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PARKERSBURG -- Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia recently announced that Alexandria Arthur, a 2023 graduate of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, was selected as the recipient of its ninth annual Farson-Smith-Earley Award.
"Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia is pleased to continue our partnership with WVSOM in an effort to improve the accessibility and delivery of primary health care services in the rural areas of our state," said Jim Fawcett, president of Highmark West Virginia. "We commend Alexandria for her commitment to serving as a rural health advocate for West Virginians through her practice following the completion of her residency."
Arthur, a resident of Raleigh County, will serve her residency training at AccessHealth in Beckley and plans to focus on family medicine as a rural, primary care provider in southern West Virginia.
The award, which honors three former presidents of the Blue Cross Blue Shield plan in West Virginia, is presented annually to an outstanding WVSOM graduate who makes a commitment to practice medicine in a rural portion of the Mountain State. Thomas D. Farson serves as president of Blue Cross Blue Shield from 1973 to 1995, followed by Gregory K. Smith from 1995 to 2009 and J. Fred Earley II from 2009 to 2016.
The annual recipient receives a permanent honorary plaque at the WVSOM campus and a $3,500 stipend.