The West Virginia WIC Program is making strides in reaching more families who could benefit from the program through a groundbreaking in-hospital certification pilot project. This initiative aims to connect with eligible families before they leave the hospital labor and delivery unit, ensuring they receive benefits and support without the need for immediate WIC clinic visits.
The pilot program was first launched as a part-time effort in 2023 and later expanded to a full-time program in September of 2024. The program enables WIC hospital liaisons to utilize Electronic Medical Record (EMR) reports to identify and then certify participants directly in birthing hospitals, allowing families to leave the hospital already enrolled in WIC and giving them access to breastfeeding peer counselors and nutrition education. These liaisons follow a structured process to certify applicants, including verifying incomes status, reviewing WIC system records, and securing permission before entering patient rooms. While services are prioritized to those within the six counties served by the Monongalia Agency (Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, and Taylor), the program is open to all West Virginia residents.
“Strengthening partnerships between WIC, healthcare providers, and hospitals not only enhances service delivery but also ensures that West Virginia’s families receive vital nutritional support from the start of their child’s life,” said Dr. Arvin Singh, Health Secretary. “We are honored to be a part of this initiative and are excited to see how it continues to serve new program participants.”
“By eliminating the need for separate clinic visits, this program streamlines the certification process and improves participants retention,” added Heidi Staats, Director of the Office of Nutrition Services. “Integreating WIC certifications into hospital discharge procedures, allows us to address participation barriers related to transportation, scheduling, and eligibility awareness.”
Since its inception, the program has certified 106 people, provided education to 203 families, and scheduled 116 in-clinic follow-up appointments and 223 hospital-based appointments. Additionally, the program lays focus on breastfeeding support, with 91 mothers initiating breastfeeding and 68% continuing beyond six months, a significant improvement over the statewide WIC breastfeeding duration rate of 36.65%.
With promising early results, the program plans to expand to seven additional WVU Medicine hospitals across four local WIC agencies between FY2025 and FY2027, as funded with a WIC Infrastructure grant. This expansion aims to further assess the program’s impact, refine data collection methods, and enhance accessibility for families across the state. While challenges remain in measuring the direct impact on overall WIC participation rates, early trends indicate increased enrollment of postpartum mothers. Future efforts will focus on data refinement and evaluating the program’s influence on breastfeeding rates and participant engagement.
The West Virginia WIC Program extends gratitude to the Monongalia County Health Department (MCHD) WIC Program, MCHD Nutrition Director Camilla Haught, MCHD WIC Hospital Liaison Christyn Rodeheaver, and all partners who have contributed to the success of this initiative.
