Superpowers: Creativity and adaptability
Retired Chief Operations Officer, Barbour County Health Association
A lifelong Barbour County resident, Debbie Schoonover entered health care straight out of high school, taking a job as a billing receptionist while deciding what came next. Nearly five decades later, after serving in roles ranging from home health data entry to chief operations officer at Barbour Community Health Association, she still describes her career with the same simple motivation: helping people.
That purpose guided 25 years of growth at Barbour Community Health Association, where she helped expand medical and behavioral health services, built partnerships, and launched programs that improved patient care. One of her proudest achievements began with a small grant providing free mammograms to uninsured women. Through collaboration with West Virginia University, that effort evolved into Bonnie’s Bus visits that now serve more than 100 local women annually. Many other initiatives just like this grew from her philosophy that small ideas can create lasting change.
“My leadership style didn’t come from a single moment—it came from a lifetime of examples,” she says. “A father who showed me what responsibility looks like, and an organization, 4-H, that taught me how to grow, serve, and lead with purpose. That combination created a leader who didn’t need to be the loudest voice in the room.”
As health care became more complex over the course of her career, Schoonover met each challenge the same way: by staying positive, adapting, and working alongside her team. She insists none of the accomplishments belong to her alone.
Now retired, she looks forward to volunteering, quilting, gardening, spending time with her granddaughters, and remaining part of the solutions that make the best—Barbour County—better.
“Barbour County is my home, and home is where you invest. When you commit to a place, you don’t just watch it grow—you become part of the reason it does.”
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