CEO and Physician,
Williamson Health and Wellness Center, Inc.
By Jean Hardiman
As a student at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM), C. Donovan “Dino” Beckett’s struggle with choosing a specialty led him to a path that has had an immeasurable impact on the small Southern West Virginia community of Williamson.
“I loved all of my rotations and couldn’t narrow them down to just one I wanted to do,” he says. “Ultimately, I chose family medicine because it gave me tremendous flexibility in treating patients as well as the ability to combine all of the rotations I loved.”
Beckett opened his private practice in family medicine in Williamson in 2003. He considers himself an old-school physician because he continues to see patients in his office as well as in the hospital, and he believes serving in the dual role of CEO and physician has been the secret to his practice’s success. “For me, it is imperative to see patients and perform the tasks of CEO because I get real-time feedback on our organization,” he says. “Sometimes as an administrator you only see one side of an issue, not the whole picture.”
It’s that big-picture perspective that led Beckett to open a clinic, and that’s when things really began to take off.
The community’s economic downturn led him to start a free clinic once a month in his private practice. Demand forced the clinic to open more frequently—weekly first, then daily. With some external help and the support of his stakeholders, he created the Williamson Health & Wellness Center, a federally qualified health center, expanding access to health care to the entire Mingo County region. His knack for finding innovative partners and programs and seeing good ideas through to completion has helped the center and the health programming in Williamson flourish in recent years.
The center then established the Mingo County Diabetes Coalition, which received grant funding from the Center for Medicare Services. The coalition offers outreach to diabetic patients in the community that has helped high risk patients reduce both blood glucose levels and hospitalizations. It has become a model for treating diabetes in high-risk populations and is now in three states and 29 counties.
The project that followed was the Williamson Farmer’s Market, which was the result of consulting with two students at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College.
“They were charged with finding a model we could use in Williamson,” says Beckett. “Their research led to the creation of a weekly market and a mobile farmer’s market.”
Part of that success can be attributed to identifying potential leaders on his staff and fostering their ideas and growth while giving them the space they need to be creative and take chances.
He also gives credit to his parents for demonstrating the importance of family and community. In addition to his work with the practice and clinic, he has served as a volunteer with Mingo County Redevelopment Authority; Wild, Wonderful, Healthy West Virginia; the Greater Williamson Community Development Corporation; and Williamson Memorial Hospital, among many others. He also invests time mentoring students.
“It is very important to share your knowledge and pull back the curtain to allow others to experience your success and see your challenges and how you deal with them,” he says. “I am amazed at the talent our students possess and the eagerness they put into the work to learn.”
Beckett’s success as a physician, entrepreneur and visionary has been recognized by both local and national organizations, as well as his alma mater. In 2013, the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce recognized his vision for change with the Mike Whitt Visionary Award, and in 2016, the National Rural Health Association recognized him with the National Rural Practitioner of the Year Award. In 2018, WVSOM awarded him the Distinguished Alumni of the Year and Outstanding Primary Care Preceptor awards. His inspiration for making a difference comes from his love for Southern West Virginia.
“I was blessed to grow up in the southern part of West Virginia where I have witnessed and taken care of the hardest-working people I know,” he says. “I want to see my home county of Mingo and the coalfields of Southern West Virginia have economic prosperity that rivals any region of the state.”
Williamson Health and Wellness Center
What began in 2011 as a way to meet the health care needs of the unemployed and uninsured during an economic downturn has become a proven model other states are now using to address similar problems within their own communities.
Started by Dr. Dino Beckett in his private practice, the Williamson Health & Wellness Center has expanded into a full-service medical facility that provides medical, dental and behavioral health services. It also enables patients to take their health into their own hands and improve their nutrition with the help of a community garden and farmer’s market. More than that, the clinic has become an innovation hub to spin out even more ideas for healthy living as well as boosting the economy.
It wasn’t long before the clinic and its spin-off activities caught the attention of a national consultant for creating federally qualified health centers (FQHC), who encouraged Beckett and his stakeholders to turn the clinic into an FQHC.
The FQHC opened its doors in March 2014 after Beckett—with the help of laid-off coal miners—converted a second-story storage area into clinic space. The operation began with five employees in 5,000 square feet and has grown to more than 95 employees in 32,000 square feet in five years.
Beckett’s vision was to use health to create an economic driver, and this concept is one the town of Williamson has mastered so well that it now serves as the model for other rural communities around the country. In addition to providing much-needed health services, the clinic supports entrepreneurs, helps with matching for grants and creates healthy living lifestyles for locals beyond the clinic’s walls.
