Sometimes the bond between patient and physician is so strong that it can inspire philanthropic actions. That was the case for a Princeton, W.Va., couple treated by Ryan Runyon, D.O., an alumnus of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM).
The couple, who wishes to remain anonymous, have donated $40,000 to an endowment that will produce scholarships for future WVSOM students who plan to practice in West Virginia.
Runyon, a graduate of WVSOM’s Class of 2002, established Princeton Family Medicine in 2006. As a Princeton native, he has treated many people he grew up with, and his current office is adjacent to the home in which he was raised.
Earlier this year, a retired educator whose husband is also a patient of Runyon’s came in for a physical exam. Runyon determined she had atrial fibrillation, a common condition in which the upper chambers of the heart beat irregularly.
“They were grateful we tracked it down,” Runyon said. “But she was concerned because she’d just seen a specialist the day before and it wasn’t discovered. We found it by listening closely and making sure we went over the patient as a whole.”
Runyon is now co-managing her condition with a heart specialist. Several months after the diagnosis, the couple decided to give back to the medical school that educated Runyon by donating to the WVSOM Foundation, a fundraising organization of WVSOM, and allowing Runyon to establish criteria for a scholarship.
Runyon, who frequently serves as a preceptor to students from the school, said he was surprised to learn of the donation.
“It’s touching, and it’s hard to wrap your head around, but it says a lot about who they are and about their commitment to education,” Runyon said. “The husband told me he was impressed with the quality of students WVSOM was producing and with the fact that its students were in my office. Their wish is to help students from southern West Virginia or surrounding areas who want to come back to the region after they finish residency training. They want to do something that will help the community and make a difference for the future of West Virginia.”
Runyon’s own ties to WVSOM run deep. His grandfather, an educator, attended college with Roland Sharp, D.O., the school’s first president from 1974 to 1978. And before establishing his own practice, Runyon had the opportunity to learn from O.J. Bailes, D.O., one of WVSOM’s four founders, when he was working alongside the Princeton-area physician Jana Peters, D.O., also a WVSOM graduate. He said Bailes worked in Peters’ office one day each week.
“Dr. Bailes would provide pearls of osteopathic wisdom. He showed me several osteopathic manipulative treatment techniques, and he emphasized that the rule of the artery is supreme — that if you don’t have blood flow somewhere, everything else is secondary,” Runyon said.
Donette Mizia, WVSOM’s executive director of foundation relations, said the organization is supplementing the currently unnamed endowment with funds from the estate of another donor.
“The WVSOM Foundation will add $10,000 to the $40,000 to make the endowment $50,000. The time frame for the scholarship award will be based on the foundation’s investment policy,” she said.
Runyon previously established a scholarship award of his own at WVSOM. The Ron Billips Memorial Scholarship Fund honors a classmate of Runyon’s who died in a car accident and is given to a first-year medical student who is a graduate of Big Creek, Iaeger, Mount View, Princeton or Bluefield high schools in West Virginia or Graham, Tazewell, Richlands or Pocahontas high schools in Virginia.
Runyon said he is pleased to care for patients in the area he’s spent a lifetime calling home, and he expects the endowment to allow other West Virginians to follow in his footsteps.
“I’m grateful to the couple for having me handle their gift, and I want to make sure they realize the school and community are truly going to benefit from this. I’m a proud WVSOM graduate, and I’m thankful for the education I got there. Being able to take care of my friends and neighbors in Princeton is a blessing,” he said.