West Virginia
Health Right
At West Virginia Health Right, the mission
is to provide quality medical, dental,
pharmaceutical, vision, behavioral health,
health education and mobile dental services
to low-income West Virginians. Although its
flagship location is in Charleston, last year
West Virginia Health Right provided services
to nearly 28,000 individuals in 34 south-
central West Virginia counties. West Virginia
Health Right also has a mobile dental clinic
that travels to Boone, Clay, Harrison, Logan,
McDowell and Roane counties.
West Virginia Health Right was founded in
1982 at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
Dr. Sami Ghareeb, president of the West
Virginia Academy of General Dentistry, and
Dr. David Walker, president of the Kanawha
Valley Dental Society, met with the director
of the Kanawha County Health Department
to discuss a safe space for AIDs patients to
receive dental care. It was in this meeting
that the idea of the dental clinic was born.
dental equipment to a small volunteer
health clinic in Africa so it could start a
small dental clinic for emergencies. He
and his team traveled to Kenya to set up
the clinic and train locals on performing
basic dental procedures. His practice also
raised money to purchase dental equip-
ment and set up a clinic in the remote
village of Beka’a Valley in Lebanon. In
2017, he and his wife went on a dental
mission trip to Peru through the AGD.
Ghareeb, a self-described lifelong stu-
dent, is also passionate about education.
As such, he serves as the continuing edu-
cation coordinator for the West Virginia
AGD, and he welcomes the opportunity
to mentor dental students in his practice.
“I have been fortunate to have many
mentors throughout my educational career,
including my Uncle Aftimos Ghareeb in
Beruit, my Uncle Mike Corey who wel-
comed me to West Virginia and my pro-
fessors at West Virginia State University
who encouraged me to apply for a schol-
arship at Emory and eventually dental
school at Meharry,” he says. “Likewise,
I consider it a great privilege to influence
the early career choices of students and
illustrate the ability to achieve success
here in West Virginia.”
He is appreciative of those who helped
him get his start, especially his wife, Kay,
who is the most influential person in his
life. “It is only because of her love and
support—along with her hardworking
attitude in raising our five children during
my training and while building my prac-
tice—that we have been able to achieve
success in our lives.”
Although Ghareeb has great pride in his
Lebanese heritage, West Virginia is home
for him. He is grateful to the people of the
Mountain State who welcomed him with
open arms and supported his practice.
“West Virginia has been good to my
family, and we are ever grateful,” he says.
“I hope that one day my grandchildren
will follow in my footsteps by serving
their fellow West Virginians in the field
of health care.”
In the beginning, the clinic was staffed by a
volunteer group of approximately 57 people.
Today, West Virginia Health Right has more
than 400 volunteers from both the medical
and dental fields as well as management
staff in Charleston. According to its website,
the dental clinic treated 5,000 patients last
year and its pharmacy fills an average of 250
prescriptions per day.
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