U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), announced a funding award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to Boone Memorial Hospital, Inc. to support its procurement and installation of state-of-the-art robotic surgery equipment.

This award, which was secured through a Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) request made by Senator Capito in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), will be used to procure and install state-of-the-art robotic surgery equipment, like the da Vinci Xi Single System, to improve patient care and keep care local. 

“I was proud to advocate for- and help secure this funding that will bring the best possible surgical tools to Boone Memorial Hospital,” Ranking Member Capito said. “Acquiring advanced equipment for our rural hospitals can lead to greater ability to deliver the highest quality care to rural residents. This will also help make sure patients can get the treatments and surgeries they need, recover faster, and return to living their lives on their own terms.”

Additional award details listed below:

$2,202,000 HHS CDS award to Boone Memorial Hospital (BMH), Inc. (Madison, W.Va.) to improve healthcare access for rural Americans living in southwestern West Virginia by providing advanced surgical procedures currently only available in urban settings. BMH serves a rural area of approximately 73,347 residents primarily in Boone, Logan, Lincoln, and southern Kanawha counties. In 2022 alone, BMH performed over 4,000 surgical procedures on approximately 2,219 rural patients. The purchase and installation of the da Vinci Xi Single System could double the amount of surgical procedures performed, allowing rural patients to be seen closer to home for more complex procedures and provide a quicker recovery time so patients can get back to work sooner. Utilizing a Da Vinci robot to perform surgical procedures results in less pain, quicker recovery, shorter hospital stays and a decreased chance of infection. This project will also have a direct impact on job creation. Boone Memorial Hospital estimates that this project will create 25 direct jobs in Madison, W.Va. for surgery and Operating Room (OR) technicians, advanced practice providers, and Registered Nurses (RNs).