advocacy and act as a mentor. In the association’s history of 153
presidents, she is only the fourth female. While she sees this
as an opportunity to inspire all health care professionals, she
is especially interested in having an impact on other women.
“Women need the strong support of other women,” she says.
“It is difficult trying to balance a family with a career, and I
want to show other women that if I can do it, they can do it too.”
A Focus on Progress
During her one-year term as president of the WVSMA,
Young hopes to leave her mark by having a lasting positive
impact on the health of West Virginians.
“This year, we will work toward making it easier for patients
to get the care they need and teaching them how to navigate
insurance while helping doctors have successful practices in
rural communities where there is a shortage of physicians and
nurses,” she says. “We want to make the whole process of
health care easier for everyone.”
She also has lofty goals for the KCHD, which are inspired
by the health challenges facing the Mountain State as a whole.
Today, the greatest health risk facing West Virginians remains
addiction, which impacts all residents, strains the health care
and foster care systems and leads to first responder fatigue.
She believes, though, that the tide is turning.
“Last year in West Virginia, we saw overdose deaths come
down slightly, which is a step in the right direction,” she says.
“That is because we have things like naloxone distribution,
which is a key in reducing overdoses and getting people into
recovery. Lowering the overdose rate is a slow process, but the
problem wasn’t created in a couple of months or even a couple
of years. We have to be patient in trying to get the numbers
back to where they need to be.”
Along with the challenge of lowering the overdose rate is that
of addressing addiction itself and the stigma that accompanies
it. According to Young, the labels addicts obtain due to their
illness can impede their efforts to recover.
“Addiction breaks relationships and makes it impossible to
work, so there are many consequences the addicts are dealing
with,” she says. “While we get people into recovery, we also
have to help them repair their lives from those consequences—
help them reconnect with their families and find employment.”
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
With the spike in HIV cases among IV drug users, the health
department is also working on a plan to slow the spread of
the disease.
“We are testing people faster for HIV by bringing them into
care, and we are making sure they are staying in care and getting
the follow-ups they need, which is essential for HIV patients,”
she says. “Our HIV Task Force is a big piece of the effort, but
we are also focusing on prevention and getting people into
recovery. These are things that are bigger than what the health
department can do alone. We need everyone at the table to help.”
Another major area of concern is the vaping epidemic that
is causing serious health issues and even death among users
all over the country.
“Vaping is a big issue,” she says. “According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, we now have more than
2,000 vaping-related illnesses, and we have seen eight of those
in West Virginia. These are cases of young, healthy, vibrant
people becoming extremely ill, and we have seen 42 deaths
from it. That makes it a public health crisis.”
Solutions like public vaping ordinances have been discussed,
but Young believes something has to be done about the easily
accessible vaping products that attract children. She is hopeful
the newly developed teen health board will assist in educating
young people about the dangers.
“Teens are very susceptible,” she says. “The young brain is
so much more likely to hold onto that nicotine and create an
addiction that could last a lifetime. We have parents and grand-
parents now who are saying their kids can’t quit vaping, which
means we now need to look at cessation options.”
A Calling to Serve
The house explosion showed Young just how short life is, and
she feels fortunate to still be here, living in the Mountain State,
working for its people and contributing to positive change.
Determined to use what she feels is a second chance at life to
have a lasting impact on others in need, she designated August
2019-August 2020 as the year of giving back.
“I don’t know how long I have on this earth, so I want to take
every opportunity to pay it forward,” she says. “I’ve challenged
all of the doctors at the state medical association to find ways—
even the smallest ways—in which they can give back this year.
It can be an email to an old friend or listening to a coworker’s
problem or looking at what their communities need.”