical care in rural areas. 

Another $1.5 million will go to Cabell-Huntington Hospital for helping rural patients with follow-ups and connecting with specialists. 

The West Virginia Primary Care Association will receive nearly $2.8 million to expand diabetes management at community health centers. 

Rural Outreach and Access to Medicine West Virginia, an organization that does diabetes and other medical monitoring in central West Virginia, will receive $1.2 million. The money will be used to recruit nurses and serve patients with high-risk for neuropathy or diabetes.