When it comes to nonprofit work, patience is hard for Dewayne Dickens, the executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Southern West Virginia. Dickens, a native of Whitesville, WV, and a graduate of Marshall University and West Virginia State University, has built a career around his passion for bettering the lives of the families in his community.
Riding along the winding roads, the scenery was majestic. There were rolling mountains and deep valleys, and the rows of green trees seemed to go on forever. It would have been easy to mistake my surroundings for the beauty of Appalachia. This was not familiar territory, though. I was traveling along the mountainous terrain of the beautiful country of Nicaragua.
The Netflix documentary “Heroin(e)” follows the efforts of three extraordinary West Virginia women—Jan Rader, Patricia Keller and Necia Freeman—as they work to fight the opioid epidemic in Huntington, WV.
The city of Huntington, WV, is one of the hardest hit places—if not the hardest hit place—in America when it comes to the current drug epidemic. This addiction crisis clearly hurts not only the users but their families, friends, co-workers, employees and community members. It also has devastating impacts on another, more vulnerable population: unborn and newborn babies.
Before Hershel “Woody” Williams became a Marine corporal and World War II veteran, a Medal of Honor recipient and veterans’ advocate, he was a taxi driver in Fairmont, WV, on the 6 p.m.-6 a.m. shift. He would sometimes also deliver Western Union telegrams to the families of fallen soldiers.
In 2012, HEALTHMEDX, a provider of information system solutions, reported that for every dollar spent in health care, more than 75 cents was being spent on the non-patient care activities of communicating, scheduling, coordinating, supervising and documenting care. According to the organization, waste in health care ranged between 30-40 percent nationally.