Joseph Deegan

Photo by Eriel Lauffer.

By Maggie Hatfield

For Joseph Deegan, business development liaison of Thomas Health, the story of how he ended up where he is today is one of tragedy and triumph. Deegan lost both of his parents during his youth, but he always admired the legacies they left behind.

“My dad, even though he died when I was just 15 months old, had been the mayor of Bridgeport, WV, for many years, and I heard stories about him from members of the community,” Deegan says. “My mother, who passed away when I was 16 years old, was a registered nurse and she too was held in high regard in the community for her caring nature. Their memory and the respect they elicited developed in me a sense of a calling to lead a life of service to others.”

After Deegan’s mother died, he was not prepared for the freedom he was given even though he had the support of his sisters.

“Consequently, I began to use alcohol and other drugs routinely, which developed into a serious problem when I was at West Virginia University (WVU). By the time I was 21, I was a full-blown alcoholic and addict,” he says. “At this time, Bob Malone, who was the leader of a student Christian ministry group, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, reached out to me. In my desperation, I acquiesced and joined the group that provided a home for me where other young men, most of whom were developing lives devoted to ministry, accepted me with open arms and nurtured me back to a life of stability.”

After he got his life back on track, Deegan received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from WVU. To add to his list of achievements, Deegan is a licensed independent clinical social worker and is credentialed as an advanced alcohol and drug counselor and supervisor in West Virginia.

Deegan has held many positions over the past 40 years. He started out as a community social worker for Scott’s Run Settlement House in Osage, WV, and held his first position at Thomas Health in 1987 as a clinical coordinator for the SouthWay Treatment Center, where he stayed for 13 years. He believes one of his greatest successes is being able to return to Thomas Health and pick up where he left off in 2000.

Deegan recently celebrated 13 years in recovery, and he is focused on behavioral health services specifically related to substance use disorders for Thomas Health. As business development liaison, his role is to assist the behavioral health services team in program development, community outreach and staff mentor­ing, as well as providing a link to other agencies and government entities as Thomas Health strives to address the mental health and particularly, the addiction crisis.

“My role is to help create partnerships within and outside our organization that will allow for improvements in access to services that will enhance the chances of recovery for individuals with substance use disorders and serious mental illness,” he says.

Not only is Deegan dedicated to his career, but he is also dedicated to making health care in the Mountain State the best it can be. He takes great pride in mentoring clinical social workers to provide supervision as they work toward advancing their social work licensure.

“We spend time discussing a wide variety of clinical issues and advance more creative ways to enhance the treatment experience for our patients. I also spend a great deal of time doing service work for our self-help recovery groups, which entails sustaining contact with individuals in early recovery,” he says.

Deegan feels a strong connection to community in West Virginia and has been able to give his time and talent to organizations that mean the most to him, such as the West Virginia Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, Inc., Association for Addiction Professionals and National Association of Social Workers. He even received the Advocate of the Year Award from NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals, and he considers it his most noteworthy recognition.

Being born and raised in West Virginia, Deegan is hopeful that the people can come together to make tomorrow better for all.

“I love my roots and am proud of my heritage as a West Virginian,” he says. “The challenge of the addiction crisis with overdose deaths hitting all-time highs during the pandemic has only made it more clear to me how we must redouble our efforts, stay focused and work together at all levels to overcome this scourge in our communities for a bright future.”