School of Medicine Alumni Association receives $100,000 gift from 1953 alumnus

The School of Medicine Alumni Association has received a $100,000 gift from John Joseph Battaglino, M.D. Dr. Battaglino’s generosity to the WVU School of Medicine Alumni Association will help provide a strong financial foundation to continue supporting students, alumni and faculty for many years to come.

Dr. Battaglino, a West Virginia native and member of the WVU School of Medicine class of 1953, practiced Obstetrics and Gynecology in Wheeling, West Virginia from 1962 until his retirement in 2008. He passed away December 16, 2020, at his residence in Wheeling.

Following his two years of medical school training at WVU, Dr. Battaglino received his M.D., degree from the Medical College of Virginia in 1955. He served his internship at the University of Massachusetts, his Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and attended graduate school in Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Battaglino was one of the founders of Good Shepard Nursing Home and Welty Apartments in Wheeling and served as medical director since its establishment in 1970. After his retirement, Dr. Battaglino continued to serve Good Shepard Nursing Home as medical director. He also served as staff physician for the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at the Wellness Center at Wheeling Hospital.

“He was a life member of the School of Medicine Alumni Association, attended events and reunions and was a best friend to his classmates, and especially to the Association staff,” said Lynda B. Nine, executive director of Alumni Affairs for WVU Health Sciences and director of Alumni Affairs for the WVU School of Medicine.

“Organized in 1952, the WVU School of Medicine Alumni Association is a Mountaineer Family where graduates support each other, current students and the School of Medicine,” said Nine.