“Demand Accountability and Patient Safety Reform at WVU Medicine”
“Demand Accountability and Patient Safety Reform at WVU Medicine”
The Issue
PETITION FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, PATIENT SAFETY & REFORM AT WVU MEDICINE
To WVU Medicine Administration, hospital leadership, patient advocates, state healthcare regulators, and elected officials:
We, the undersigned patients, families, and members of the West Virginia community, are demanding meaningful accountability and reform concerning patient treatment and quality of care within WVU Medicine.
This petition is being organized because patients should not have to feel ignored, dismissed, or left to suffer while seeking emergency medical attention.
A SERIOUS CONCERN REGARDING EMERGENCY CARE
On September 30, 2026, a patient presented to a WVU Medicine emergency department with a dislocated shoulder and significant pain.
The patient arrived at approximately 2:00 PM and remained waiting until approximately 5:00 PM without receiving the medical evaluation they were seeking.
During that time, the patient observed other individuals who arrived after them being taken back before them.
After approximately three hours of waiting with a dislocated shoulder and significant pain, the patient ultimately left without receiving the care they had come seeking.
We recognize that emergency departments use triage systems and that patients may be prioritized according to medical urgency. However, patients deserve to understand how their conditions are being evaluated and why they are waiting when they are experiencing significant pain or an apparent orthopedic emergency.
A patient should not have to sit for hours wondering whether anyone is taking their condition seriously.
THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED CONCERN
This petition also calls for investigation into concerns involving:
- Delays or refusals involving diagnostic imaging and referrals.
- Patients being unable to obtain appropriate evaluation of serious orthopedic injuries.
- Concerns that smoking or tobacco use may improperly influence medical decision-making.
- Lack of adequate communication with patients regarding why testing or treatment is delayed or denied.
- Patients being left without clear explanations regarding their condition or treatment options.
- Concerns that repeated injuries can become substantially worse when appropriate diagnostic evaluation or treatment is delayed.
We are not asking healthcare providers to ignore legitimate medical protocols or triage procedures.
We are asking for those protocols to be transparent, consistently applied, medically appropriate, and properly communicated to patients.
OUR DEMANDS
We call upon WVU Medicine to:
1. Conduct an independent review of complaints involving delayed or denied diagnostic testing and treatment.
2. Review the September 30, 2026 emergency-department incident described above, including the patient's arrival time, triage documentation, waiting time, patient complaints of pain, and the order in which patients were taken for evaluation.
3. Determine whether appropriate triage procedures were followed and provide the patient with a written explanation of the findings.
4. Investigate concerns that tobacco use may have improperly influenced decisions regarding diagnostic imaging or treatment.
5. Establish clearer procedures for patients seeking second opinions or outside referrals when they believe their concerns have not been adequately addressed.
6. Improve communication with patients when diagnostic testing, referrals, treatment, or emergency evaluation is delayed.
7. Ensure patients experiencing serious injuries and significant pain are appropriately assessed and monitored while waiting.
8. Provide patients with a meaningful grievance and appeal process when they believe their care has been inadequate.
9. Conduct an independent review when a patient alleges that delayed diagnosis or treatment may have contributed to worsening injury or disability.
10. Provide meaningful corrective action when an investigation determines that appropriate standards of care or patient-rights procedures were not followed.
WE ARE ASKING FOR ACCOUNTABILITY — NOT SPECIAL TREATMENT
Patients understand that emergency departments are busy.
Patients understand that triage exists.
Patients understand that not every person can be treated immediately.
But patients also deserve to be heard, evaluated appropriately, informed about their care, and treated with dignity.
A patient experiencing a dislocated joint should not have to wonder whether their pain matters.
A patient should not have to fight simply to have a medical concern investigated.
And a patient should not have to wait until an injury becomes worse before receiving the diagnostic attention that could potentially have identified the problem earlier.
We believe WVU Medicine must do better.
We therefore ask WVU Medicine leadership and appropriate state healthcare authorities to investigate these concerns, review the policies and practices involved, and take meaningful action to improve patient safety, accountability, communication, and access to appropriate care.
SIGNATURE
Name: _chelsie richards ____________________________________
City/County: ________________fairmont_________
Signature: ___________________________________
Date: ______________9-30-26______
OPTIONAL PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Have you or someone you love experienced a serious concern involving WVU Medicine?
What happened?
---
---
---
Date/location of incident:
---
Would you like this experience considered as part of this petition?
☐ Yes
☐ No
67
The Issue
PETITION FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, PATIENT SAFETY & REFORM AT WVU MEDICINE
To WVU Medicine Administration, hospital leadership, patient advocates, state healthcare regulators, and elected officials:
We, the undersigned patients, families, and members of the West Virginia community, are demanding meaningful accountability and reform concerning patient treatment and quality of care within WVU Medicine.
This petition is being organized because patients should not have to feel ignored, dismissed, or left to suffer while seeking emergency medical attention.
A SERIOUS CONCERN REGARDING EMERGENCY CARE
On September 30, 2026, a patient presented to a WVU Medicine emergency department with a dislocated shoulder and significant pain.
The patient arrived at approximately 2:00 PM and remained waiting until approximately 5:00 PM without receiving the medical evaluation they were seeking.
During that time, the patient observed other individuals who arrived after them being taken back before them.
After approximately three hours of waiting with a dislocated shoulder and significant pain, the patient ultimately left without receiving the care they had come seeking.
We recognize that emergency departments use triage systems and that patients may be prioritized according to medical urgency. However, patients deserve to understand how their conditions are being evaluated and why they are waiting when they are experiencing significant pain or an apparent orthopedic emergency.
A patient should not have to sit for hours wondering whether anyone is taking their condition seriously.
THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED CONCERN
This petition also calls for investigation into concerns involving:
- Delays or refusals involving diagnostic imaging and referrals.
- Patients being unable to obtain appropriate evaluation of serious orthopedic injuries.
- Concerns that smoking or tobacco use may improperly influence medical decision-making.
- Lack of adequate communication with patients regarding why testing or treatment is delayed or denied.
- Patients being left without clear explanations regarding their condition or treatment options.
- Concerns that repeated injuries can become substantially worse when appropriate diagnostic evaluation or treatment is delayed.
We are not asking healthcare providers to ignore legitimate medical protocols or triage procedures.
We are asking for those protocols to be transparent, consistently applied, medically appropriate, and properly communicated to patients.
OUR DEMANDS
We call upon WVU Medicine to:
1. Conduct an independent review of complaints involving delayed or denied diagnostic testing and treatment.
2. Review the September 30, 2026 emergency-department incident described above, including the patient's arrival time, triage documentation, waiting time, patient complaints of pain, and the order in which patients were taken for evaluation.
3. Determine whether appropriate triage procedures were followed and provide the patient with a written explanation of the findings.
4. Investigate concerns that tobacco use may have improperly influenced decisions regarding diagnostic imaging or treatment.
5. Establish clearer procedures for patients seeking second opinions or outside referrals when they believe their concerns have not been adequately addressed.
6. Improve communication with patients when diagnostic testing, referrals, treatment, or emergency evaluation is delayed.
7. Ensure patients experiencing serious injuries and significant pain are appropriately assessed and monitored while waiting.
8. Provide patients with a meaningful grievance and appeal process when they believe their care has been inadequate.
9. Conduct an independent review when a patient alleges that delayed diagnosis or treatment may have contributed to worsening injury or disability.
10. Provide meaningful corrective action when an investigation determines that appropriate standards of care or patient-rights procedures were not followed.
WE ARE ASKING FOR ACCOUNTABILITY — NOT SPECIAL TREATMENT
Patients understand that emergency departments are busy.
Patients understand that triage exists.
Patients understand that not every person can be treated immediately.
But patients also deserve to be heard, evaluated appropriately, informed about their care, and treated with dignity.
A patient experiencing a dislocated joint should not have to wonder whether their pain matters.
A patient should not have to fight simply to have a medical concern investigated.
And a patient should not have to wait until an injury becomes worse before receiving the diagnostic attention that could potentially have identified the problem earlier.
We believe WVU Medicine must do better.
We therefore ask WVU Medicine leadership and appropriate state healthcare authorities to investigate these concerns, review the policies and practices involved, and take meaningful action to improve patient safety, accountability, communication, and access to appropriate care.
SIGNATURE
Name: _chelsie richards ____________________________________
City/County: ________________fairmont_________
Signature: ___________________________________
Date: ______________9-30-26______
OPTIONAL PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Have you or someone you love experienced a serious concern involving WVU Medicine?
What happened?
---
---
---
Date/location of incident:
---
Would you like this experience considered as part of this petition?
☐ Yes
☐ No
Petition Updates
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Petition created on September 30, 2026