CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A doctor who saw her family’s Kanawha County home leveled in a 2018 propane explosion is designating the coming year as a “Year of Giving Back” as she prepares to take over as president of the West Virginia State Medical Association.
Dr. Sherri Young, the executive director and health officer for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, will be formally sworn in for a one-year presidential term on Saturday night during the Association’s 152nd Healthcare Summit at The Greenbrier.
The organization is made up of doctors from across West Virginia.
“I’m so eternally grateful for all the people who did help us that I want to pay that forward,” Dr. Young told MetroNews ahead of the Summit’s start.
On Friday, the day is dedicated to osteopathic medicine reflecting her field to be followed by Saturday discussions focused on public health priorities.
Saturday evening, Dr. Peter Salk, president of the Jonas Salk Legacy Foundation named for his father, the doctor who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines, was scheduled to take an expanded view of public health from vaccines to opioids and more.
Earlier in the day, a presentation from Dr. Rahul Gupta, the chief medical and health officer for the March of Dimes and West Virginia’s former chief health officer, was planned.
An address from the president of the American Medical Association, Dr. Patrice Harris, a Bluefield native, was set for Saturday night.
Other scheduled speakers included state lawmakers and the deans of Schools of Medicine at West Virginia University and Marshall University plus the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.
Dr. Young took over at the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department in July of this year.
On Jan. 12, 2018, she woke up in the middle of the night in her family’s home in Pinch to a strong smell of propane.
At that time, Young did not know that a propane tank had fallen off its base, rolled into the home and had been spilling more than 700 gallons of propane into and around the house for about an hour.
“We made it out of the house about five minutes before it completely blew up and, when I say ‘blew up,’ it blew into pieces,” Young said.
She, her husband and daughter lost their home, vehicles, pets and all of the personal belongings in an instant.
The response with help was immediate.
“I really feel like my family and I have been given a second chance and I really want to make every moment worth it. If I’m going to be here, I hope I’m here for a good reason,” she said.