State Spotlight - West Virginia

Last updated:  September 2008

Jeff Bowles, Coordinator
Office of Chief Medical Examiner
619 Virginia St, West
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: 304-558-6920 ext. 4009
Fax: 304-558-9038

Tools

Reports

Mortality Statistics

Program Description

Administration
West Virginia’s CDR Program began as a voluntary process in 1994 and was put into statute in 1996. The program is funded year to year. It is housed out of and administered by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. There is one part time (20 hours per week) state employee that staffs the program. 

Teams
West Virginia has a state team.

State Team: (Chairperson - James Kaplan, MD)
The team is comprised of 25 members and meets on a monthly basis.

Reviews
Law requires basic review and data collection on all deaths. The West Virginia CDR State Team does a “full” review on deaths that appear avoidable – homicides, suicides, motor vehicle, SIDS and accidents. Reviews are conducted on children that are less than 18 years old.

Purpose
The purpose of the West Virginia CDR Program is prevention and to produce recommendations. The focus of the team has remained unchanged. Bereavement services are offered by the state SIDS office who receive notification of every SIDS death by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Data
Standardized data reporting forms are completed for all reviews. The collection of data is required. West Virginia’s CDR Program has access to state vital statistics. CDR data is stored on a computer program and is analyzed by the epidemiologists at the state health statistics center.

Annual Report
West Virginia does produce an annual report, although the report is not yet published. This report will be distributed to the legislature, Governor, county officials, etc.

Prevention Initiatives
West Virginia CDR efforts have influenced change. A statewide example of this is the utilization of the standardized death scene form used on all child deaths.

Protocols
West Virginia has a death scene form that is completed on all child deaths.

Training
The West Virginia CDR Program is required by statute to provide training. Thirty out of the 55 counties in West Virginia have received multidisciplinary training on child death review. West Virginia held their first statewide child death review conference in May 2003 with 175 attendees.