By Stephen Smoot
For a department of State government that did not exist a few years ago in an independent form, the West Virginia Department of Health touted a number of strong accomplishments in its 2025 update.
Created by HB 2006 in the 2023 session of the West Virginia State Legislature, the Department of Health is currently led by Cabinet Secretary Arvin Singh. It came into existence as one of three Cabinet level agencies formed from the former West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
Under its purview are the Bureau for Public Health, Office of Emergency Medical Services, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Center for Threat Preparedness, the Health Care Authority, Office of Inspector General, and the State Office of Rural Health. It also administers boards and commissions for developmental disabilities, rare diseases, the deaf and hard of hearing, and that relating to early intervention.
Said Singh in a release, “2025 was a prosperous year defined by growth, purpose, and resilience,” shared Secretary of Health Dr. Arvin Singh. “We set ambitious goals for our department, and that drive has translated into meaningful differences for all West Virginians.”
One primary achievement touted by Singh lay in the field of EMS. One of the shortfalls seen in that field lay in the low pass rates of EMS examinations, which reduced the potential pool of new personnel eligible for already, in most cases, understaffed squads.
The Department of Health worked with partners to create “stricter guidelines for classroom instruction,” as stated in a release. It went on to add that “These guidelines give OEMS increased oversight of educational institutions offering EMS courses, leading them to establish prerequisite requirements to the traditional coursework and dictate that students must maintain a C, or 70 percent, average to continue the program.”
EMT pass rates approximately doubled from the 40 to 50 percent range into the 80s. Paramedic pass rates rose from the 60s to over 95 percent to a mark five percent better than the national average.
As a result, OEMS Director Joseph Ratliff could point to West Virginia achieving an unprecedented milestone. He explained that “this is the first time that we have met or surpassed the national standards for pass rates,” Singh added that “We want to produce the best and brightest here in West Virginia, and this is proof that we are doing just that. We aren’t going to stop here; we are going to continue this push for excellence from our instructors, our students, and our emergency medical professionals already out in the field so that we can provide the highest level of care to West Virginians in need.”
Although the second half of 2025 brought drought conditions to much of West Virginia, the first several months brought floods. As the update indicates, “DH’s Center for Threat Preparedness (CTP) was on the front lines to help deliver essential supplies as Governor Patrick Morrisey and his administration responded to two devastating flood events in 2025. CTP provided critically needed vaccinations to multiple counties across those two incidents, directly impacting families and individuals in need.”
The update also highlighted the successful DNA identification of 64 “decedents” previously unidentified. Also important to law enforcement and criminal cases, the time required to process DNA was slashed from a maximum of 988 days to 111.
For 2026, an added priority for the agency will lie in implementing the Rural Health Transformation Program. Federal funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will go towards implementing needs outlined and approved to assist aspects of rural health care improvement in West Virginia.
