Dr. William Morrone, DO, MPH, NBPAS, DABAM, FACOFP, DAAPM, is the Medical Director of Recovery Pathways and the author of American Narcan (2017), a nationally recognized guide on naloxone treatment for heroin and fentanyl overdoses. He earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, a Master of Science in Toxicology from the University of Missouri, and a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin.

Dr. Morrone serves as Medical Director for the 18th Circuit (Bay County) and 35th Circuit (Shiawassee County) Drug Courts. For 25 years, he has been an Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Michigan State University and previously served as Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency at Synergy Medical Education Alliance, while also working closely with the Department of Psychiatry.

He is triple board-certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine, the American College of Osteopathic Family Practitioners, and the American Academy of Pain Management. A respected leader in primary care, behavioral health, addiction treatment, and health policy, Dr. Morrone is a frequent educator and advocate for recovery, prevention, and evidence-based treatment.

Dr. Morrone’s career also includes significant service to tribal communities. He lived on the Kaibab Paiute Reservation in Arizona during an ethnographic field school and later served as Director of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Family Court under Judge Patrick Shannon. He is an Assistant Community Faculty member for both the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and Saginaw Valley State University’s School of Nursing, and Recovery Pathways has supported SVSU social work internships for more than a decade.

Over the past two decades, Dr. Morrone has delivered more than 400 clinical and public health lectures and has served five times as medical course director for the Henry Ford Congdon Lecture Series at Genesys in Grand Blanc.

Dr. Morrone’s roots are humble and grounded. His father worked 42 years for the Chicago and North Western Railroad, while his mother was a dedicated waitress. Saturday nights were spent as a family, sharing pizza and Mountain Dew while waiting for his mother to finish her shift. He and his wife of 21 years—who works alongside him daily in their Washington Avenue clinic—raised their children in Michigan Lutheran Seminary and have hosted two Chinese exchange students. His wife also serves as an investigator and data analyst with Capitol Toxicology, and together they manage toxicology and medical examiner services across five counties, supporting 19 funeral homes.

With 18 years of national media experience, Dr. Morrone has served as a forensic toxicology and medical expert on Nancy Grace, CNN, FOX, HLN, Court TV, and A&E cold-case programs. His commentary has been featured in high-profile cases including Anna Nicole Smith, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, Gabby Petito, and Prince.

During the Obama administration, Dr. Morrone worked with the FDA and Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell to expand naloxone access to households and first responders and to increase federal patient-limit laws. He also served as a content expert before the Michigan Senate Health Policy and Human Services Subcommittee, helping expand telemedicine coverage for Medicaid and Medicare during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His Bay City clinic includes a food pantry for patients, an annual Christmas celebration for children in their enhanced women’s specialty program, and a health-home team dedicated to securing housing for patients facing homelessness.

Dr. Morrone has also served as Medical Director for Hospice of Michigan and taught hospice medicine at the medical-school level. He co-authored and launched Michigan’s first 37-foot mobile unit providing comprehensive substance-use treatment across rural Midland, Bay, and Saginaw Counties.

His additional training includes coursework with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology alongside the CIA, FBI, and NCIS, as well as work through the American Academy of Suicidology. His research on substance-use treatment during pregnancy and in older adults remains innovative and precedent-setting. He is also a trained volunteer firefighter, an MSU teaching fellow, and has completed international coursework on deaths in custody.