West Virginia is a state defined by its strength. We know how to show up for one another. We know how to fight for what matters. And right now, nothing matters more than the health of our people.

We are at a crossroads. Chronic disease rates remain among the highest in the nation. Mental health challenges are growing, especially among our youth. Rural communities are losing access to providers, and we are facing a wave of retirements in the very professions we depend on to care for our communities.

Behind these statistics are families, neighbors, coworkers and caregivers facing impossible choices every day. That’s the part we must never lose sight of. Public health isn’t about abstract systems. It’s about protecting the dignity, opportunity and well-being of every West Virginian.

I’ve spent my career serving on the front lines of that work — as a family physician, local health officer and public health executive. I’ve worked in clinics with too few resources. I’ve led statewide vaccination rollouts during a global pandemic. I’ve helped build emergency response systems and worked with lawmakers on health policy that meets people where they are. What I’ve seen, again and again, is that we can do more and quite frankly, we must.

We have a chance to reimagine the future of health in West Virginia.

That starts by investing in our next generation of healthcare professionals. We need more physicians, nurses and mental health providers rooted in our state — trained here, supported here and staying here. We need a pipeline of talent built not just around academics but around compassion, cultural understanding and service.

We also need to think beyond the clinic. Public health is infrastructure. It’s community design. It’s economic development. When we improve health outcomes, we improve everything from workforce participation to educational success to long-term prosperity.

That’s why I believe the next era of healthcare leadership in West Virginia must be bold, collaborative and community-focused. We need institutions that not only train students but work to transform them into purpose-driven leaders. We need public health strategies that address systemic barriers, not just symptoms. We need a statewide commitment to turning the tide on our most urgent challenges–from substance use to maternal health to provider shortages in our most rural counties.

None of this will be easy. But I believe we are capable. I believe we’re ready.

West Virginians are already doing the work in classrooms, in county health departments, in mobile clinics and in homes across the state. My job, and the job of every health leader in this state, is to build the systems that support them, elevate them and keep them here.

Health isn’t a luxury. It’s the foundation for everything else we want to build. Let’s treat it like it.

(Dr. Sherri Young is a board-certified physician, public health executive and lifelong West Virginian. She has served as Chief Medical Officer at the state level, Executive Director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department and a trusted leader and voice in the statewide COVID-19 response.)