The West Virginia First Foundation (WVFF) was created by the state Legislature in 2023 to distribute nearly $1 billion in opioid settlement monies over the next 17 years.  

The organization has chosen the Health Affairs Institute (HAI), in partnership with the Institute for Policy Research and Public Affairs and Data Driven WV, to perform a statewide needs assessment.  

“This is a critical investment in carrying out what WVFF was created to do, as our founding documents specifically call for statewide coordination that helps connect resources, information and systems of care across West Virginia,” said Jonathan Board, WVFF executive director. “As WVFF continues to scale its impact, having a shared, data-driven understanding of where needs are greatest, where resources already exist, and where gaps remain will help inform future decisions. The WVU team brings both the technical expertise and statewide perspective needed to support that effort.” 

The study itself is expected to cost $1.5 million and take 18 months to complete. A statement from the First Foundation said the study is designed to provide a clearer understanding of needs, gaps and opportunities. 

A year ago, the First Foundation asked for proposals. They said they received more than 20 proposals from organizations nationwide. 

Key objectives include 

• Establishing a common metric to measure burden of addiction at local and state levels. 

• Mapping current funding and service availability to ensure equitable distribution. 

• Identifying critical gaps in prevention and treatment services. 

• Creating a user-friendly, public dashboard for transparency and data accessibility. 

• Defining a standardized Health Return on Investment (HROI) for addiction-related services. 

• Participating in the development of a statewide interoperable network. 

“This partnership reflects HAI’s commitment to applied research that directly improves the health and well-being of West Virginians,” said Rebecca Gillam, senior research scientist and portfolio director at WVU Health Affairs Institute. “By combining robust data analysis with community-informed insight, this assessment will provide practical tools to support smarter investments and stronger outcomes in addressing the burden of substance use disorder across the state.” 

Since May 2023, the First Foundation said it has distributed nearly $40 million in settlement money. This includes initiatives focused on care such as prevention, treatment, recovery and workforce development.  

The organization handles 72.5% of the state’s settlement money. Cities and counties get 24.5% directly, and the state Attorney General’s office gets 3% for legal representation. 

Results of the Needs Assessment, including the public dashboard, will be released once completed and is expected to inform future funding decisions and statewide planning efforts.  

To learn more, visit the First Foundation website. 

Saturday evening was a night for West Virginia fans to remember.

13,504 folks were in attendance for West Virginia’s opening round victory over Miami (Ohio), in the NCAA tournament, setting a new record for the largest crowd to watch a women’s basketball game inside Hope Coliseum.

There were long lines forming outside of the gates hours before tip-off, and a good portion of the seats were filled with old gold and blue for the first game between Kentucky and James Madison. From pregame warm-ups to the announcement of the starting lineups to the opening tip to the final horn, Mountaineer Nation brought it.

A case could be made that it was the loudest the Coliseum had been all year, including for any of the men’s basketball games. The women hadn’t hosted an NCAA tournament game in over 30 years, and you could tell how excited everyone was to be there and be a part of history.

The one thing I took away from that game was just how amazing West Virginia fans truly are and how badly they want to win. Having covered WVU sports for the last 10 years and been born and raised in Wheeling, neither of those two facts is news to me. But it’s in moments like this where you see the support really shine through.

There have been plenty of heartbreaks over the years from the 1988 national championship game in football to being excluded from the 1993 championship game after an undefeated season to that Backyard Brawl loss in 2007 to the loss to Duke in the Final Four in 2010 and even all the way back to Jerry West’s squad falling one bucket shy of winning a national championship in 1959.

Those are some of the ones that stick out like sore thumbs, but they’re also some other gut-wrenching games where WVU had a clear path to either a conference championship or something of similar significance and were unable to get the job done.

Mountaineer fans just want to experience winning a national championship in one of the big sports. Although they don’t have anything directly to do with the team’s success in that quest, West Virginians would feel a sense of accomplishment through the players, the staff, and the administration.

What makes West Virginia so special is that the people are proud to be from there. It’s rare that the state is in the national spotlight for something good, and when it happens, it’s usually because of WVU’s success in athletics.

That Flying WV logo doesn’t just represent the university, it represents the state and its people. Winning a national title would allow West Virginians in the Mountain State and those who have moved elsewhere to stick their chest out and feel on top of the world. Through all of the heartache they’ve been through with sports and the hard times they’ve been through in life, just trying to get by, they deserve to have that feeling at least once.

There’s no guarantee that they will beat Kentucky in the second round on Monday night, and I’m also not oblivious to the fact that number one seed Texas is extremely good and very much a national championship contender, but that doesn’t change the point of the story. The fans deserve that magical run, even if it’s just a trip to the Sweet 16 this season, which would be the first time in three decades that they’ve reached that point of March Madness. It would be a step closer to the ultimate goal, just like the baseball program has made significant strides by reaching the super regional in each of the last two seasons.

It may not happen for the women’s basketball team this season, but crazier things have happened. Whenever that national title comes, regardless of the sport, it’s going to be one big celebration that never comes to an end, and West Virginians deserve it.