CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Biden administration Drug Czar Dr. Rahul Gupta said he’s impressed with the newly expanded clinic at West Virginia Health Right on Charleston’s East End.
Dr. Rahul Gupta
Gupta, the former Kanawha-Charleston Health Department director and former state Chief Health Officer, got a tour of the recently expanded space during a visit to Charleston Thursday.
The variety of help being offered there is the most impressive thing, Gupta said.
“It’s a one-stop-shop where you can get your vision, your dental and your mental and physical health while at the same time learn how to cook, how to exercise, get all of those services at one place,” Gupta said.
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Gupta, whose official title is director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, knows about Health Right. He’s been a volunteer there for 15 years.
Health Right CEO Angie Settle told MetroNews last month the project has been a long time coming to provide additional care to underserved populations.
“It’s been in the planning and in the works since 2019 with a lot of fundraising going on,” she said.
Settle said the expansion is projected to allow them to serve over 60,000 patients annually. Currently the clinic serves over 44,000 patients annually. The number has increased from 15,000 in 2014 when Settle took over as CEO.
Settle said the clinic has lacked a lot of space since then. There’s a lot more room now.
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“It’s just really additional treatment space,” Settle said. “We have a whole wing for behavioral health and substance use disorder. We’ve added medical and specialty spaces, vision space, dental space.”
Gupta said another asset about the new clinic is that it deals with both sides of substance use disorder.
“It’s something that for so many years we’ve figured out how to separate the head from the body but this facility here is bringing together and reconnecting the importance of substance use disorder and mental health with physical health,” he said.
Gupta said it’s critical to have such integration.
Gupta has fought the opioid epidemic on the state and national level. He said when he visits facilities like Health Right it restores his hope.
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“We are need to stay hopeful that it is possible to help people who suffer from addiction. It is possible to prevent addiction from happening in the first place and when people are in recovery to help them find their success,” he said.
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – West Virginia lawmakers continued working as the Saturday midnight deadline approaches.
Senate Action
The Senate passed 12 bills, including one requiring adult content websites to use age verification to block minors. Senators also passed a bill creating a Cold Case Task Force.
House Bill 49-90, targeting gift card crimes, and House Bill 54-37, the Vape Safety Act, also passed unanimously. All four bills now go to the House for concurrence.
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Delegates passed Alyssa’s Law, allowing teachers to wear mobile alert buttons that notify 9-1-1 and trigger a school lockdown in emergencies. The bill is named after a victim of the 2018 Parkland shooting.
Bill 4005, which clarifies jobs prohibited for workers under 16 — including bar work and logging — also passed. Both bills now head to Governor Patrick Morrisey’s desk.
Senate Bill 4 would require bystanders to stay at least 30 feet from first responders.
Senate Bill 75 would allow West Virginia law enforcement to cooperate with officers in bordering states. A bill from the Education Committee would allow teachers with at least 15 years of experience to become certified as school principals.
For more legislative coverage, go to our website at wdtv.com.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (10-3) welcome the Maryland Terrapins (10-5) to Kendrick Family Ballpark Tuesday afternoon the first encounter between the two programs since 2023 and the first meeting in Morgantown since 2018. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.
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The Mountaineers captured their fourth consecutive series of the season after taking two of the three games from Columbia over the weekend. West Virginia sophomore Matt Ineich and senior Brodie Kresser both blasted grand slams during the series. Ineich lifted WVU in game two with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th in game two, and Kresser ignited a 16-1 rout, capping a six-run second inning in the series finale.
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Gavin Kelly leads West Virginia at the plate with a .436 batting average with a Big 12 leading nine doubles. Ineich and senior Paul Schoenfeld has raked in a team-leading 16 RBI apiece, while senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high three home runs.
On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start sophomore David Hagen. The right-hander has made four appearances on the season, including one start. He last started in the home-opener against Ohio where he pitched two scoreless innings and recorded a strikeout to collect his first win of the season. He holds a 1.00 ERA with five strikeouts on the season.
After starting 3-4, Maryland is 7-1 in its last eight games. The Terrapins won two of three at UNC Wilmington in the season opening series, followed by a midweek win against Georgetown before getting swept at Louisiana. The Terps bounced back with a pair of midweek wins versus Delaware and swept a one-win Wagner team.
Junior Brayden Martin is batting a team-best .443 to go with four doubles and 12 RBI. Redshirt freshman Ryan Costello leads the Terps in home runs (9) and RBI (21) and is third in batting average at .328, while freshman Ty Kaunus has a team-high seven doubles and has .269 batting average.
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Maryland is scheduled to start freshman Nic Morlang. The right-hander has four appearances on the season, including four starts. He allowed five earned runs in his appearances, coinciding with his two starts, in six innings of work. In his last two appearances in relief, He’s allowed one earned run on five hits.
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West Virginia leads the all-time series 8-5, including a five-game winning streak over Maryland.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a series of parties in Morgantown over the weekend.
Morgantown police officers, West Virginia University Police and state police responded to reports of overcrowded parties, underage drinking, physical altercations and multiple injuries.
Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffie said several citations were issued for open containers and underage consumption.
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Two large parties were dispersed and six arrests were made without incident.
None of the reported injuries are believed to be serious or life-threatening.
The Morgantown Fire Department assisted in the operations.
