West Virginia University Health System

Last updated

West Virginia University Health System
Wvu-medicine-logo.svg
Geography
LocationWest Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland [1] , U.S.
Organisation
Type Private nonprofit
Services
Beds3,260
History
Opened1996
Links
Website wvumedicine.org
Lists Hospitals in U.S.

The West Virginia University Health System, commonly branded as WVUMedicine, is a nonprofit health enterprise affiliated with West Virginia University. It provides healthcare services throughout West Virginia and portions of the surrounding states of Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, in the United States.

Contents

As of 2025, the WVU Health System was West Virginia's largest health system and largest private employer. [2]

History

The West Virginia University (WVU) Health System, operating under the brand name WVU Medicine, was established in 1996 following legislation passed by the West Virginia Legislature. Initially incorporated as the West Virginia United Health System, the organization was created to align academic medicine, clinical care, and community health initiatives within a single administrative structure. The system’s founding members included WVU Hospitals in Morgantown, WV, the principal teaching hospital for West Virginia University, and United Hospital Center in Clarksburg, WV. The integration aimed to improve care coordination, expand access to specialized services, and support the University’s health sciences programs. [3] In 2016, the organization changed its name to the West Virginia University Health System to reflect its closer association with West Virginia University and began operating under the WVU Medicine brand the prior year. [4]

In 2019, cardiac surgeons with the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute performed the first heart transplant in West Virginia. [5] In 2024, the Heart and Vascular Institute also performed what was reported as the world's first combined robotic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass operation. [6] [7] [8]

Acquisitions and expansions

Over time, the Health System has grown through the acquisition of several hospitals and clinics, adding 14 hospitals to its network between 2016 and 2023. [9] In 2021, the Health System established a health insurance and health insurance services company called Peak Health. [10] [11] [12] In 2022, the Health System opened a new, 155-bed Children's Hospital on its main medical campus in Morgantown, WV. [13] In April 2025, it announced that it would spend $460 million to expand its hospitals and clinics. [14] In November 2025, WVU Health System announced that it was acquiring Independence Health System in Pennsylvania, agreeing to spend $800 million to modernize the five hospitals being added to its network. [15]

Programs

Its clinical programs span the full continuum of care, from primary care to advanced, quaternary care for pediatric and adult patients, with an emphasis on brain and spine, cancer, and cardiac care. For example, the WVU Cancer Institute provides mobile lung and breast cancer screening services in rural West Virginia, [16] and is also pursuing National Cancer Institute designation. [17] Researchers at the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute have ongoing participation in clinical studies involving the novel use of focused ultrasound to treat neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's, opioid addiction, and eating disorders. [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]

Hospitals

As of July 2025, the Health System had more than 35,000 employees, 3,260 beds, and 25 hospitals: [23]

The WVU Health System also operates five institutes:

References

  1. ↑ "2024 Annual Report". WVU Medicine.
  2. ↑ "WorkForce West Virginia LMI". lmi.workforcewv.org. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  3. ↑ "History | United Hospital Center". wvumedicine.org. August 8, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  4. ↑ "System to operate under West Virginia University Health System name". WVU Medicine. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  5. ↑ WDTV (November 6, 2019). "WVU Medicine performs state's first heart transplant" . Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Fellow Leads World's First in Robotic Cardiac Surgery". ACS. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Heart surgeons perform world's first robotic TAVR explant and aortic valve replacement". cardiovascularbusiness.com. June 5, 2025. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Heart surgeons detail world's first robotic heart procedure of its kind". cardiovascularbusiness.com. December 11, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  9. ↑ Mamula, Kris B. (June 18, 2024). "Hospital acquisitions goose revenue growth at WVU Medicine". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  10. ↑ Gough, Paul (February 15, 2022). "Why WVU Health System is growing its own health insurer". Pittsburgh Business Times. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Two health systems join WVU Medicine in health insurance startup". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  12. ↑ "With Pennsylvania in its sights, WVU Medicine kickstarts health insurer". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  13. ↑ "WVU Medicine opens new children's hospital, eyes trauma level upgrade". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  14. ↑ Gough, Paul J. (April 18, 2025). "WVU Health System unveils $460M investment plan for hospitals, including new cancer center". WPXI . Archived from the original on May 15, 2025. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  15. ↑ Koscinski, Kiley (November 19, 2025). "WVU Medicine acquires Independence Health System's 5 hospitals". 90.5 WESA . Archived from the original on November 25, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  16. ↑ Thacker, Kristian; Bajaj, Simar (July 8, 2025). "Lung Cancer Screening on Wheels". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  17. ↑ Gough, Paul (June 16, 2023). "Why WVU Medicine is pursuing top-flight designation for cancer care". Pittsburgh Business Times. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  18. ↑ Alfonsi, Sharyn (August 4, 2024). "Neurosurgeon works to slow Alzheimer's progression, treat addiction with cutting-edge technology - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  19. ↑ WSJ, Julie Wernau | Photographs by Alyssa Schukar for (October 29, 2024). "Can Zapping the Brain Help Treat Addiction?". WSJ. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  20. ↑ Kolata, Gina (January 10, 2024). "An Ultrasound Experiment Tackles a Giant Problem in Brain Medicine". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  21. ↑ "The innovation that gets an Alzheimer's drug through the blood-brain barrier". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  22. ↑ Rezai, Ali R.; D’Haese, Pierre-Francois; Finomore, Victor; Carpenter, Jeffrey; Ranjan, Manish; Wilhelmsen, Kirk; Mehta, Rashi I.; Wang, Peng; Najib, Umer; Teixeira, Camila Vieira Ligo; Arsiwala, Tasneem; Tarabishy, Abdul; Tirumalai, Padmashree; Claassen, Daniel O.; Hodder, Sally (January 3, 2024). "Ultrasound Blood–Brain Barrier Opening and Aducanumab in Alzheimer's Disease" . New England Journal of Medicine. 390 (1): 55–62. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2308719. ISSN   0028-4793.
  23. ↑ "WVU Medicine Hospitals and Institutes". WVU Medicine. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
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