January/February - West Virginia State Medical Association

Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center of West Virginia University | NEWS
Bonnie’s Bus Ready to Roll
WVU offering digital mammography in rural areas
West Virginia University officials
rolled out Bonnie’s Bus Nov. 6,
complete with equipment and staff,
poised to begin the trek throughout
the state to reach women who lack
easy access to mammograms.
Bonnie’s Bus will offer life-saving
early detection for breast cancer
in a state with the fifth highest
mortality rates in the nation.
The bus and mammograms are
made possible through a $2.5 million
gift of Jo and Ben Statler to the Mary
Babb Randolph Cancer Center, part
of last year’s historic $25 million
donation to WVU. WVU Hospitals
owns and operates the bus.
Named after Mrs. Statler’s late
mother, Bonnie Wells Wilson,
Bonnie’s Bus and the Cancer Center
also received $300,000 from Susan
G. Komen for the Cure to support
outreach to women and follow-up
tracking studies and a two-year
$400,000 grant from the Claude
Worthington Benedum Foundation
to establish a clinical trials network.
“Bonnie’s Bus is far more than a
mobile digital mammography unit,”
said Scot Remick, M.D., director
of WVU’s Mary Babb Randolph
Cancer Center. “Not only are we
building a tremendous research
database, but also we are creating
networks with doctors and hospitals
throughout West Virginia to deliver
the care women need. Through
Bonnie’s Bus, we will reduce deaths
from breast cancer in our state.”
Dr. Remick added: “Together,
Bonnie’s Bus and the Cancer Center
at WVU are devoted to improving
the cancer care of West Virginians.
Collaborative relationships in
Martinsburg, Wheeling, Clarksburg
and Charleston are well beyond
the formative stages, and we plan
to engage other new partners.”
Women whose mammograms
suggest a need for further diagnosis
and treatment will be guided to
doctors in their home communities
or to hospitals and, most important,
to state-of-the-art clinical trials for
patients who want access to them.
The network will make it easier for
women who live far from hospitals
or an academic medical center to gain
access to investigational drug trials.
The mammograms are not free.
But billing to third-parties will
be provided, and women who
lack insurance will be matched to
government or nonprofit charities.
For information on Bonnie’s Bus
see www.wvucancer.org/bonnie.
Ribbon cutting for Bonnie’s Bus. L-R: James Brick,
M.D.; Fred Butcher, Ph.D.; Jo Statler; C. Peter
Magrath, Ph.D.; Gary Marano, M.D.; Ben Statler; Scot
Remick, M.D.
WVU Announces Creation of Multimillion Dollar Pediatric
Research Institute
Rezulin settlement, Walker bequest provide $12 million for children’s health
West Virginia University has
announced the creation of the
multimillion dollar WVU Pediatric
Research Institute. The institute
builds on a strong history of
pediatric research at WVU.
“We are exhilarated to be able
to take our research to the next
level to serve the needs of children
throughout West Virginia,” said
Giovanni Piedimonte, M.D., chair
of the Department of Pediatrics and
physician-in-chief at WVU Children’s
Hospital. “Whenever we invest in
children, we invest in our future.”
Funding for the WVU Pediatric
Research Institute comes from
two sources: a generous bequest
from a former WVU physician,
and unclaimed settlement money
from a class action lawsuit.
Through a bequest from the late
James H. Walker, M.D., former
34 West Virginia Medical Journal