HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine received initial accreditation to establish a new neonatal-perinatal fellowship program in its department of pediatrics.

Approval for the neonatal-perinatal fellowship was issued by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the national accrediting body for post-M.D. training programs in the U.S. Neonatal-perinatal care provides intensive care for premature babies or critically ill newborns.

The Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine has five fellowship-trained neonatologists on its clinical faculty who care for patients at Hoops Family Children’s Hospital at Cabell Huntington Hospital. The three-year fellowship program will be led by assistant professor Cynthia Massey, M.D., a neonatologist who joined Marshall’s faculty in 2017.

“I am very excited to achieve accreditation of yet another fellowship,” said Paulette S. Wehner, M.D., vice dean of graduate medical education. “The neonatal-perinatal fellowship will allow us to attract stellar pediatric residents who wish to further their training, and adds yet another layer of excellence to this area of care at the Hoops Family Children’s Hospital at Cabell Huntington Hospital. Congratulations to Dr. Massey, who will lead the training of the next generation of neonatologists.”

The neonatal-perinatal fellowship is approved for one new fellow each year, with the first fellow beginning in July 2022.

“This fellowship continues the children’s hospital’s NICU’s long history of excellence in patient care, research and education,” said Susan L. Flesher, M.D., associate professor and interim chair of pediatrics. “Babies cared for in our regional perinatal-neonatal care unit often receive care for being born early or with a lower birth weight, typically related to multiple gestation or maternal conditions. We have a busy service with between 600 and 700 admissions annually; including 80 transports from 29 counties in our surrounding Tri-State communities. This provides a perfect setting in which to train future neonatologists.”

The department of pediatrics also added a pediatric hospital medicine fellowship in 2020. With approval of the new fellowship, the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine now offers 10 accredited residency and 14 fellowship programs.

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Media Contact: Sheanna M. Spence, Director of External Affairs, School of Medicine, 304-691-1639

Date Posted: Friday, April 30, 2021