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This monthly community newsletter from Dr. Craig Kent, CEO of UVA Health, highlights how UVA Health serves our patients and the community. To stay up to date on operations, clinical services, and research efforts featured in UVA Health Community Update, subscribe here.

Dear Friends and Neighbors, 

In this month’s letter, I am excited to share some important updates from UVA Health. Our new Nurse Navigator Program at the UVA Cancer Center is designed to offer personalized, one-on-one support for cancer patients, tailored to specific cancer types. In addition, UVA Health Children’s has once again been ranked #1 in Virginia, and our School of Nursing is now ranked among the Top 10 public nursing schools in the nation. Thank you for your continued trust in UVA Health. We are honored to serve you and are committed to bringing the best health care to our community.

News Feature

New Nurse Navigator Program Supports Cancer Patients at UVA Health

Navigating cancer treatment can be overwhelming, so UVA Health has expanded its Nurse Navigator Program at the UVA Cancer Center to support our patients. Trained nurse navigators offer personalized care and coordination for various cancer types, helping with scheduling, knowledge and education, self-advocacy, as well as access to social services and transportation. Building on our success using nurse navigators for breast cancer patients, the program will soon include all cancers, placing UVA Health as a national leader in this approach to cancer care. Our goal is to use nurse navigators as a single point of contact throughout the entire cancer journey — from diagnosis through survivorship.

Nurse navigators are game-changers. When a nurse navigator is involved in cancer patient care, the amount of time between diagnoses and treatments is less — and overall outcomes improve. UVA Health has been recognized nationally for its leadership in nurse navigation, and I am incredibly pleased we have now integrated this service into all of our cancer care.

Other News

Patient Care Across UVA Health Continues to Grow

The demand for UVA Health’s primary and specialized care continues to increase, resulting in remarkable growth of our health system over the past five years. We are providing care for an increasing number of patients in Charlottesville and also throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, establishing records for patient care in all care settings. Over the past five years our clinic visits have increased from 800,000 to a record number of almost 1.3 million encounters each year. Our emergency room visits have increased from 43,000 per year in 2019 to 168,000 in 2024. In 2019 we performed 30,000 surgeries at UVA Health; and in 2024 we will perform surgical procedures on well over 50,000 patients. Our hospital admissions have also grown substantially, currently exceeding 50,000 per year. It is humbling to know that this many Virginians rely on UVA Health for their health care needs.

The population of the Commonwealth is expected to increase by nearly 20% by 2030, and to accommodate this growth, we are recruiting new providers and staff as quickly as we can. Over the last three-plus years, more than 500 new faculty members have joined our School of Medicine. From July of this year through October, just here in Charlottesville, we have already onboarded more than 125 new physicians. In our Northern Virginia hospitals, we have significantly grown our physician organization to now more than 260 providers. We also are rapidly recruiting additional support staff, as well as building new inpatient beds, operating rooms, and outpatient facilities. 

I am incredibly grateful for our talented and dedicated faculty and staff who provide extraordinary care — making UVA Health a destination for so many. Our growth reflects the dedication of our providers and other team members, who are widely recognized for their extraordinary clinical expertise and compassionate patient care. 

UVA Health Children’s is Again #1 in Virginia

For the fourth year running, UVA Health Children’s has been named the #1 children’s hospital in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report. This recognition reflects the exceptional skills and dedication of our pediatric team members, who provide care across over 30 specialties and are meeting the growing needs of patients across Virginia and beyond. Over the past several years, we have recruited multiple new pediatricians, pediatric subspecialists, as well as pediatric surgeons. We have expanded our services developing a newly established pediatric emergency department at UVA Health University Medical Center as well as creating a partnership with Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital to establish the UVA Health Children's Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Health clinic, which will open this winter. 
 
We are fortunate to have some of the most well-regarded clinicians in the country. With 123 beds devoted to pediatrics, a specialized pediatric emergency care unit, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, our goal is to provide the highest level of service to our young patients and their families — and to care for as many as we can.

UVA Health Improves Digital Experience for Patient

As part of our ongoing goal to improve our online experience, UVA Health has added Google Translate at uvahealth.com and childrens.uvahealth.com, offering translations in Spanish, Korean, Arabic, and Dari. This new feature supports a more inclusive online experience by catering to the languages most requested at our facilities. 

Additionally, we now offer online scheduling for patients of UVA Health Adult and Pediatric Primary Care. This exciting step to improve accessibility of care allows our physicians and team members to better meet patient expectations. Patients can use MyChart for direct scheduling with their current provider or open scheduling with new providers. For those who prefer it, scheduling by phone is still available.

UVA School of Nursing #8 in the Nation Among Public Schools

I am so pleased to share that U.S. News & World Report now ranks UVA School of Nursing as #8 among public programs and #13 overall, among the 686 American nursing schools that offer a Bachelor in Science in Nursing. We have moved up three spots overall since last fall, when the school was ranked #16. This new ranking affirms that our nursing programs are among the best in the nation and that we are meeting and exceeding the needs and expectations of our students. I’m incredibly proud of the School of Nursing and the contributions its faculty and students make to our UVA Health community and to the greater Charlottesville area. 

As I close, I want to thank you for your support of UVA Health. Wishing you and your loved ones a season filled with health and happiness.

Warm regards,

K. Craig Kent, MD
Chief Executive Officer, UVA Health