In his history of Williamson, West Virginia, Okey P. Keadle—a member of Williamson High School’s inaugural, 1918, graduating class—describes the fire of 1906 that destroyed some 20 downtown buildings. In the long run, Keadle writes, “as is usually the case in such instances, the result was beneficial to the city for it removed all the old buildings on that street and gave room for new ones to be built.”

Loretta Simon is likewise an optimist. Until Williamson Memorial Hospital closed its doors April 21, 2020, Simon served as head nurse and chief operating officer of the facility, the staff of which was known as “Your Friends on the Hill.” The 76-bed hospital had been struggling financially; there were potential buyers, but the pandemic derailed that process.

Williamson Memorial is now scheduled to reopen, perhaps as early as September. The hospital’s new owner is the Williamson Health and Wellness Center, a federally qualified health center, which over the past few years has been a catalyst in the community for a wide range of public-health initiatives. Simon will return; she’s busy with preparations.

The plan is for Williamson Memorial and Williamson Health to work in concert—in effect, to reopen the hospital while taking every measure to keep people out of it. The health of the community and viability of its hospital will be dependent on a successful symbiosis.

Williamson isn’t giving up. While an outsider might look upon the weathered edifices that slope up from a once-hyperactive rail yard and see a townscape in terminal decline, ask around.

Ask Michelle Lowe, a former Williamson Memorial nurse who with her husband, Mark, ministers and provides a food pantry for the community.

“This isn’t a dying coal town,” Lowe says. This community is designing a healthier future.

Read the full article about recharging for a healthier future in Williamson by Taylor Sisk at YES! Magazine.