The West Virginia Department of Health announced the official launch of new executive leadership for the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) with the appointment of Dr. Carrie Jeffries, DNP, MPH, ANP-BC, NEA-BC, FACHE, AACRN, as Director and Dr. Soumya Prasad, MD, MBA, FAAP, as Deputy Director, according to a press release. Both begin their roles on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.

The appointments mark a significant milestone as the state accelerates implementation of its nationally recognized Rural Health Transformation Program.

Dr. Jeffries brings extensive clinical and executive leadership experience to the role. As a Doctor of Nursing Practice and Master of Public Health, she combines advanced clinical training with deep expertise in healthcare administration and system redesign. Dr. Jeffries holds board certifications as an Adult Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Executive Advanced and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Throughout her career, she has led complex healthcare operations, advanced quality improvement initiatives and strengthened care delivery systems to improve patient outcomes at scale. Dr. Jeffries’ background in rural and under-resourced healthcare uniquely positions her to lead RHTP’s statewide transformation efforts with both clinical credibility and operational discipline.

Serving as Deputy Director, Dr. Prasad is a practicing pediatrician, board certified with the American Board of Pediatrics, and an experienced healthcare executive with more than 20 years of clinical, academic, corporate and regulatory leadership experience. She has served as a Medical Officer supporting the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, directing pharmacovigilance strategy and compliance across early phase oncology trials while ensuring alignment with federal regulatory standards. Dr. Prasad has also held senior global safety leadership roles at IQVIA, advising executive teams on risk management, regulatory interactions and safety oversight driving global drug development. In addition, she maintains active clinical engagement in pediatrics through her private practice at Candor Care, PLLC.

“Today is a major step forward for the Rural Health Transformation Program,” said Dr. Arvin Singh, Secretary of Health for West Virginia and Acting Director of RHTP. “Dr. Jeffries brings executive healthcare leadership and advanced clinical expertise that will drive system level transformation. Dr. Prasad strengthens our team with deep clinical experience, federal research leadership, and global regulatory insight.

“Together, this leadership team positions RHTP to execute quickly and deliver measurable improvements in access, quality, and outcomes for rural communities across our state. With their appointments, I will transition from the Acting Director role while maintaining direct executive oversight of the Rural Health Transformation Program, with all major strategic decisions and approvals continuing through my office. RHTP remains one of my highest priorities as Secretary of Health, and I will remain actively engaged to ensure disciplined execution, accountability, and results for the people of West Virginia.”

In addition to Dr. Jeffries and Dr. Prasad, the RHTP team recently welcomed Michael Sheets, former State Procurement Officer, and John Leite, former Assistant to the Public Health Commissioner, who began their roles last week to support rapid operational execution.

The Rural Health Transformation Program represents a historic investment in modernizing rural healthcare infrastructure, expanding access to essential services, strengthening workforce pipelines and building sustainable systems of care across West Virginia.

The Department of Health is aggressively hiring additional team members and advancing implementation efforts, including finalizing Requests for Proposals, establishing procurement pathways and accelerating program rollout to ensure timely execution of this transformative initiative.

The Department is also finalizing the Rural Health Transformation Program Advisory Panel, an expansive group of clinical, operational and community leaders who will help guide strategy and ensure accountability. Advisory panel membership will be announced in the coming weeks.

For more information about the Rural Health Transformation Program, visit health.wv.gov.

TEAYS VALLEY, W.Va (WDTV) – A southern West Virginia man appeared on American Idol Monday night in a moving audition.

Mor Ilderton, 22 of Teays Valley, performed his original song, “Strong,” which helps illustrate the story about his mother dying when he was 2 years old at the hands of his father.

His grandmother Sandy, who raised him & told him she wasn’t able to attend, made a surprise visit at the end of his audition.

Mor received three ‘yes’ votes from the judges & is moving on to the Hollywood rounds in Nashville.

You can watch a clip from his audition below from American Idol’s Facebook page.

Copyright 2026 WDTV. All rights reserved.

HANCOCK COUNTY, W.Va. — Hancock County has become the most recent West Virginia school district to be placed under the control of the West Virginia Board of Education, joining Mingo, Upshur, Logan, Tyler, Nicholas and Boone counties.

“What we do have is that there’s been some problems in terms of accountability,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said. “When you have that many schools systems that are being taken over, that’s not a good sign. You have to be very proactive to get the word out, make sure those dowers are being used effectively.”

Last week, Morrisey named James Paul as the newest state school board member, his first appointee as governor. Morrisey has recently been critical of the state school board on a range of issues, including oversight of county board finances.

“I named a new state school board member, that was my first pick and I’ve asked him to try to get to the bottom of a lot of these issues because West Virginia doesn’t have a spending problem statewide- we’re actually the middle of the pack, between 25 and 27 in terms of spending per pupil,” Morrisey said.

A major question surrounding the situation at Hancock County Schools involves audits. The county had been operating more than 100 positions over state staffing formulas, and the state school financial operations officer told lawmakers in a committee meeting last month that the county failed to appropriately report through the West Virginia Education Information System. An investigation is still ongoing.

“It raises a question of exactly how these audits have been conducted and what else needs to be done to make sure money can’t fly out the door like that or that these districts are going to be run in a fiscally responsible manner,” Morrisey said.

Meanwhile, House Bill 4574 and House Bill 4575 have been held up in committees since Jan. 20. The bills would allow the state board to administer supplemental funds beyond the school funding formula and would appropriate $8 million to fund the shortfall supplement fund.

Asked whether the bills could move before the end of the legislative session in March, Morrisey said, “I’ve had some discussions with some people in the Senate and the House and I know that there is an interest in getting something done. We’ll keep talking about that and I do expect that there will be something that happens in the next few weeks before the session ends.”