An advisory issued by the West Virginia Ethics Commission could explain why Kanawha County could lose thousands of dollars in federal health funding.
This region is entitled to $66,000 to improve public health infrastructure, according to Executive Director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department Dr. Rahul Gupta.
But with looming deadlines, the director said it's unclear whether the board will receive those funds.
In 2010, West Virginia received $1.8 million in federal grants to improve local health services. A committee consisting of local health officials formed to decide how to split the money under the guise of a private non-profit.
But soon after, Gupta noticed something fishy: he said he realized employees could potentially allocate funds to their own local health departments, and therefore, to their own employers.
The state ethics commission agreed with Gupta.
In an advisory memo issued on August 2, the commission stated that only the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health can dictate where the money goes and why--not local departments.
Gupta said he withdrew the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department from the proceedings when he realized the committee's actions might be unethical. In an interview with WOWK, Gupta stated that he thinks the local health departments acted in good faith for their own constituents.
But now the board wonders whether it will ever receiving the federal funding it deserves. Several local health departments have already spent the federal cash it illegally obtained.
The money already allocated to health departments probably won't be rescinded, said Executive Director of the West Virginia Ethics Commission Theresa Kirk, in a phone interview.
"The folks are worried, the board is worried," Gupta said. "We have not received our funding as of today."
Gupta said he had not heard whether this region will receive its due funding, which could help improve family planning services, vaccinations, and tuberculosis testing. The rules of the grant indicate that if the money is unspent by September 30, the dollars must be returned to the federal government.
"We are waiting on the grant money, and if we can spend it in a timely manner we will," Gupta said. "But there will be a point of no return."
Even if the board does receive the money before the deadline (i.e. a few days before September 30) officials will grapple with allocating the funds ethically and appropriately before the deadline.
Some people said the loss of these funds could hurt those without health insurance.
Chalane White brings her 26-year-old son to the clinic on Lee Street in Charleston.
Her son lacks health insurance, so he goes to the clinic for everything from check-ups to birth control.
"I know he doesn't want any kids yet until he graduates college and gets a job and can afford them," said White, who also brings her grandchildren to the same clinic to get immunization shots.
And White added the extra funding could make all the difference in patients' lives.
"It means a lot," she said. "Without funding, they might not get the care they need."
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