VIRGIL UNDERWOOD, CEO, Boone Memorial Hospital (Madison)
"Boone Memorial Hospital is a critical access hospital in the southern West Virginia coalfields. Our society faces many challenges in regard to healthcare. One of the most pressing concerns in our healthcare market is that of vascular diseases. Heart disease and diabetes rank very high within our geographic population. Many of these diseases are prevalent due to the high population of obesity, tobacco use and sedentary lifestyles.
West Virginia is ranked 47th in the nation for obesity and has one of the highest tobacco use rates in the nation. Over 28.6 percent of our population smokes or uses tobacco products. These issues combined with a sedentary lifestyle create a high population with cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Boone Memorial Hospital is working diligently to combat these issues through education and the promotion of diet and exercise. Our certified diabetic educators conduct public classes on diabetes education, prevention and diabetes maintenance. Our organization hosts various public educational forums on smoking cessation, including the dangers of tobacco use. Boone Memorial Hospital provides a community wellness program located within our cardiac rehabilitation department. This program is open to the public and directed by an exercise physiologist.
One of our greatest endeavors to educate the community is through our annual health fair. Over 600 participants attend. The health fair promotes the importance of daily exercise and moderate diet, as well as the need to have annual checkups and well visits by primary care physicians."
