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Mental health, for both young folks and old, is a serious concern in West Virginia. There just isn't that much help available.
Jeremy Sargus, CEO of Northwood Health Systems, said that West Virginia ranks dead last in the United States in the amount of psychiatrists per capita. Considering the other categories where West Virginia ranks last or near last nationally - obesity, economy, drug use and overall happiness, to name a few - sitting last in that important mental health metric is troubling.
Luckily, in the Northern Panhandle, there are organizations doing their part to reverse that negative trend. Instead of watching mental health care dwindle in the area, they're reinforcing it with new resources.
WVU Medicine made a big splash with its announcement that it is bringing Orchard Park Hospital into its fold. The child and adolescent inpatient mental health center will now be known as WVU Medicine Healthy Minds – Kids.
The facility had operated as the Robert C. Byrd Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health Center when it was part of Ohio Valley Medical Center. But when OVMC closed, so did the Byrd Center, leaving a huge hole in health care in the Ohio Valley. The team behind Orchard Park reopened the facility in 2023, but found that running an independent hospital comes with several hurdles. Now with WVU Medicine behind it, those hurdles are now easier to clear.
Sargus and Northwood are helping the cause with the introduction of a new psychiatrist, Dr. Todd Derreberry, to their staff. Derreberry is a West Virginia native who grew up outside of Charleston and earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at Marshall University. He has an intimate knowledge of the mental health needs in the Mountain State and Northwood is confident he will hit the ground running.
The Northern Panhandle as a whole should be excited for these advancements. Care for the mind is as crucially important as care for any other part of the body. Sadly, West Virginia has fallen behind in providing that care. But organizations like WVU Medicine and Northwood are accepting the challenge to turn that around.