The West Virginia Office of Maternal, Child and Family (OMCFH) has the good fortune to employ high level epidemiologists.  Two years ago, the Department of Personnel increased the starting salaries for epidemiologists which helped tremendously with hiring and retention.  As entry level epidemiologists (epidemiologist I’s) meet qualifications for an epidemiologist II, paperwork is submitted to allow for advancements.  This also increases retention and satisfaction.

Currently, OMCFH employs three (3) Epidemiologist IIIs, two with PH. Ds and one with a master’s degree and 20 years’ experience.  OMCFH also employs eight (8) Epidemiologist IIs and four (4) Epidemiologist Is.  These Epidemiologists cover Perinatal Risk Screening Instrument (PRSI), PRAMS, Home Visitation (MIECHV),  Right From the Start (Medicaid Home Visitation Program), Early Periodic, Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) called HealthCheck, Violence and Injury Prevention (VIPP), Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention (CLPP), Newborn Hearing Screening (NHS), Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening (BCCSP), Family Planning, Oral Health, Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN), Drug overdoses and deaths, Firearm Safety, birth defects, and Infant and Maternal Mortality.  One Epidemiologist may cover more than one Program or be proficient in a certain data set.  Because of our versatility and using different grant funding awards to cover salaries of the Epidemiologists, the OMCFH is able to capture valuable statistical information.  The OMCFH has access to death records, occurrence births, birth defects using a passive system, newborn hearing screening (NBHS), newborn screening, State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS), Syndromic Surveillance (Essence) data using ER and Med Express data, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome data, PRAMS, Prescription drugs, Early Intervention/Part C called Birth To Three (BTT), Home Visitation data, COVID Positive Pregnant Women and their infants, children diagnosed with MIS-C, Infant and Mortality Review, Childhood Lead Poisoning, Medicaid eligibility, Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening and Foster Children.

The OMCFH also employs by contract with WVU, staff for evaluation efforts for some of our programs.

The OMCFH has in place a contract with WVU called Project Watch, formerly called the Birth Score Office that collects data for the OMCFH on the infant’s risk of developmental delay or death within the first year of life, NAS, NBHS, and Critical Congenital Heart Disease.  This information is completed at the birthing facility before discharge and sent to Project Watch.  Project Watch also provides analysis when requested or will share data sets.  Physicians are notified of high-risk infants and NAS diagnosis and referrals are automatically sent to RFTS for home visitation services and Children With Special Health Care Needs. 

The OMCFH also financially supports three (3) Epidemiology positions from the Board of Pharmacy who are housed within the OMCFH.  This collaboration provides the opportunity to provide prescription drug information for various Program activities and assessments. 

The Health Statistics Center (Vital Statistics) provides random birth sampling for PRAMS, infant and maternal mortality data for the Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel, access to the death file and occurrence birth file, overdose deaths and requests for resident infant deaths and birth information on birth outcomes such as prematurity, smoking during pregnancy, gestational age, etc. 

Birth Defects information is collected monthly from each birthing facility.

The OMCFH also collects data on a woman’s first prenatal visit to determine risk.  This collection tool is called the Prenatal Risk Screening Instrument (PRSI).  Information on Medicaid patients is shared with Medicaid to distribute to the appropriate Medicaid Managed Care Organization. 

The Hospital Association also provides data on hospital discharges, although won’t share identifiers so WV lacks the capacity to data match.  The same situation occurs for WIC.