Nationally recognized speaker gives address on the People of Appalachian Culture: The Invisible Minority at Gold Humanism Summit at WVU Charleston at WV Gold Humanism Summit at WVU Charleston Campus

Medical students at West Virginia University’s Health Sciences Charleston Campus hosted a nationally recognized speaker on Appalachian culture as part of the Gold Humanism Honor Society Summit held at the WVU Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center Charleston Campus on April 5, 2018.

Kathryn A. Russ, EdD, LCPC-S, LPCC, an assistant professor and MAPC Advisor at University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky and an expert on the effects of Appalachian culture on career choice and lifestyle, gave the keynote address at the summit that filled the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences auditorium at the WVU Charleston campus. In addition to several years of teaching students of Appalachian culture, Dr. Russ has also supervised a counseling center in Appalachia, which has given her hands-on experience with this population.

Dr. Russ joined a diverse panel at the summit that discussed the history of West Virginia and how it has shaped cultural beliefs and tendencies throughout the region and how cultural barriers to healthcare impact the patient-provider relationship.

Dr. Larry Rhodes and Dr. Robin Pollini of West Virginia University in Morgantown lead sessions addressing fatalism in rural American and strategies to improve health services provision for people who use drugs. The discussions addressed past, present and future challenges regarding the opioid epidemic and solutions to combat the crisis, and the unique challenges faced by people of Appalachian culture and community resources available to them.

The Gold Humanism Summit concluded with a discussion entitled “Community Initiatives and Solutions to Healthcare Disparities,” lead by WVU Charleston’s James Griffith, MD, and including Michael Brumage, MD, MPH, FACP, FACPM, Office of Drug Control Policy, Director; Department of Health, Tina Ramirez, BA, Prevention and Wellness Director at Kanawha-Charleston and Putnam Country Health Department Director for Harm Reduction/Needle Exchange Program at KCHD, Reverend Matthew J. Watts, Senior pastor of Grace Bible Church in Charleston and Founder and President of HOPE Community Development Corporation, Cathy Montgomery, RN, BSN, MSN, Case Coordinator for CAMC Family Medicine Clinic, and Jessica Wright, RN, MPH, CHES Director and Director of the Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease.

“Students at the West Virginia University school of medicine in Charleston coordinated the summit as part of their Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) work,” said Kathleen Bors, MD, assistant dean of student services at West Virginia University Health Sciences Charleston Campus.   WVU medical students Charlotte Ballentine MS4; Vice President of the WVU GHHS Chapter, Rebecca Brown MS4, Zach Claudio MS4 and Morgan Lough MS4 worked together to coordinate the summit and were very pleased with the response to this year’s event.

The Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) is a national honor society that honors senior medical students, residents, role-model physician teachers and other exemplars recognized for demonstrated excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service. It was created by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation for Humanism in Medicine.