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During the Sept. 23, 2026, UVA Health Town Hall, team members submitted several questions that could not be addressed during the live event due to time constraints. The categories represent the themes discussed during Town Hall, including the strategic plan refresh, engagement survey action planning, organizational culture and ASPIRE values, and integrated space planning. 

To ensure clarity and relevance for a broad audience, similar questions were combined, and some wording has been edited when appropriate. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions and continues to engage in these important conversations. 

1. Strategic Plan Refresh 

Question 1A: How will the Universitywide strategic plan that President Beardsley is putting together work with our UVA Health strategic plan? 

Response: UVA Health is actively involved in the University’s strategic planning process. Health system representatives serve on the University strategic planning committee, and there is also a subcommittee focused specifically on UVA Health. The goal is to ensure UVA Health is considered across University priorities and to identify opportunities for partnership in research, education, clinical care and other areas. University Leadership has also welcomed feedback on the University’s strategic plan from across the health system.  

2. Engagement Survey Action Planning  

Question 2A: What is the expectation for area leaders and directors to acknowledge and address the survey results? 

Response: All managers were required to review results with their teams and submit action plans through the Press Ganey portal, an important step in turning team member feedback into meaningful change. Leaders across areas, including members of the executive team and cabinets, are now committed to supporting those plans and seeing them through. Where issues call for broader solutions, teams are encouraged to collaborate across departments, because building a stronger workplace is a shared effort. 

Question 2B: Is there an accountability mechanism in place to ensure leaders address the results with their teams? 

Response: Yes. Every manager was required to review results with their team and submit an action plan through the Press Ganey portal. Executive team and cabinet members, along with leaders across areas, oversee follow-through on those plans so your feedback turns into meaningful, lasting change. 

Question 2C: How will we know whether the action plans coming out of the surveys are working? 

Response: We’ll measure progress in two ways. In the near term, leaders are expected to check in with their teams regularly over the coming months to talk through what’s improving, what isn’t, and where plans need adjusting. Longer term, we plan to repeat some or all of the engagement surveys within the next 18 months, giving us a clear picture of how far we’ve come. Your continued feedback, both in those conversations and in future surveys, is the best measure of whether these actions are making a real difference. 

3. Culture/Values 

Question 3A: How would you define the current culture of our health system? Is that culture fully supportive of the goals and strategic objectives we are striving to achieve? If not, what kind of culture do we need, and how do we build it together?  

Response: Team members told us our culture is deeply dedicated to patient care and safety, and that respect and empathy resonate as core values. Those are strong foundations. They also told us those values aren’t always consistently modeled, and that we need clearer expectations for how to live them each day, along with accountability at every level when we fall short. Closing that gap is how our culture fully supports our strategic goals. It’s work we’ll do together, which is why "one thriving culture" is central to our work as one team. 

Question 3B: University Medical Center specific: Regarding calling out ASPIRE values in action, we used to have an ASPIRE bonus that allowed us to take action on this kind of call out. Has funding been restored so that we can use this as a call-out for team members exhibiting these values in a meaningful way?  

Response: Yes. ASPIRE bonuses are back. They give leaders a way to recognize team members whose work goes above and beyond. 

Active individual contributors at University Medical Center are eligible. Supervisors simply need to submit nominations in Workday as a one-time ASPIRE bonus payment. Each request is reviewed by the supervisor’s manager and then by the HR Business Partner. Awards are managed within each area’s approved budget. If you know a colleague whose work deserves recognition, talk with your supervisor. 

4. Integrated Space Planning  

Transitional Care Hospital/Behavioral Health 

Question 4A: I love that we will have a free-standing Behavioral Health Service. Will there be a pediatric or adolescent behavioral health wing? 

Response: We know pediatric and adolescent behavioral health is a significant need. Teams are exploring whether TCH has sufficient space to accommodate both adult and pediatric populations, and a final decision has not yet been made.  

Question 4B: What is the timeline for the TCH change?  

Response: The Board of Visitors recently approved amending the master plan to repurpose portions of TCH for Behavioral Health, which allows the planning work to move forward. We don’t yet have a firm opening date to share and will provide additional information as the planning progresses.  

Question 4C: Where will NPDS (Nursing Professional Development Services) who currently reside in TCH building be moved to, since we are an essential part of onboarding for our new hires?  

Response: Thank you for raising this. NPDS plays a vital role in welcoming and onboarding our new team members, and that work will continue to be a priority as we plan. Space needs across UVA Health are still being evaluated, and no decisions have been made yet about where teams currently in the TCH building will reside. As plans take shape, we’ll communicate directly with teams, with enough notice to keep important work, like onboarding, running smoothly. 

Parking, Transportation, and Access 

Question 4D: I expect most, if not all, faculty and staff would concur that such expansion can only worsen the existing, unmet demand on parking and transportation. How does UVA Health plan to support the commuting and parking needs of existing staff as well as the new staff required to support the expanded operations proposed in the strategic plan? 

Response: Parking, traffic, and transportation are definitely being considered as part of the integrated space planning work. There is widespread recognition at UVA Health, at the University, and at the Charlottesville city level, that access needs to improve for both team members and patients. We’re currently considering potential near- and longer-term solutions, and we hope to share more in the months to come. We appreciate that this is a very challenging issue, and we know it’s something we need to address.  

Question 4E: Any thoughts to using the railroads/lines for patients and employees considering the lines are right by the University Medical Center and Fontaine and other places? How about timely carbon reduction plans that covers up to scope 3? 

Response: Thank you for these ideas. Transportation is broadly being considered as part of our integrated space planning. As we plan for growth to meet our patients’ needs, we’re looking at how people move between UVA Health locations alongside how we use our space to accommodate parking, because the two go hand in hand. We’ll share more about transportation across our footprint as the full plan is communicated.