West Virginia University fires health adviser

West Virginia University has fired a consulting firm that had cited severe medical and financial problems confronting the university's $1 billion healthcare enterprise. Fred R. Butcher, interim vice president of WVU's Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, said an interim report by R&V Associates contained "many errors of fact and understanding." The report on the university cited "alarming deficiencies" in cardiovascular surgery; "serious leadership and productivity issues" in the anesthesia department, which will post an estimated loss of $12 million to $14 million this fiscal year; and an "alarming lack of surgeons."