State-University Partnership
Building a Better West Virginia
High-level service
As an entity within a respected research university, we’re able to offer services on a higher level than a traditional consulting firm. The academic foundation of our 30+ staff members allows the Office of Health Affairs to execute professional-level project management bolstered by subject-area expertise.
In-state workforce
A workforce that’s fully contained within West Virginia means we keep West Virginia dollars where they belong: in state.
Academy Health member
Our partnership with the WV DHHR is further supported by our affiliation with Academy Health’s State-University Partnership Learning Network (SUPLN), a program that facilitates peer-to-peer learning and dialogue among state-university partnerships via meetings and conferences with the goal of improving the cost and quality of care of the Medicaid program.
Embedded staff
In addition to support staff in our Project Management Office and at the WVU Health Sciences Center, the Office of Health Affairs has staff embedded in various WV DHHR departments, including the Bureau for Behavioral Health (BBH), the Bureau for Medical Services (BMS), and the WV DHHR secretary's office. With this model, we’re able to more effectively and efficiently utilize WV DHHR data to make better decisions, exponentially improving service provision.
In a proven model of successful partnership, the Office of Health Affairs and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources collaborate to improve health care policy and government-funded programs.
In 2017, the state of West Virginia passed legislation enabling the West Virginia DHHR (WV DHHR) to contract directly with West Virginia nonprofit medical schools. In concert with contracts already enacted between WVU and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WV DHHR), this legislation helped give rise to The Office of Health Affairs, created to serve as the administrative office within the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center that manages this State-University partnership.
An important aspect of the State-University Partnership is WVU’s membership with Academy Health, a leading national organization for health services research. WVU was honored to accept an invitation to participate in Academy Health’s State-University Partnership Learning Network (SUPLN). SUPLN works to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and dialogue among state-university partnerships and supports evidence-based state health policy and practice — with a focus on transforming Medicaid-based healthcare, including improving the patient experience, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of healthcare.
The State-University Partnership goes beyond the traditional grants and contracts that typically occur between the university and state government. Building a robust State-University Partnership allows the Office of Health Affairs to develop in-state capacity for the WV DHHR in the critical areas of health data analytics, program evaluation, and program management, in turn negating the need for contracting with out-of-state vendors. By keeping services in state, we’re able to better meet the needs of policymakers, funders, and other stakeholders in conducting and disseminating relevant data reports. WVU in turn benefits by utilizing existing WV DHHR resources to help build faculty and staff capacity and to provide student opportunities for involvement in statewide programs and projects.
Increasingly, by building mutual trust and confidence, both WV DHHR and the Office of Health Affairs have realized the benefits of working closely together.