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WVU School of Medicine Receives AAMC Award for Outstanding Community Service
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"Community service is an integral part of the mission at the WVU School of Medicine. The projects carried out by our students and faculty have a real and lasting impact on the health of the people of West Virginia."
- John E. Prescott, M.D., Dean
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In November of 2006, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) named the WVU School of Medicine as the winner of its annual award for Outstanding Community Service. Annually, this award is prese nted to a U.S. medical school that demonstrates a longstanding, major institutional commitment to addressing community needs.
AAMC President Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., and West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III honored the students and faculty of the School of Medicine at a ceremony held at the WVU Health Sciences Center on November 3rd. John E. Prescott, M.D., Dean, School of Medicine formally accepted the award on behalf of the school.
WVU has long recognized the need to provide quality health care to the rural population of West Virginia. The School of Medicine has taken a lead role in developing programs and partnerships throughout the state to reach Appalachian communities whose needs are not being met by the traditional health care system. Some of these programs, such as the CARDIAC (Coronary Artery Risk Detection in Appalachian Communities) program, which targets fifth-grade public school students and screens them for risk factors associated with obesity, heart disease and diabetes, and the Medication Assistance Program, provide direct care to our state’s residents.
The Family Medicine Interest Group’s MUSHROOM (Multidisciplinary Unsheltered Homeless Relief Outreach of Morgantown) program is another example of how the School of Medicine strives to meet the needs of the community. MUSHROOM volunteers reach out to the homeless in Morgantown by providing basic life sustaining social, nutritional and medical outreach. They bring basic clothing items, deliver food and fluid replacements, and provide critical medical assessment and first aid treatment.
 Many of the School of Medicine’s programs and partnerships give WVU students the opportunity to learn while serving rural communities throughout West Virginia. Through the West Virginia RHEP (Rural Health Education Program) and Area Health Education Centers, WVU medical students experience life in rural communities during rural rotations. Many students find these experiences so valuable that they return to live and practice in these communities.
Programs like the HSTA (Health Sciences Technology Academy) and HCOP(Health Careers Opportunity Program) provide promising yet under-represented high school and undergraduate students in West Virginia the opportunity for laboratory and classroom training and enrichment activities at WVU. Both HSTA and HCOP help prepare students for health care careers, again with the hope that they will one day choose to serve the rural communities of which they are a part.
Dance Dance Revolution: Can a Video Game Increase the Health of Our Children?
 WVU, in partnership with West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), conducted a study utilizing an interactive video game called Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) to evaluate the game’s effects on the health, attitudes, and behaviors of the participating children. The study took place over 24 weeks and required participants to play DDR five days per week for at least 30 minutes. The participant’s weight, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), arterial function, fitness levels, and attitudes towards exercise were all monitored.
The results of this study were promising. The participants who were in the 85th percentile or higher for BMI in their height and weight had an improved BMI and also a reduced risk for lifestyle-related diseases.
Due to the results of this study and in an effort to decrease our state’s high obesity rate, the state of West Virginia has decided that all schools will incorporate DDR into their curriculum within the next two years.
 "Most of our subjects had historically felt awkward about participating in gym and physical activity at school. After the program, they demonstrated a new sense of confidence, and desired to maintain their new found skills."
- Emily Murphy, Exercise Physiologist, Department of Pediatrics
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