Latest news with #MonongaliaCountyHealthDepartment
Dominion Post
05-08-2025
- General
- Dominion Post
Annual Back to School Bash this weekend at Mylan Park
MORGANTOWN — Pantry Plus More's annual Back to School Bash takes a year's worth of work to pull together. Thousands of hours volunteered and tens of thousands of dollars raised for a return on investment that's way more about feeling than finance. That payoff arrives between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday when an anticipated 1,600 school-age kids fill the Mon County Center in Mylan Park. 'What I love about the Bash is that it gives volunteers like myself a real-life glimpse into the work that you're doing,' event chair Amanda Bolyard said. 'The kids are so excited. Watching a kid pick out a backpack with a character they like or a color they want is an amazing feeling. You watch them go through the supply lines and when they leave, they're so excited about what they have. It's really an indescribable experience.' The yearly event began in 2018 with the goal of giving every kid in Monongalia County the opportunity to show up on the first day of school with a brand new backpack and all new school supplies – the point being a child who isn't fixated on what they don't have can instead focus on learning. It's the same idea behind the pantries the nonprofit keeps stocked in a number of Monongalia County schools. 'The bash is important to our work as education is the pathway out of poverty,' Bolyard said. 'The mission of [Pantry Plus More] is to help eliminate hunger and other obstacles that inhibit students' ability to achieve their educational goals.' Items will be available for free on a first-come-first-served basis to all students Pre-K through 12th attending a Monongalia County school. Offerings will include backpacks, school supplies and hygiene products. There will also be vendor resource tables providing families information about various support services in the area. The Monongalia County Health Department will be on hand to offer physicals for $20 as well as information and registration for WIC. While organizers encourage pre-registering online through the PPM Facebook page ( students can register the day of the event. As of Tuesday morning, more than 1,400 kids had been registered. Volunteers can also sign up via a link available through Facebook or at Beyond volunteering, the community can support the Back to School Bash through monetary donations or in-kind donations of items like spiral notebooks, composition notebooks, loose leaf paper, markers, crayons, pens, pencils and other new school supplies. Bolyard said the Bash is the largest single-day event undertaken by PPM. It takes a year of preparation and the support from community partners like Northeast Natural Energy, which provided $10,000 to purchase hygiene products. Other supporters include Chestnut Ridge Church, Mon Health and the Hazel Ruby McQuain Charitable Trust. 'Just seeing one kid come through and be excited to go to school instead of the alternative feeling of shame or embarrassment – seeing one child like that makes it all worth it,' Bolyard said. 'It's very special.'
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Second round of county opioid grants announced
Jul. 4—MORGANTOWN — The Monongalia County Commission has concluded its second round of opioid grant funding, announcing seven awards totaling $454, 900. The funds being distributed are provided to the county annually as its cut of the "local government shares " of roughly $1 billion in opioid settlement dollars awarded to the state. Those local shares are provided to counties and municipalities for direct use, reimbursement of opioid abatement activities or, as in the county's case, suballocation. To date, the county has received a total of $1, 366, 277.79 in two installments—$1, 019, 972.52 on Jan. 12, 2024, and $346, 304 on Jan. 31. It's now approved the distribution of $1, 081, 800, leaving a balance of $284, 477.31. Commissioner Sean Sikora said the commission provided funds to each of the seven agencies that applied this year, though not necessarily the full request amount. "We had $757, 667 requested, and we approved $454, 900, which is about 60 % of what was requested, " he said. "But out of the seven, we approved at least part of all of them." The agencies receiving funding are:—Lauren's Wish Addiction Triage Center, $100, 000—Wise Path Recovery Center, $100, 000—Morgantown Area Youth Services Project, $60, 000—Jacob's Ladder Assistance Fund, $56, 200—Monongalia County Health Department, $55, 000—Mon EMS, $43, 700—Libera Inc., $40, 000 With the exception of Jacob's Ladder, each of the recipients also received grant funding from the county during its 2024 allocation. Last July, the commission distributed $626, 900 to 13 of the 18 agencies that applied. Of the opioid settlement funding coming to West Virginia, 72.5 % will be distributed as grants at the state level through the West Virginia First Foundation, 24.5 % goes to local governments and 3 % stays with the state. The West Virginia First Foundation has thus far completed one grant cycle, distributing nearly $17 million to 94 projects across West Virginia. Of that amount, roughly $3.4 million went to 21 recipients /projects in the 13-county Region 4, which includes Monongalia, Marion and Preston counties. In Monongalia County, a number of agencies have received grant awards from the West Virginia First Foundation and at least one allocation from the county. Those agencies, and total amount received, are:—Morgantown Sober Living, $440, 000—Lauren's Wish, $305, 850.71—Libera Inc., $228, 120.06—Monongalia County Health Department, $199, 528.17—Monongalia County Child Advocacy Center, $165, 620.70 Wise Path Recovery Center has received a total of $225, 000 in two county allocations. Morgantown Area Youth Services Project has received a total of $120, 000 in two county allocations.
Dominion Post
24-06-2025
- Health
- Dominion Post
FOG (fat, oil, grease) a constant threat to MUB's sanitary sewer system
MORGANTOWN — Much like a cardiologist, the Morgantown Utility Board is concerned with the intake of fat, oil and grease – and for similar reasons. They tend to gum up the works. As part of the utility board's NPDES, or National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, permitting process, MUB is taking a look at what General Manager Mike McNulty has identified as 'the number one issue' when it comes to backups in the sewer collection system. Collectively known as FOGs, McNulty said MUB is seeing an increase in the amount of fat, oil and grease being dumped directly into its system. While it's advised nobody knowingly pour grease or oil down the drain, the scale of the issue faced by MUB indicates it's originating at restaurants, which are required to have functional grease traps that are regularly checked and emptied. According to McNulty, MUB has started working with the Monongalia County Health Department. Through its environmental health program, MCHD conducts regular inspections of food service facilities within the county. 'We're just trying to start the process to make our customers that do have grease traps more aware of what their responsibilities are in keeping everything in good working order so those fats and oils don't overflow into the sewer collection system,' McNulty said. 'MUB staff will be visiting the different restaurants. I think we've identified about 241 locations with restaurants and cafeterias, and I think MUB and the health department will make those inspections, in some instances, together.' It was explained that restaurants typically contract with an outside service that pumps out the grease trap periodically. McNulty said checking manifests to verify regular servicing is part of the inspection process. McNulty indicated MUB already has a good idea where some of the issues are starting. 'Yes, we do have some of that data,' he said. 'We do some regular, routine flushing on some lines … and we do know where some of the problems originate from.' Dubbed 'fatbergs,' subterranean blockages made up of FOGs and other known culprits, like 'flushable' wipes, cause untold millions in property, infrastructure and environmental damage around the globe every year It's estimated that 50% of sewer blockages in the U.S. are FOG-related. On Monday, MUB dispatched a work crew with a vacuum truck to the Deckers Creek Rail Trail to clear a manhole that had become obstructed by grease. A small, local instance of what can become a very large problem. In one notable example from 2017, congealed grease restricted a midtown sewer main in Baltimore, pushing more than 1.2 million gallons of sewage into the Jones Falls River. The following year, workers in Macomb County, Michigan discovered an 11-foot wide, six-foot tall blockage that stretched for more than 100 feet. Small potatoes compared to the estimated 130-ton mass that plugged London's sewer system around that same time, requiring weeks of around-the-clock attention from specially-outfitted crews. A section of the 820-foot-long 'Whitechapel Fatberg' is on display at the London Museum.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Funding uncertainty has MCHD in 'difficult financial straits'
Jun. 2—MORGANTOWN — In the best of times, annual budgets are uncertain. They're well-educated guesses — estimates, if you prefer the term. You look at what you expect to get, weigh that against what you expect to spend — and hope nothing happens along the way that negatively skews either number beyond reconciliation. But what if you have no real way of knowing what to expect ? That's where leadership with the Monongalia County Health Department often is finding itself. MCHD Executive Director Anthony DeFelice has estimated that up to 40 % of the health department's budget originates from federal sources. As with most sectors dependent on federal dollars, there's considerable uncertainty in public health. The MCHD launched into an unprecedented budgeting process knowing some of those dollars are secure, some have already been eliminated and some are complete unknowns. "The IAP Grant is the immunization grant. It's just been a given every year that you're getting that. We've had no indication. They stopped the IAP grant and terminated it, " county Health Officer Dr. Brian Huggins said. "We don't know if the Vaccines for Children (Program) is going to exist next year. Those are significant funding sources that help pay for some of our nursing staff. With this budget, we didn't include them. If we get them, great. But we just don't know." And that, DeFelice explained, is how MCHD is approaching this budgeting process. If leadership is confident the funds are secure, they're included. If there's any uncertainty, the dollars aren't being budgeted. DeFelice described the process as "very thorough " and "very conservative." Chief Financial Officer Devan Smith explained that the health department's program managers and executive team have gone meticulously through each line item in an effort to determine where reductions can be made. Smith said budgeting in public health is already both art and science in that it often requires as much intuition as accounting. "When you add in deep uncertainty about whether core functions of the organization will continue to be funded, it not only makes providing estimates difficult, but also means that you have to question what services will be kept or lost under different scenarios, " he said. "What made this budget year so hard for us was not the mechanical process of performing calculations or reviewing expenses. It was weighing the people element — -potential reductions in the services we are able to provide to families in our community or impacts to employees we have worked with for years that may no longer have a job." Among the measures under consideration are fee increases. An initial example is a 10 % bump in fees for the health department's dental program. A review of if, where and when MCHD can continue to offer free and reduced-cost services is under consideration. The health department also plans to keep all vacant positions unfilled. Further, some programming considered "enhanced " offerings — meaning beyond the core functions of environmental health, communicable disease, immunization, threat preparedness and community health promotion — are being scaled back as only core, or basic, functions are eligible for state and county support. Huggins offered an example. "The biggest thing that is changing is that our family planning clinic is going to go from five days a week down to a single day a week. The biggest reason for that is loss of funding streams that were supporting our basic services. Family planning is an enhanced service by state code. Family planning, unfortunately, loses money. It just does, " he said, explaining the program lost somewhere around $150, 000 in the 2025 fiscal year. "There is potential with family planning that we may have to discontinue services completely if the funding stream stops. According to the DHHS budget that's been proposed by the administration, family planning is on the list of services that is to be eliminated — not moved to a different service, eliminated from funding. If that occurs, we'll look at everything we can because we realize, for a lot of people, this is a critical service."
Dominion Post
02-06-2025
- Health
- Dominion Post
Funding uncertainty has MCHD in 'dangerous financial straits'
MORGANTOWN — In the best of times, annual budgets are uncertain. They're well-educated guesses – estimates, if you prefer the term. You look at what you expect to get, weigh that against what you expect to spend – and hope nothing happens along the way that negatively skews either number beyond reconciliation. But what if you have no real way of knowing what to expect? That's where leadership with the Monongalia County Health Department often is finding itself. MCHD Executive Director Anthony DeFelice has estimated that up to 40% of the health department's budget originates from federal sources. As with most sectors dependent on federal dollars, there's considerable uncertainty in public health. The MCHD launched into an unprecedented budgeting process knowing some of those dollars are secure, some have already been eliminated and some are complete unknowns. 'The IAP Grant is the immunization grant. It's just been a given every year that you're getting that. We've had no indication. They stopped the IAP grant and terminated it,' county Health Officer Dr. Brian Huggins said. 'We don't know if the Vaccines for Children (Program) is going to exist next year. Those are significant funding sources that help pay for some of our nursing staff. With this budget, we didn't include them. If we get them, great. But we just don't know.' And that, DeFelice explained, is how MCHD is approaching this budgeting process. If leadership is confident the funds are secure, they're included. If there's any uncertainty, the dollars aren't being budgeted. DeFelice described the process as 'very thorough' and 'very conservative.' Chief Financial Officer Devan Smith explained that the health department's program managers and executive team have gone meticulously through each line item in an effort to determine where reductions can be made. Smith said budgeting in public health is already both art and science in that it often requires as much intuition as accounting. 'When you add in deep uncertainty about whether core functions of the organization will continue to be funded, it not only makes providing estimates difficult, but also means that you have to question what services will be kept or lost under different scenarios,' he said. 'What made this budget year so hard for us was not the mechanical process of performing calculations or reviewing expenses. It was weighing the people element –- potential reductions in the services we are able to provide to families in our community or impacts to employees we have worked with for years that may no longer have a job.' Among the measures under consideration are fee increases. An initial example is a 10% bump in fees for the health department's dental program. A review of if, where and when MCHD can continue to offer free and reduced-cost services is under consideration. The health department also plans to keep all vacant positions unfilled. Further, some programming considered 'enhanced' offerings – meaning beyond the core functions of environmental health, communicable disease, immunization, threat preparedness and community health promotion – are being scaled back as only core, or basic, functions are eligible for state and county support. Huggins offered an example. 'The biggest thing that is changing is that our family planning clinic is going to go from five days a week down to a single day a week. The biggest reason for that is loss of funding streams that were supporting our basic services. Family planning is an enhanced service by state code. Family planning, unfortunately, loses money. It just does,' he said, explaining the program lost somewhere around $150,000 in the 2025 fiscal year. 'There is potential with family planning that we may have to discontinue services completely if the funding stream stops. According to the DHHS budget that's been proposed by the administration, family planning is on the list of services that is to be eliminated – not moved to a different service, eliminated from funding. If that occurs, we'll look at everything we can because we realize, for a lot of people, this is a critical service.'
