daily304 - Episode 03.14.23

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.  

Today is Thursday, March 14, 2024. 

The WV School of Osteopathic Medicine graduates doctors in all specialities.. A $45,000 donation will bolster STEAM programming at the Ravenswood Innovation Center. And Berkeley County developers learn about the Build WV Act…on today’s daily304.

#1 – From BROOKEREVIEW – At its core, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine has always been driven by one purpose — to educate students to pursue careers as primary care physicians in rural and underserved areas, especially in the Appalachian region. 

That principle is part of the school’s mission. But students who graduate from WVSOM are prepared for careers in all specialties.

WVSOM’s Class of 2023 had a 100 percent residency placement rate. While most of those graduates still sought primary care specialties — 59 percent of them chose family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics or internal medicine-pediatrics — non-primary care specialties such as emergency medicine and surgery also proved attractive to graduates.

“Students come to WVSOM because they have a passion for the underserved, and they address underserved populations through various specialties,” said Abigail Frank, D.O., assistant dean for graduate medical education.

“Many of our students are interested in primary care, and we also have students who are interested in surgery, anesthesia, radiology and emergency medicine. Then we have folks who go into internal medicine, which is primary care. Internal medicine also allows our alumni to go into fellowships like cardiology, nephrology or oncology.”

Read more:

https://www.brookereview.com/2024/03/03/primary-care-is-ingrained-in-wvsoms-mission-but-school-excels-at-preparing-students-for-any-specialty/ 

#2 – From WV PRESS – BHE Renewables Project has announced an investment in Jackson County’s future. The foundation’s $45,000 donation will bolster STEAM and technical programming through the district’s new Ravenswood Innovation Center, according to Jackson County Schools Superintendent Will Hosaflook.

“The BHE Foundation’s generous investment in our Ravenswood Innovation Center echoes BHE Renewables’ continued commitment and support of the communities in which they reside. This investment will help provide a path toward a better future for our students and in return will provide a better future for us all,” Hosaflook said.

According to district officials, the Ravenswood Innovation Center will be the home of an engaging curriculum for students to harness their strengths of creativity, problem solving, and innovation while focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts/Agriculture, and Math. 

Since launching the STEAM initiative this past year, Jackson County Schools has instructed over 400 students a week, grades second through eighth, in their current STEAM program. The program serves to provide a myriad of skills, including hands-on activities, that will prepare students for job-specific opportunities in our community, as well as the nation.

Read more:

https://wvpress.org/wvpa-sharing/bhe-foundation-invests-in-jackson-county-schools/

 

#3 – From MARTINSBURG JOURNAL-NEWS – A representative from the West Virginia Department of Economic Development shared information on the Build WV Act at the Berkeley County Development Authority’s latest Lunch & Learn.

Passed in 2022, the Build WV Act is geared to assist West Virginia’s growing communities in attracting much-needed housing development projects, especially in the area of middle-income housing. The act offers a state sales and use tax exemption for building materials and a 10-year property value adjustment refundable tax credit to offset building costs.

Meghan Smith, manager of business and industrial development for the Development Office, told the group gathered that a revision to the act allows up to $150 million in overall costs of projects in any given fiscal year. The state fiscal year runs from July to June, she clarified.

Tax incentives for projects that get approval for the Build WV Act include sales tax exemptions for contractors, subcontractors and all others associated with the project; a property value adjustment credit against the individual and corporate income tax, set at one-tenth per year for 10 years; and a potential business and occupancy tax exemption where applicable.

Read more:

https://www.journal-news.net/journal-news/lunch-learn-provides-details-on-build-wv-act/article_91a19565-9c04-5d7f-8c84-675c832ead61.html

 

Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304.

The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo. 

That’s all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.