Spring 2018 Edition
Alumni & Friends Magazine
Grace under fire
鈥� I remember hearing your voice guiding me back to reality鈥 credit your voice as much as any medicine.鈥�
鈥�
鈥淢y life was forever changed the night that I met you. You told me that I would be okay and I was. 鈥hank you for believing in me even though you didn鈥檛 know me.鈥�
鈥�
Jen Jones Donatelli, BSJ 鈥�98 | May 14, 2018
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For a sense of Jan Rader鈥檚 impact, look no further than her inbox. As the Huntington, West Virginia, Fire Department chief, Rader often receives messages like these from grateful citizens whom she revived from opioid overdoses. Rader also has received 500 emails from 20 different countries about . Released on Netflix last September, the 2018 Academy Award-nominated documentary highlights the height of the opioid crisis in Huntington and Rader鈥檚 role in combating it.
Heroin(e) director Elaine McMillion Sheldon calls Rader, AAS 鈥�08, 鈥渙ne of the most resilient and caring public servants I have ever met. Her tenacity and devotion to strong leadership鈥攊n times of a public health crisis鈥攊s so inspiring and important.鈥� Rader鈥檚 resiliency inspired TIME magazine鈥檚 readers and editors to place her on the
As a public servant serving the Huntington, West Virginia, community, Rader鈥檚 resiliency and energy keep her in seemingly constant motion.
That dogged tenacity has served Rader especially well in Huntington, which experienced 1,235 overdoses in 2017. 鈥淥ne-quarter of the time when a Huntington firefighter jumps on a truck, they are going to an overdose,鈥� says Rader.
For that reason, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams asked Rader to join his newly formed Mayor鈥檚 Office of Drug Control Policy in 2014.
鈥淭he level of compassion that she shows to individuals suffering from drug addiction has brought a level of dignity and respect to our aggressive efforts to defeat this disease,鈥� says Williams.
One of Rader鈥檚 top accomplishments has been to develop a system for tracking overdose statistics in realtime鈥攃ounting not only emergency room patients transported by ambulance, but also by personal vehicle. She says having more accurate information enables the city to better address the problem, as well as apply for grants.
鈥淲e knew sharing those numbers would draw negative attention [to Huntington], but it was what we needed to do to fight and win back our community,鈥� says Rader.
In her post, Rader relies on two key tenets she learned as a nursing student at OHIO鈥檚 Southern Campus: to 鈥渁lways do the right thing,鈥� and to be a patient advocate, first and foremost. Says Rader, 鈥淚t鈥檚 so important to have an education like [OHIO] offers, because they give you that personal touch, instilling a sense of civic duty.鈥�
And one that Rader fulfills very well as Huntington鈥檚 resident Heroin(e).
All photos by Rebecca Kiger
Rader鈥檚 ability to connect with her community is integral to her leadership style.
