Press Releases

Highmark West Virginia honors 2024 graduate of West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine for commitment to rural health care

• Grant county resident receives Highmark Farson-Smith-Earley Award

Parkersburg, W.Va. (May 3, 2024) — Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia today announced that Cheyenne Earle, a 2024 graduate of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) in Lewisburg, has been selected as the recipient of its 10th annual Farson-Smith-Earley Award.

“Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia established this partnership with WVSOM 10 years ago 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’re honored to provide this award to Cheyenne, and we commend her for her passion for serving as a rural health advocate for underserved West Virginia communities through her practice following the completion of her residency.” 

Earle’s award honors three former presidents of the Blue Cross Blue Shield plan in West Virginia, Thomas D. Farson, Gregory K. Smith and J. Fred Earley II and is presented each year to an outstanding WVSOM graduate who makes a commitment to practice medicine in a rural portion of West Virginia. Farson, Smith and Earley served as presidents of Blue Cross Blue Shield from 1973 to 1995, 1995 to 2009 and 2009 to 2016, respectively.

The annual recipient receives a permanent honorary plaque at the WVSOM campus and a $3,500 stipend. Earle, a native of Grant County, plans to focus as a Primary Care provider in her hometown of Petersburg.