Teresa Hicks, West Virginia State Health Insurance Program coordinator and in-person assister for the Affordable Care Act, has been named the 2016 Anita S. Harbert Outstanding Achievement in Aging Award recipient.
Hicks, a Bluefield, W.Va. native will receive the award June 8 during the annual Summer Institute on Aging in Morgantown, WV.
The award recognizes a West Virginia social worker who has made a significant contribution in the field of aging and is named after Anita S. Harbert, the West Virginia University social work professor who helped create the Summer Institute on Aging in 1977.
“Many times I would be out working a health or information fair or giving a presentation, and the number one question always was ‘Where is Teresa?’ followed by ‘How is Teresa?’” said Shawn Allen, a WVU social work alumni who nominated Hicks.
“This usually ended up in me hearing a story about how Teresa helped this person with a situation that they thought would be impossible to fix.
“Teresa has been a true asset to the seniors of WV. Many times she has worked after hours and weekends, trying to ensure that seniors’ needs are met.”
Hicks has more than 30 years of experience working with families in West Virginia and Virginia. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bluefield State College in 1988, later earning her West Virginia Social Worker and Nursing Home Administrator licenses.
Over the course of her career, she’s gone from business office clerk, to director of social services administrator, and has been working as the Region IV West Virginia State Health Insurance Program coordinator for nine years.
Hicks is a member of the Greenbrier Valley Disability Awareness committee and a member of the Summer Institute on Aging planning committee.
West Virginia State Health Insurance Program provides free and confidential Medicare counseling in all West Virginia counties.
