West Virginia emergency physician Tony Kelly, MD, has become the first director of the West Virginia First Foundation board, according to a July 5 report from MetroNews.
The private foundation is tasked with distributing around three-quarters of the over $1 billion won by the state in settlements against opioid manufacturers and distributors in West Virginia, which has the country's highest overdose rate.
Dr. Kelly has over four decades of experience working in emergency rooms in coal mining communities and will represent region six on the board, which includes Fayette, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Nicholas, Webster, Greenbrier, Pocahontas, Mercer, Wyoming and McDowell counties.