Contact
Positions
Director
- Organization:
- West Virginia University Health Sciences Center
- Department:
- Center for Health Ethics & Law
- Classification:
- Clinical Faculty
Professor of Nephrology
Professor of Medicine
- Organization:
- West Virginia University School of Medicine
- Department:
- Medicine
- Classification:
- Faculty
Education
- MD, University of Pennsylvania
Publications
1. Russell JS, Lupu D, Seliger S, Moss AH. Providing supportive care to patients with kidney disease. Nephrol News Issues 2016;30(5):28, 30, 32. PMID:27382864
2. Scherer JS, Moss AH. Practice change is needed for dialysis decision making for older adults with advanced kidney disease. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2016; 11(10):1732-1734. . PMID: 27660307
3. Davison SN, Moss AH. Kidney Supportive Care: Meeting the needs of patients with advanced chronic kidney disease. CJASN 2016;11(10):1879-1880.
4. Moss AH. Integrating Supportive Care Principles into Dialysis Decision-Making: A Primer for Palliative Medicine Providers. J Pain Symptom Manage 2017;53:656-662. PMID: 28065700
5. Brennan F, Stewart C, Burgess H, Davison SN, Moss AH, Murtagh FE, Germain M, Tranter S, Brown M. Time to Improve Informed Consent for Dialysis: An International Perspective. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2017 Apr 4. pii: CJN.09740916. doi: 10.2215/CJN.09740916. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 28377472
6. O'Hare AM, Song MK, Kurella Tamura M, Moss AH. Research Priorities for Palliative Care for Older Adults with Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease. J Palliat Med. 2017 May;20(5):453-460. PMID: 28463635
7. Hadique S, Culp S, Sangani RG, Chapman KD, Khan S, Parker JE, Moss AH. Derivation and validation of a prognostic model to predict 6-month mortality in an intensive care unit population. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2017;14(10):1556-1561. PMID: 28598196
8. Moss AH, Zive DM, Falkenstine EC, Dunithan C. The Quality of POLST Completion to Guide Treatment: A 2-State Study. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2017 Jun 28. pii: S1525-8610(17)30294-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2017.05.015. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 28668665
9. Pedraza SL, Culp S, Knestrick M, Falkenstine E, Moss AH. Association of Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment Form Use with End-of-Life Care Quality Metrics in Patients with Cancer. J Oncol Pract. 2017 Oct;13(10):e881-e888. PMID: 28727486
10. Constantine L, Dichiacchio T, Falkenstine EC, Moss AH. Impact of NPs on POLST Completion: Findings from a State Registry. JAANP 2018;30(1):10-16
11. Mayora VFS, Fukushima FB, Rodrigues AM, Carvalho RP, Carvalho LP, Pinheiro LAFV, Polegato BF, Minicucci MF, Bassett R, Moss AH, Steinberg KE, Vidal EIO. Cross –Cultural Adaptation of the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment Form to Brazil. J Palliat Med. 2018 Epub ahead of print. PMID: 29431571
Awards
AWARDS AND HONORS:
2017 Department of Medicine Outstanding Service Award, West Virginia University School of Medicine
2016 Community Services Award from the Community Living Initiatives Corporation, Morgantown, WV
Certificate of Appreciation for Loyal and Dedicated Service to the Citizens of West Virginia, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, 2015
Medal of Excellence Award, American Association of Kidney Patients, 2015
West Virginia University Benedum Distinguished Scholar Award, 2011
Renal Physicians Association Distinguished Service Award, 2011
West Virginia University School of Medicine Department of Medicine Community Service Award 2009
West Virginia University Hospitals Star Performer Award October 2008
Ethel and Gerry Heebink Award for Distinguished Service to the State of West Virginia granted by West Virginia University-2008
Recognition and Appreciation from the West Virginia Members of the Association of Professional Chaplains-May 2007
American College of Physicians-West Virginia Chapter- Laureate Award-2005
Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition 2005
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Certificate in Recognition of Outstanding Performance and Service 2005
West Virginia Hospital Association 2004 Excellence in Leadership Award
Guest Editor. West Virginia Medical Journal issue on End-of-Life Care including Pain Management. Volume 98, no. 3, May/June 2002.
Friend of Nursing Award. Fifth District Annual Nursing Award of the West Virginia Nurses Association, 2002
West Virginia Health Care Association Presidential Citation, 2001
Excellence in Quality Leadership Award, West Virginia University Hospitals, 2000
Distinguished West Virginian awarded by Governor Cecil Underwood, 2000
West Virginia Hospice Council Advocate of the Year, 2000
National Leadership Training Program for Physicians in Clinical Medical Ethics, Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, 1989-90
"Outstanding Faculty Award", Department of Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, 1984.
"Outstanding Teacher Award", Internal Medicine Residency Program, Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, 1981-1983.
President, Class of 1975, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Harvard College, BA, magna cum laude
Additional Info
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:
Fellow, American College of Physicians
Fellow, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Member, American Society of Nephrology
Member, National Kidney Foundation
Member, West Virginia Medical Association
Member, American Society for Bioethics and Humanities
Member, Renal Physicians Association
About Alvin Moss
Personal interests: Legislative advocacy for patients’ rights to self-determination; Scripture reading; Prayer
Alvin H. Moss, M.D., FACP, FAAHPM is the Director of the West Virginia University Center (WVU) for Health Ethics and Law at the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center in Morgantown, West Virginia. In the School of Medicine at WVU, he holds an appointment as a Professor of Internal Medicine in the Sections of Nephrology and Geriatrics, Palliative Medicine and Hospice.
Dr. Moss earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He earned his Doctorate of Medicine (M.D.) degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a certification in medical ethics from the University of Chicago MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. Dr. Moss trained in Internal Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine/North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and completed a fellowship in Nephrology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, Colorado.
Dr. Moss is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Nephrology, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Since completing his training, Dr. Moss has maintained a continuous clinical practice in Nephrology and more recently hospice and palliative medicine.
Dr. Moss has devoted his academic career to improving the quality of health care through program development, investigative research, teaching, and direct clinical care. His particular emphases have been on dialysis ethics, advance care planning, ethics consultation, and improving end-of-life care. With Nancy Armistead, MPA, he founded the Coalition for Supportive Care of Kidney Patients which he presently chairs. He founded the West Virginia Network of Ethics Committees which he directed for 30 years and the West Virginia Center for End-of-Life Care which he directed for 14 years. He founded and was chair of the West Virginia University Hospital Ethics Committee for 32 years.
He chaired the American Society of Nephrology and Renal Physicians Association workgroup that wrote and then revised the clinical practice guideline, Shared Decision-Making in the Appropriate Initiation of and Withdrawal from Dialysis, which was published in its second edition in 2010. He chaired the End-Stage Renal Disease Peer Workgroup funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that developed the Completing the Continuum of Nephrology Care: Recommendations to the Field report on kidney palliative care. In 2011 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Renal Physicians Association and in 2015 the Medal of Excellence Award from the American Association of Kidney Patients. He is co-principal investigator for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant to improve supportive care for patients with kidney disease.
In 2008 he was awarded the Ethel and Gerry Heebink Award for Distinguished Service to the State of West Virginia granted by West Virginia University. In 2011 he was awarded the West Virginia University Benedum Distinguished Scholar Award. He has published over 150 articles and 20 book chapters in the peer-reviewed literature.
Dr. Moss is married, and he and his wife Marlene have six children and 16 grandchildren.
Grants and Research
GRANTS AND RESEARCH:
Grants Received
1. Biomedical Research Grant 6680, Principal Investigator, Comparison of plasma metabolites in hemodialysis and CAPD patients, West Virginia University School of Medicine, $4000, 1984.
2. Limulus amebocyte lysate reactivity and complement C3a activation of cuprophan and cellulose acetate hemodialysis membranes. Partial funding from Travenol Laboratories, $5000, 1986-1987.
3. Study of iopamidol nephrotoxicity. Funding from Squibb Medical Research Institute, $12,000, 1985-1986.
4. National Leadership Training Program for Physicians in Clinical Medical Ethics. Funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation through the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, $97,000, 1989-1993.
5. Home Ventilator Care in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients: Assessment of Outcomes and Patient, Family and Physician Attitudes, University of Chicago Home Health Care Research Program, $20,703, 1989-1990.
6. West Virginia University Health Science Center Strategic Planning Grant, Intensive Workshop for Faculty on Health Ethics, principal investigator, $1,000, 1991-1992.
7. Dialysis Decisions and the Elderly. National Kidney Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, principal investigator, $10,515.76, 1995-1996. Co-investigators Laurie A. Badzek, RN, JD, and Stephen C. Hines, PhD
8. John Templeton Faith and Medicine Competitive Grant Award Program, principal investigator, $25,000 May 15, 1996-1999. Co-investigators Mary Ann Antonelli, MD, Richard Iammarino, MD, Charles Spring, ThD, Vaughn Michael DMin
9. Patient-Centered, Family-Based Advance Care Planning, The Greenwall Foundation, principal investigator, $68,753, January 1, 1997. Co-investigators Austin Babrow, PhD, Laurie A. Badzek, RN, JD, Jacqueline J. Glover, PhD, Stephen C. Hines, PhD, and Jean L. Holley, MD
10. Advanced Health Planning in Home Care: An Intervention to Increase Nurses’ Skills and Preparedness to Discuss End-of-LifeCare with Patients and Families, The Joseph S. and Emily Kornfeld Foundation, $177,181 three-year grant beginning January 1, 1997. Principal investigators Laurie A. Badzek, RN, JD and Jacqueline J. Glover, PhD. Co-investigator Nan Leslie, PhD, RNC. Alvin H. Moss, MD, general study consultant.
11. Community State Partnerships to Improve End-of-Life Care: The West Virginia Initiative to Improve End-of-Life Care, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, principal investigator, $75,000, January 1, 1999-December 31, 1999.
12. Community Values for Care at the End-of-Life, The West Virginia Humanities Council, principal investigator, $7,000, January 1, 1999-December 31, 1999
13. Palliative Care Delivery Systems and Training for Rural Providers in End-of-Life Care, The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, principal investigator, $375,000, March 1999-February 2002.
14. Statewide Media Campaign to Educate West Virginians About End-of-Life Care, The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, principal investigator, $85,000, November 1999-October 2001.
15. Community-State Partnerships to Improve End-of-Life Care: The West Virginia Initiative to Improve End-of-Life Care, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, principal investigator, $375,000, January 1, 2000-December 31, 2001.
16. Targeted End-of-Life Projects Initiative: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Statewide Media Campaign to Improve End-of-Life Care, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, principal investigator, $72,250, January 1, 2000-December 21, 2000.
17. Educating West Virginians about End-of-Life Care Through Community Engagement, West Virginia Humanities Council, principal investigator, $20,000, January 1, 2000-December 31, 2000.
18. West Virginia Palliative Care Network. Center to Advance Palliative Care in Hospitals and Health Systems of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, principal investigator, $50,000, February 2001-January 2003.
19. Identification of Patients Appropriate for Palliative Care Consultation. West Virginia University Hospitals Enhancing Patient Care Grant Program, principal investigator, $7,000, April 2001-March 2002.
20. Assessing the Quality of Life of ESRD Patients. University of Montana Promoting Excellence in End-of-Life Care Program, principal investigator, $10,000, August 2001-January 2002.
21. CME Video Project: End-of-Life Care and Pain Management. Purdue Pharma, principal investigator, $20,000, October 2001.
22. West Virginia Center for End-of-Life Care. State of West Virginia. Center Director. $200,000. July 2002-June 2003.
23. Improving End-of-Life Care in West Virginia. Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. $150,000. January-December 2003.
24. West Virginia Center for End-of-Life Care. State of West Virginia. Center Director. $200,000. July 2003-June 2004.
25. CME Video Project: End-of-Life Care including Pain Management: Beyond the Basics, Purdue Pharma, principal investigator, $5,000, August 2003
26. CME Video Project: End-of-Life Care including Pain Management: Beyond the Basics, Merck, principal investigator, $8,000, August 2003
27. A Multifaceted Approach to Improving End-of-Life Care in West Virginia. Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. $191,000. January-December 2004.
28. Ensuring the Sustainability of Palliative Care in West Virginia. Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. $500,000. September 2005-December 2009.
29. Converting Treatment Wishes into Medical Orders at End of Life. National Institute of Nursing Research. 1 R01 NR009784‑01A2. $300,000. September 2005-August 2008. Principal site investigator for multi-site grant and co-investigator on grant.
30. The West Virginia Advance Care Planning Document Electronic Registry. Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. $100,000. January 1-December 31, 2010.
Patient Care Information
Medical Specialties
- Cancer / Oncology
- Nephrology/Kidney Disease
- Palliative Care
Board Certifications
- Hospice and Palliative Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine
- Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine
- Nephrology, American Board of Internal Medicine
Special Training
-
Residency, Internal Medicine
North Carolina Memorial Hospital -
Fellowship, Renal Fellowship
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center -
Other Speciality Training, Intensive Bioethics Course
Kennedy Institute of Ethics