​Community Care of West Virginia (CCWV) is pleased to announce the addition of Nathaniel Linger, MD, to their medical staff.
 
Dr. Linger, who was born and raised in Buckhannon, graduated with an undergraduate degree in biology from West Virginia Wesleyan College. He earned his medical degree at West Virginia University.
 
Beginning on August 5, 2019, Dr. Linger will be practicing family medicine at Community Care’s health center in Rock Cave. The addition of Dr. Linger to the staff will allow the clinic to offer extended hours of operation, increasing access to health care for the community.
 
According to Dr. Linger, he has always wanted to return home to practice. “I have always felt more comfortable in a small rural setting. I may be a little biased since I’m from the area, but I firmly believe that people living in and around Buckhannon and Upshur County deserve the same level of primary care as if they lived in a more metropolitan area,” said Linger. “I chose to specialize in Family Medicine because I enjoy being able to care for patients of all ages and develop relationships with my patients.”
 
Dr. Linger met his wife, Lorilyn, while they were students at Wesleyan. Outside of medicine, Dr. Linger enjoys hunting and fishing. He also enjoys playing music and plays mandolin in a bluegrass band called Blue Steel. He and his wife attend both Hampton United Methodist Church and First United Methodist Church in Buckhannon.
 
Patients interested in scheduling appointments with Dr. Linger may do so online by visiting the website or by calling 304-924-6262.
 
CCWV operates health centers, pharmacies, and school-based health centers located in Braxton, Clay, Gilmer, Harrison, Lewis, Monongalia, Pocahontas, Randolph, and Upshur counties. In addition, they operate a dental clinic in Pocahontas County and provide behavioral health services throughout their service area.

WESTON, WV —Community Care of West Virginia (CCWV) opened a new pharmacy in Weston on January 2, 2019.
 
Co-located with the Community Care/CareXpress health center, located at Stonewall Commons, the pharmacy offers a full range of pharmacy services, including filling prescription medications, 340B pharmacy pricing, Med Sync arrangements, and mail order pharmacy services.
 
Providing comprehensive pharmacy services is important to CCWV. “I’m pleased we are able to meet the needs of our patients whether they can visit us at our pharmacy or we can bring their medications to their home,” said Joshua Dunn, PharmD, and CCWV’s Director of Pharmacy. “For some patients, it is difficult making a trip to the pharmacy. Through Med Sync, our medication synchronization program, we can work with our patients’ care team so that their medications get filled at the same time each month. For those that simply cannot travel to the pharmacy, our mail order program allows the patient to receive their medications via the US postal service at their home.”
 
The co-location of the pharmacy with the health center allows the pharmacy staff to work as part of the patient Care Team to make sure patients receive the highest quality care. “We work closely with the clinical staff to make sure each patient has the medications that are best suited to their needs, and we collaborate with outside physicians and specialists to coordinate care,” said pharmacist-in-charge, Andrew Shay, PharmD. “We love seeing our patients at the pharmacy and we are always happy to answer questions either in person or on the phone.”
 
CCWV operates health centers, pharmacies, and school-based health centers located in Braxton, Clay, Gilmer, Harrison, Lewis, Monongalia, Pocahontas, Randolph, and Upshur counties. In addition, they operate a dental clinic in Pocahontas County and provide behavioral health services throughout their service area.

For a link to coverage on WBOY, click here.

Pictured at left:
Andrew Shay, PharmD, Pharmacist-in-Charge
Dakota DeBarr, Pharmacy Technician Trainee
Joshua Dunn, PharmD, Director of Pharmacy

Community Care of West Virginia (CCWV) is excited to partner with WVU/UHC at a new facility in Weston. The health center is in the Stonewall Commons plaza, just off the I-79 Weston exit.

CCWV will be offering acute and primary care, by appointment and walk-in, and WVU/UCH will provide specialty care. 

CCWV has had a health center at Weston, very near this new location, for several years. This partnership will provide expanded care to the community and to patients of both CCWV and WVU/UHC.

CCWV will be open in the new facility beginning Thursday, November 15, at 8:00am. The hours of operation will be Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 8:00pm, Saturday from 8:00am to 4:00pm, and Sunday from 11:00am - 5:00pm.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (304) 269-2022 or click here.

At its last meeting, the Harrison County School Board approved an agreement with Community Care of West Virginia (CCWV) to continue providing services such as medical screenings, treatment for illnesses, sports physicals, immunizations and health education to students.

Under the agreement, Adamston Elementary, North View Elementary, Mountaineer Middle and Liberty High schools will be part of a pilot program for mental health services.

Community Care ran a pilot program for evidence-based classroom and school interventions for psychiatric and psychotherapy services last year in Braxton County schools.

“We are bringing the mental health services to the kids rather than bringing the kids to mental health services, which can sometimes be a barrier to kids getting proper mental health services for a myriad of reasons,” said Dr. Kevin Junkins, the psychiatrist leading the program at CCWV.

​ "Evidence from other states shows that therapy for first- grade students has reduced by 10 percent their chance of becoming addicted to drugs later in life. Therapy has also been shown to decrease the need for special education services, improve graduation rates and decrease the rates of teen smoking and teen pregnancy."

Harrison County Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Manchin said he would like to expand the program to all the county’s schools next year, if possible.

To read the story and as it appeared in The Exponent-Telegram and watch a video from the meeting, click here.

BUCKHANNON – Beginning this fall semester, West Virginia Wesleyan College students will now have consistent health care offered as Community Care of West Virginia is being welcomed to campus.

Last week, officials announced that a CCWV school-based clinic will be located in Wesleyan’s Barnhart Health Center, which is adjacent to the John D. Rockefeller IV Physical Education Center.

Prior to the agreement between WVWC and CCWV, a health center was available on campus for students with a full-time nurse, and local providers were contracted.

“We were doing it all in-house,” said Alison Clausen, Director of Title III and Student Retention.

Clausen explained the college felt it was important to provide students with consistent hours and expanded provider availability.

“So that’s what we achieved. There will be expanded hours with a provider beyond a nurse,” she said. “There will be consistent provider hours.”

As the college embarked on the process of finding a clinic for WVWC, Clausen said, “Community Care has vast experience in school-based health clinics.”

“Community Care just knows what they’re doing in school-based health, so we’re really excited about the partnership and the experience that they’re putting to this,”she said.

With a CCWV school-based clinic now on WVWC’s campus, an additional array of services will be offered for students.

Community Care will provide primary and preventive health care, treatment for common illnesses and minor injuries, immunizations and lab testing.

“It’s pretty much just like what you would find at a normal doctor’s office — primary and preventive health care treatment for normal common illnesses …, “said Clausen. “The standard things you’d find at the doctor’s office.”
Clausen said with CCWV on campus, students will have easy access to a full slate of services.

“And one of the other things we’re really excited about is the access that our students will have to the Community Care network,” she said. “We’ll have 20 or so hours of providers on campus, but they also have full time providers in town as well as their walk-in urgent care.”

Clausen noted students’ health insurance will be billed for services provided by CCWV as the college requires all students to carry health insurance.

The clinic will be open approximately 20 hours a week for students’ needs.

“We’ll also have a nurse that staffs it all day long, so the standard 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.,” she said. “In times that a students might need services outside of those hours, they can access Community Care’s other clinics in town.”
For those who have experience with Community Care from public school, Clausen said it will be a benefit for those students.
​
“Students who attended the public schools that Community Care is already in, which is like 45 or 50 in West Virginia, are really going to have a continuity of their medical records,” she said. “Certainly that’s something that will help our students.”

For a link to the story as it appeared in The Inter-Mountain, please click here.

BUCKHANNON — West Virginia Wesleyan will partner with Community Care of West Virginia (CCWV) to provide a school-based health clinic at the College beginning July 1. The clinic will be located in Wesleyan’s Barnhart Health Center, which is adjacent to the John D. Rockefeller IV Physical Education Center.

Community Care will provide primary and preventive health care, treatment for common illnesses and minor injuries, immunizations, lab testing and additional services. The clinic will be open a minimum of 20 hours per week to students, faculty, and staff.

“We are pleased to provide health care services at West Virginia Wesleyan College,”said Rick Simon, CCWV chief executive officer. “Our work at the on-campus health center will make it more convenient for students, faculty and staff to have access to quality health care. Healthy students are more productive and access to care is important. With two other health centers in Buckhannon, one being a seven day a week walk-in access, our services will be seamless for after hours and weekend care as well.”

CCWV is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in central West Virginia. CCWV has 15 community health center locations, 45 school-based sites, seven (340 (b) pharmacies and one dental office. CCWV boasts a team of health professionals including MDs, DOs, FNPs, PA-Cs, RHPs, and DDs.
​
CCWV is poised as a leader in the health-care industry with its state-of-the-art Electronic Health Record and a team of healthcare professionals who are focused on chronic disease management and quality care outcomes.

To access the link to the story as it appeared in The Intermountain, please click here.

Dr. Judith Steinberg, chief medical officer at the Health Resources & Services Administration’s (HRSA) Bureau of Primary Healthcare, recently visited the Pain Management program offices for Community Care of West Virginia. Dr. Steinberg met with the Pain Management staff to discuss CCWV’s successful approach to addressing the opioid epidemic in West Virginia.

The program was recently recognized by both HRSA and athenahealth for their innovative and effective methods that have decreased the number of opioid prescriptions written, while still treating patients for pain. CCWV’s unique program provides dedicated attention to pain management, allowing primary care staff to focus on the chronic health of patients. Working together, medical providers from both areas are able to provide whole health care to patients.

​Pictured are: Dr. Kelly Dunavant, director of pain management, Jason Kidd, PA-C, Dr. Sarah Chouinard, CCWV chief medical officer, Josh Baker, PA-C, Tracey Sherman, PA-C, and Dr. Judith Steinberg, Bureau of Primary Health Care chief medical officer.
 

Healthcare provider Community Care of West Virginia’s pharmacies were recently licensed as retail pharmacy-collector locations.

Pharmacies in Buckhannon, Clay, Clay-Battelle, Rock Cave and West Milford will accept the return of unused, unwanted and expired medications for legal disposal.
​
“We’re pleased to participate as a collector location,” said Rick Simon, CEO of Community Care of WV. “Many people don’t realize that storing these medications can lead to accidental poisoning and drug abuse. People often flush these medications down the toilet, which can contaminate rivers and streams.”

The process for returning the medications is simple. Anyone can visit one of the Community Care of WV pharmacies and turn the medications into the pharmacist on duty. It is not necessary to give any personal information, but the pharmacists will ask for the name of the medication so it can be disposed of properly.

To read the article as it appeared in The Exponent-Telegram, click here.

Two Community Care of West Virginia medical providers were recently featured in The Pocahontas Times. The article focused on Pocahontas County natives returning home to practice medicine.

Following graduation from the WV School of Osteopathic Medicine, Jennifer Rose, DO, began her career with a residency at CAMC in Charleston. After several year at CAMC, Rose moved back to Pocahontas County and divides her time between Community Care Health Centers at Marlinton and Hillsboro. “I’m proud to be here,” Rose said. “It’s not always easy, but it’s been rewarding. When you have patients that you truly feel like you’ve been able to help and bring something to them or change their lives in some ways – that’s rewarding and makes up for some of the other challenges that come with it. I have good people to work with. I have people who are truly here because they care about the people and always want to do more and want to do better, and so that’s rewarding, too.”

Community Care and UHC/WVU Medicine are partnering in Weston. Community Care will provide primary care and acute/walk-in urgent care. UHC/WVU will be providing specialty care. The new facility will be located at Stonewall Commons Plaza, just off the Weston exit (I-79, exit 99). This is the site of a current CCWV primary and urgent care health center.

For more information, as reported by WDTV, click here.

CCWV's health center currently located at the Stonewall Commons Plaza in Weston.