for Healthcare Security and Safety, he discussed the growing safety threats against healthcare personnel, including workplace violence and online harassment. He highlighted the importance of safety training for all members of the healthcare team and that safety culture must cover at home, on campus, and online.
Dr. Stephen Lloyd, director of the Office of Drug Control Policy for the West Virginia Department of Human Services, focused on whole-person recovery in the state’ s addiction crisis. He emphasized that addiction care must be person-centered, not program centered, and that recovery improves dramatically when behavioral, medical, and social support align. He reminded us that recovery happens in community and cannot happen in isolation.
A stellar panel of WV medical school deans as well as hospital and health system chief executive officers( CEO) joined together to discuss education and workforce challenges in the Mountain State. Deans on the panel were David Gozal, MD, vice president of health affairs for the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine; Clay Marsh, MD, chancellor and executive dean for health sciences at West Virginia University( WVU); and Gail Swarm, DO, FAAFP, interim senior associate dean of academic affairs for West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. CEOs on the panel were Michelle Deeds, CEO of Pocahontas Memorial Hospital; David Ramsey, president and CEO of Vandalia Health Network; Scott Raynes, CEO of Marshall Health Network; and Albert Wright, president and CEO of the WVU Health System.
Economic landscape and public policy insights were again shared at the summit by state legislators, elected officials, and others. Chris Stirewalt, politics editor for NewsNation, shared communic ation ex per tise f rom his work, encouraging leaders to avoid reacting emotionally to fast-moving political narratives. WV State Treasurer Larry Pack focused on economic opportunities in healthcare, sharing perspective for ongoing growth, diversification, and advancing technology to move the state forward. The Health Care Leadership Summit closed with robust panels of WV lawmakers, many from clinical healthcare backgrounds. They shared their outlooks for upcoming policy discussions and debates in the legislature.
Building networks and relationships is a critical part of leadership only sometimes captured in formal sessions. By design, the summit embeds networking and exhibitor engagements for physicians and healthcare team members in and around WV.
20 • www. wvsma. org