The Cardinal's Nest

Improve Quality & Access – Not Insurance Coverage Rising health care costs, lack of access, and a pandemic have helped to solidify a belief that health care is, or should be, a right. But this monumental shift from seeing health care as a right rather than a good has failed… Read More

Private & Homeschool Families Ask About Sports My role as the Education Outreach Coordinator has taken me to many events to promote the Hope Scholarship. I have spoken with families, parents, and children about the program as well as other education related policy issues. During my first event,… Read More

Over the last 18+ months, we’ve all watched a vast number of changes unfold as it relates to education. Some of these have been troubling, like the widespread turn to remote or virtual schooling as a means of mitigating the spread of COVID. Others have been more hopeful, like the… Read More

The Cardinal Institute is about to embark on a multi-town, multi-month barnstorm across West Virginia to discuss healthcare reform. The reasons for the subject matter are obvious, and legion, as the statistics around West Virginia’s healthcare system are sobering. Yet, the options for reform are far… Read More

The death of actor Michael K. Williams has brought discussion of the opioid crisis and overdose deaths back to the forefront of many people’s minds. The opioid crisis often fades into the background until a celebrity dies or overdoses. But, I think it’s fair to say that in West… Read More

Health & Health Care in West Virginia In 2018, West Virginia ranked highest in the nation for poor physical health, poor mental health, obesity, and heart attacks. Additionally, 10% of our adult residents are likely to be diagnosed with diabetes (the second-highest rate nationwide). 33% of resid… Read More

As lawmakers and health professionals’ assess how to handle the Delta variant, it is imperative that they forgo more lockdowns. From the onset of the pandemic, the lockdowns have been to help flatten the curve. However, data and lessons from 2020 demonstrate that the lockdowns’ negative impact outwe… Read More

In Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises, in one conversation an interlocuter questions another on how he went bankrupt, resulting in the now well-known response: “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” The witty reply is one that can be applied to many situations: falling asleep, financial cri… Read More

Summer sucked.   The weather wasn’t great, but it’s not the traditional summer complaints of heat and sunburn that I’m referring to. My summer sucked because my fiancé was confined to a mere 8×10 foot room for over 350 hours this summer.   Two simple words can explain this desolate… Read More

The Opioid Crisis in West Virginia By now everyone has heard the horrible news on the opioid crisis. Thousands of Mountaineers are addicted, billions of dollars have been wasted, and deaths are stacking up every day. What you may not have heard of is the treatment policies that are… Read More