Clay's Purpose — April 2022

I had the privilege of speaking at the TEDxWVU event this month. In my talk, “How Do We Heal from COVID – Lessons from the Field,” I spoke about this time of transformational change. Although we may feel fear right now, there are valuable lessons present today for all of us. 

Despite being judged as the most vulnerable population, West Virginia came together to help protect our citizens during the pandemic. With a clear purpose to save lives, protect the health and wellbeing of our citizens, maintain our hospital capacity and keep the state together, we became the little engine that could. 

Using those lessons learned, our Health Sciences community has the opportunity to build upon a renewed culture of purpose, service, caring and humility. Let’s continue to foster an intentionally inclusive environment where people feel like they belong to a family. Let’s work together to create the right toolkits that provide resources and model healthy habits for all. 

The root word of health is ‘hale,’ meaning ‘whole.’ When we separate health from our relationships, our communities, our work, our schools, our education, and hope, we get sick and we die earlier. In the “Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World,” the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu state that the thing that sustains and brings joy is the knowledge that we are all interconnected. 

The journey for health is one which we are on in our own right, but it is also the ability to connect with our communities. It is crucial that we continue to take care of one another. 

Let’s grow healthy communities together.

Clay Marsh, M.D.
Chancellor and Executive Dean
WVU Health Sciences