photo by: Joselyn King

Ohio County Board of Education member Bernie Albertini, left, listens as board member Andy Garber speaks during Monday’s board meeting.

WHEELING — Ohio County Board of Education members Monday night renewed its annual memorandum of understanding with WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital to operate a healthcare clinic at Madison Elementary School, although that clinic has yet to open.

The MOU and policy surrounding the providing of care to students at the school was approved in November 2024, with the ribbon cutting for the completed clinic taking place in September of 2025.

Leah Stout, special education director for Ohio County Schools, told board members the school district has since learned WVU Medicine must require additional consent forms be signed by parents prior to treatment, and that the previously approved policy must reflect this.

“Since our first creation of the policy, we’ve had several meetings and met virtually with Wheeling Hospital and their team and now we are aware of the required consent forms WVU Medicine must provide to those receiving care at the health clinic,” Stout said.

The final version of the school-based health center and dental clinic policy approved by the board of education last year consisted of eight pages, she continued.

Stout proposed the school district keep the first page of the policy, which is a consent form seeking parental acknowledgement of their child’s treatment at the clinic. Other consent forms within the Ohio County Schools policy would be eliminated.

The new school district policy would be downsized to contain the consent form and the first three pages of the previously approved policy.

Additional consent forms will be required by WVU Medicine at the clinic “as it is their hired nurse practitioner providing the care,” Stout added.

Board president David Croft participated in the meeting via phone, and member Molly Aderholt served in the role of president facilitating the meeting Monday night.

Because board members hadn’t all seen the draft of the revised policy, Aderholt suggested the matter be tabled until the board’s next meeting at 6 p.m. on Nov. 24 at the board office, 2203 National Road, Elm Grove.

“That way we can all see what is different and what has been changed,” she explained.

Stout told her that no information contained on the first three pages changed, and neither did the consent form to be included. There were just consent forms eliminated.

The MOU between Ohio County Schools and WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital approved last year, meanwhile, was up for annual renewal. The content within the document remained the same, Stout explained.

The vote to renew the MOU was approved 4-1, with Aderholt objecting. Board members Croft, Andy Garber, Bernie Albertini and Anne Hercultes voted in favor.

“I will just note my ongoing objections that they would not accept our language agreeing to comply with our county policy,” Aderholt said.