Department of
Pediatrics

Neonatology

The WVU Section of Neonatology is dedicated to providing excellent care of sick newborns and their families, teaching the next generation of medical providers, and furthering clinical research in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Clinical Care
The WVU NICU is a 50-bed, level IV unit located within WVU Medicine Children’s in Morgantown, WV. Our physician team is made up of six neonatologists and three Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine fellows. We partner closely with a large group of neonatal advanced practice providers. Specialized NICU nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, dietitians, therapists, and child life specialists complete our care team. Together, we care for over 600 critically ill newborns per year with problems ranging from extreme prematurity to congenital heart disease to serious neonatal infections. Two-thirds of our patients are born at WVU Medicine, in the adjoining Obstetrics suite. The Neonatology section collaborates with local Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialists in attending high-risk deliveries. For those patients born in the surrounding area (West Virginia, western Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio), our pediatric transport team can provide a prompt, safe transfer to the NICU setting. We offer focused care teams for extremely preterm infants and infants with established chronic lung disease of prematurity (also called bronchopulmonary dysplasia or BPD). NICU graduates are followed through our clinic for developmental, growth, or breathing concerns in the first years of life.

Education
The WVU Section of Neonatology strongly supports the education of fellows, residents, and medical students. We offer an ACGME-accredited 3-year fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, and we train 1 fellow per year. We also teach the fundamentals of newborn care and recognition of illness to WVU Pediatrics and combined Internal Medicine & Pediatrics residents. Medical students with a special interest in NICU can choose to rotate with our team as senior students. We also offer outreach education for referring hospital teams regarding newborn resuscitation and stabilization.

Research
Our partnership with the Clinical Trials Research Unit (CTRU) allows the section to conduct high-quality clinical research through two national research collaboratives, the Pediatric Trial Network  and the IDeA State Pediatric Clinical Trial Network , which focuses on bringing NIH-sponsored clinical studies to rural populations. We also engage in industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated projects.

Section Members 

A photo of Autumn Kiefer.
Autumn Kiefer, MD
Position
Associate Professor, Medical Director- WVU Children's NICU, Chief-Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-293-1201
A photo of Mark "Cody" Smith.
Mark "Cody" Smith, MD
Position
Associate Program Director, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-293-1201
A photo of Mahmoud Ali.
Mahmoud Ali, MD
Position
Assistant Professor, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-293-1201
A photo of Kelsey Haarbauer.
Kelsey Haarbauer, MD
Position
Assistant Professor, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-293-1201
A photo of Kinsey Roth.
Kinsey Roth, MD
Position
Assistant Professor, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-293-1201
A photo of Lindsey Blobner.
Lindsey Blobner, PA-C, PA
Position
Physician Assistant, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-4140
A photo of Lauren Blunt.
Lauren Blunt, PA-C
Position
PA-C, Physician Assistant, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Alexandra Coen.
Alexandra Coen, MPAS
Position
MPAS, Physician Assistant, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Sydney Weaver.
Sydney Weaver, MPAS, PA
Position
MPAS, Physician Assistant, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Cathy Andria.
Cathy Andria, NNP, APRN-BC, MSN
Position
APRN, NNP, Nurse Practitioner, Division of Pediatric Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Natalia Arboleda.
Natalia Arboleda, APRN, PNP-BC
Position
APRN, PNP-BC, Advance Practice Registered Nurse, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Sydney Benson.
Sydney Benson, CPNP, MSN
Position
Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Tiffany Blosser.
Tiffany R. Blosser, NNP, APRN-BC, RN, MSN
Position
Nurse Practitioner, Division of Pediatric Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Misty Carunchia.
Misty Carunchia, NNP, APRN-BC, MSN
Position
NNP, APRN, Advanced Practice Professional, Division of Pediatric Neonatal and Newborn Medicine, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Mary Chafin.
Mary Chafin, NNP, APRN-BC, IBCLC, MSN
Position
APRN, NNP, Advanced Practice Professional, Division of Pediatric Neonatal & Newborn Medicine, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Tammi Clutter.
Tammi Clutter, APRN, RN
Position
Advanced Practice Professional, Division of Pediatric Neonatal & Newborn Medicine, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Meghan Cooper.
Meghan Cooper, NNP-BC
Position
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Sharon Griffith.
Sharon Griffith, NNP, APRN-BC, RN
Position
Clinical Instructor/Nurse Practitioner, Division of Neonatal and Newborn Medicine, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Kathleen Kinney.
Kathleen Kinney, NNP, APRN-BC, RN
Position
Nurse Practitioner, Division of Pediatric Neonatal and Newborn Nursery, Pediatrics
Phone
304-293-1201
A photo of Kayla Knotts.
Kayla Knotts, NNP
Position
NNP, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-293-1201
A photo of Cierra Kochy.
Cierra Kochy, NNP, APRN-BC, RN
Position
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Debra Lauffer.
Debra Lauffer, NNP, APRN-BC, MSN
Position
APRN, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Division of Pediatric Neonatal & Newborn Medicine, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Erica Marsh.
Erica Marsh, MS
Position
Advanced Practice Professional, Division of Pediatric Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Samantha Mason.
Samantha Mason, NNP-BC, NNP, RN
Position
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Russell Mathews.
Russell E. Mathews, NNP-BC, PPCNP-BC
Position
Clinical Instructor, Division of Pediatric Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Jamie Muccioli.
Jamie Muccioli, MPAS
Position
Advance Practice Provider, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-293-1201
A photo of Nicki Ringler-Goodwin.
Nicki L Ringler-Goodwin, NNP, APRN-BC, MSN
Position
Nurse Practitioner, Division of Pediatric Neonatal & Newborn Medicine, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Trisha Spell.
Trisha Spell, BSN
Position
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Division of Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111
A photo of Dana Walters.
Dana Walters, NNP, MSN
Position
APP, Nurse Practitioner, Division of Pediatric Neonatology, Pediatrics
Phone
304-598-1111

Neonatal Fellows