West Virginia University Hospitals

The West Virginia University Hospitals is a not-for-profit corporation operating the teaching hospitals of West Virginia University.

The hospitals include Ruby Memorial Hospital, WVU Children’s Hospital, the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, the Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center and Chestnut Ridge Hospital in Morgantown, and two hospitals in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, City Hospital in Martinsburg and Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Ranson, operated jointly as WVUH-East.

General background
In 1960, West Virginia University, located in Morgantown, West Virginia, commenced operations of a tertiary care teaching hospital as a component of the medical center of the University. In 1984, the West Virginia Legislature adopted legislation which authorized separation of the hospital operations from the University and the establishment of a separate corporate entity. West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. was incorporated as a non-stock, not-for-profit corporation and, by an agreement of transfer and lease dated July 1, 1984, assumed the operation of and responsibility for the Hospital. The existing 500,000 square foot, 380-bed hospital serves as a major statewide and regional health care referral center and provides the principal clinical education and research site for West Virginia University. The terms of the agreement of transfer and lease require the Hospital to provide a minimum of $4,000,000 per year in education expense for the interns and residents and an annual clinical teaching subsidy of not less than $6,000,000.

The Hospital’s original facility, constructed in 1960, is now the Health Sciences Building and serves as the central academic teaching facility of the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center of the West Virginia University. Ownership of this facility resides with the State of West Virginia. In 1986, West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. began construction of its current facility, Ruby Memorial Hospital, a 10-story, 500,000 square foot facility which began operation in 1988. The Ruby Memorial Hospital is a tertiary care referral center and serves as the principal clinical education and research site for the West Virginia University School of Medicine. As part of its 380-bed complement and within its existing contiguous facility, the Hospital operates the 92-bed WVU Children’s Hospital which attracts skilled clinicians and significant financial support and includes a 30-bed newborn intensive care unit. The Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center, which is also part of the Ruby Memorial Hospital, is the only nationally certified Level I trauma center in West Virginia and serves a significant geographic area.

On September 30, 1998, the Hospital purchased the assets of Chestnut Ridge Hospital, a predominantly inpatient 70-bed psychiatric hospital built in 1987 and located adjacent to Ruby Memorial Hospital. Chestnut Ridge Hospital is operated as a department of the Hospital and has been home to the West Virginia University’s Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry. A portion of the proceeds from the WVUH Series 1998 Bonds were used to reimburse the Hospital for the acquisition of the assets of Chestnut Ridge Hospital.

In July 1998, the Hospital constructed the Family House, a 26-unit housing facility for adult patients and their families. Family House has direct access to the Hospital and fills a critical need for patients who require bone-marrow transplant and chemotherapy, for patients of Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, and for families of patients being treated at the trauma center.

In September 2003, the Hospital completed a strategic plan and subsequent bond financing for the purpose of expanding facilities. This clinical expansion project includes the addition of 58 medical and surgical beds, 10 adult intensive care beds, 4 pediatric intensive care beds, 2 outpatient operating rooms, and 4 inpatient operating rooms. The additional areas were completed late in 2005.

In 2006 the privately employed hospital security officers at Ruby Memorial Hospital began conducting traffic stops of motorists they allege failed to stop at stop signs and fail to yield to pedestrians. This action has been met with great debate in the Morgantown area since the officers have no authroity as law enforcement officers in the state, and they lack training and proper equipment to conduct traffic stops. For a short period of time the officers were giving out citations which ordered the violator to pay a fifty dollar fine to the hospital, additionally the violator was threatned with the loss of their license for failure to pay the fine a threat which has no baking since their officers have no legal authority to begin with.

The above statement in reference to security is incorrect, even though they are employed privately all officers are responsible for all law enforcement and criminal investigations on hospital grounds in conjunction with local, state, federal and campus police agencies. They are permitted to conduct criminal and traffic enforcement because they are the primary agency for enforcing laws at the hospital. The officers also have vehicles that are identical to police patrol vehicles. They have full legal authority on property controlled by the hospital.