Expanding Cardiac Care in West Virginia

Gov. Joe Manchin got a lot of press over the weekend for his much-anticipated ruling on state heart care regulations.

As The Associated Press explains, the governor concluded that "medium-sized West Virginia hospitals may perform emergency procedures to clear clogged heart arteries without onsite surgical backup. But he also rejected as ambiguous a proposed rule that "says hospitals could not do elective angioplasty if they are 'within one-hour medical transport drive time' from another facility that has a heart surgery unit.

Both the Weirton Daily Times and The Intelligencer of Wheeling localized the AP story to include the decision's impact on area hospitals.

Others applying the governor's statement to local health care options include The Parkersburg News, The Register-Herald of Beckley and The Times-West Virginian of Fairmont.

Those offering more general coverage include The Charleston Gazette, MetroNews, the Charleston Daily Mail, W.Va. Media and Public Broadcasting (with audio).