‘A Giant Step Forward’: UVA Health Opens Pharmacy Central Services

3.25.2026

‘A Giant Step Forward’: UVA Health Opens Pharmacy Central Services

By Sudha Kamath
Photos by Eze Amos

UVA Health has opened Pharmacy Central Services — a critical hub for UVA Health University Medical Center including UVA Health Children’s; and UVA Health Culpeper, Haymarket, and Prince William Medical Centers in Northern Virginia. Continuing to support all three of our UVA Health strategic plan goals of expanding our excellence, cultivating healthy communities, and strengthening our foundation —Pharmacy Central Services widens our reach across Virginia, and to more than a dozen other states from Florida to Massachusetts.

On March 20, several UVA Health leaders took part in a ribbon cutting at the new 30,000 square foot facility at North Fork: A UVA Discovery Park — just a few miles north of Charlottesville, Virginia.

'World-Class Care, Closer to Home'

“The opening of UVA Health Pharmacy Central Services is a giant step forward in our work to build our capacity and service area, and strengthen our patient care,” touts Terrie Edwards, MHA, FACHE, interim Chief Executive Officer, UVA Health University Medical Center (above). “We couldn’t have accomplished any of it without having a stellar team, including those in UVA Health Pharmacy Services. You deserve a round of applause!”

“UVA Health Pharmacy Central Services isn't just a building — it is a promise to our patients that they will receive the right medication, at the right time, no matter where they live,” explains Danielle Griggs, PharmD, MBA, MS, Chief Pharmacy Officer, UVA Health (above). “This is what a true health system looks like — not a collection of individual hospitals operating in silos, but a unified network working together to bring world-class care closer to home.”

She adds: "Central fulfillment will allow us to fill more prescriptions across specialty, home delivery, retail, and pickup at outpatient pharmacies. We’re leveraging robots, a conveyor system, automation, and more at this hub. We’re also housing other services including a call center, inventory management, packaging, prior authorization, and home delivery. This project allows our teams to scale operations to better serve patients."

'A Lifeline'

UVA Health Pharmacy Central Services includes a state-of-the-art automation system that will help the pharmacy team process up to 4,000 prescriptions per shift, so patients get their medications sooner. And UVA Health can serve more patients at its medical centers, outpatient clinics, and retail pharmacies across Virginia — as well as through its home delivery service that reaches 14 states.

By streamlining prescription processing, the system increases accuracy and enables on-site, retail pharmacy teams to focus more on direct patient care. “And for many of our patients — particularly those managing complex, chronic, or rare conditions — that access is not a convenience. It is a lifeline,” explains Griggs.

'Quiet Excellence'

“Across our two North Fork locations, our UVA Health Specialty and Home Delivery team shows up every day to do work most patients will never see — but work that truly makes a difference," says Adrienne Cobb, PharmD, DPLA, Director of Central Fulfillment Services, UVA Health Pharmacy (above). "When a patient has a complex medical condition and can’t afford an expensive medication, this team helps them get it affordably, on time, and delivered to their home. If a patient has transportation barriers or lives at the other end of the state — or even in another state — this team ensures their medication arrives safely at their door."

She adds: "Great healthcare is built on quiet excellence, the kind performed behind the scenes, long before a patient ever walks through our doors. The work we do here may not always be visible, but it is essential to patient care, makes a real difference, and gives us purpose.”

By the Numbers

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, business grew, and the previously 10,000 sq ft. facility reached capacity.

Last year, the UVA Health Ambulatory Pharmacy Network of specialty, home delivery, and retail pharmacies filled more than 1,000,000 prescriptions — Pharmacy Central Services is expected to increase our capacity by about 50 percent and already has brought 50 new jobs to the Charlottesville area.

Across two locations in North Fork and a total of 40,000 sq ft, there is an operations team of 90; clinical team of about 25; and medication access team of 37:

On Edlich Drive:

Centralized Pharmacy Call Center
Central Fulfillment Line
Order processing, refill management, medication access services
Central Clinic Distribution
Bulk drug and supply storage
Centralized Business Services
System pharmacy contracting and supply chain operations
Repackaging and strategic sourcing

On Discovery Drive:

Additional fulfillment for specialized medications
Ambulatory and Specialty support teams

'A Better Patient Experience'

More prescriptions are being filled every month. The highest: more than 41,000 in one month from UVA Specialty and Home Delivery! “With the automation and improved efficiency, we’re providing better service. The turnaround now is three to five days for prescription refills — it will be shorter,” says Jordan DeAngelis,PharmD, MS, BCPS, CHFP, 340B ACE, Enterprise Director, UVA Health Pharmacy Business and Systems Services. “The central fill aspect will reduce physical labor at satellite pharmacies, so teams there can focus on clinical aspects, counseling, providing vaccinations — a better patient experience.”