Two women employed at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) have been recognized for their work throughout the state.
Drema Hill, Ph.D., MSP, WVSOM’s chief operations officer, and Katherine Hill Calloway, D.O., MPH, regional assistant dean for the South Central Region of WVSOM’s Statewide Campus, were named to this year’s “West Virginia Wonder Women” by WV Living magazine.
They are two of 50 women featured in the publication’s fall 2024 issue for being identified as leaders who raise the bar in their communities and force change for the greater good in their industries.
“I am pleased to join my female colleagues across the state who were selected to be honored as West Virginia Wonder Women,” Hill said. “We all have different areas of expertise, but together, we make West Virginia stronger.”
Hill received a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia State University, a Master of Public Service Management degree from Cumberland University and a Ph.D. degree in human services with a specialization in health care administration from Capella University.
The Boone County, WV, native joined WVSOM in 2016 and became one of the school’s vice presidents in 2019. She has more than three decades of experience in public health leadership, including positions with the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, the Tennessee Department of Health, Vanderbilt University’s Nashville Health Management Foundation and Comprehensive Care Center, and the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Health Office. She currently serves as WVSOM’s vice president for community engagement and chief operations officer.
Hill develops and implements processes that help WVSOM achieve its strategic objectives. She also oversees the school’s Center for Rural and Community Health, Audio Visual and Production Department, Information Technology Department, Marketing and Communications Department and WVSOM’s rural health policy director. Her previous work in public health facilitates her ability to collaborate with external partners on statewide initiatives to improve the health of West Virginians.
“I have had a long career in public health and I still most enjoy working with community partners to foster and implement innovative ideas that improve health outcomes in disenfranchised populations. West Virginia is my home. I love the mountains and I love the people,” Hill said.
Before earning a D.O. degree from WVSOM in 2008, Calloway graduated from Wake Forest University with a double major in sports medicine and medical anthropology, and completed a Master of Public Health degree from Boston University.
She said she is honored to be recognized among so many women making positive change in West Virginia.
“It reminds me of how much strength we have in West Virginia. The things these women are doing are incredible and impactful in a way that will bring a legacy and will make a difference for generations to come,” she said. “To be considered part of that group of women is a huge honor and privilege.”
Calloway began working as a regional assistant dean in WVSOM’s Statewide Campus in 2022.The school’s Statewide Campus consists of seven regions across the state. In her role, she oversees third- and fourth-year medical student curriculum development and student clinical rotations. In addition to her duties at WVSOM, the Kanawha County native is the director of clinical development and provides inpatient care with HospiceCare West Virginia, the state’s largest nonprofit hospice service.
She has spent much of her adult life working overseas, with efforts such as assisting with post-conflict health care development in war-torn Kosovo, where she first managed a reproductive health program with the International Rescue Committee and later implemented health policy for 17 primary care health clinics as a health officer with the United Nations. She worked with the Clinton Foundation to reduce disparities in AIDS prevention and treatment in Mozambique, and with Emory University’s HIV clinic in Rwanda.
Years later she returned to West Virginia as a physician with Charleston Internal Medicine and then began serving in public health by shifting her practice to Cabin Creek Health Systems, where she developed and supported a nonpharmacologic pain management program as part of their medication-assisted treatment program for people in substance use recovery. She then moved to HospiceCare and WVSOM.
“The things I did globally were relevant to what we do here in our rural communities because there are so many similarities to chronic disease management or to working in areas that are resource poor. Coming back to West Virginia has been incredibly fulfilling to not only apply some of what we were doing with health care globally to our communities but also because this is part of my heritage,” she said.
WVSOM President James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., said he is proud of “wonder women” like Hill and Calloway whose careers as public health providers span decades and make West Virginia healthier.
“The women representing WVSOM have proven to be remarkable game changers in the health care industry and public health sector,” he said. “Dr. Calloway is a physician who has served communities locally and internationally, and Dr. Hill is an influential change-maker when it comes to public health and public policy in the state. Each year I am grateful that WV Living recognizes women for their successes and the impact they make.”
WV Living will honor the recipients at a West Virginia Wonder Women event on Oct. 30 in Charleston, WV.
