Connect

This is the latest installment in our Connect article series “Hope at Work” — showcasing inspiring stories about how our team members contribute to UVA Health’s 10-year strategic plan: “One Future Together Health and Hope for All.” 

No matter where you work, you have an opportunity to inspire hope in others. These stories show how:

At UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center, the spirit of friendly competition spurs Blue versus Orange teams to vie for the win in games designed to benefit the local community. Every year, the teams challenge each other to provide the most wrapped or boxed snacks to Farmington Elementary School, located just across the street from the medical center. 

The Title 1 school — where at least 40 percent of students are from low-income families — works to provide snacks to students during the day, and to take home after school. 

Boosting Morale and Strengthening Teamwork for a Worthy Cause

This year, the Culpeper Medical Center Orange team collected 788 snacks for the children, while the Blue team also put forth a valiant effort, bringing in 542 snacks! 

“We’ve found the friendly competition between the Orange and Blue teams has been a positive experience — not just for the students at Farmington Elementary — but for the staff as well. The challenges have boosted our morale and strengthened our sense of teamwork,” says certified nurse practitioner, Advanced Oncology, and Orange team Captain Michelle Otto, NP-C, AOCNP. “Along the way, we’ve learned more about one another: who’s creative, crafty, and even surprisingly competitive. I think most of us look forward to future challenges — and of course, a little friendly trash talk. I know I do!” 

Cancer Services and Ambulatory Radiology Operations Director — and Blue team member — Susan Schreiner, MHA, BSRT(R), hails, “Even though my team lost, I am incredibly proud to be part of such an amazing group!” 

In total, UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center collected 1,330 items. That’s almost triple the 463 items collected in last year’s contest!

“The kids are the real winners!” declares Farmington Elementary School staff. 

'New and Exciting'

While Culpeper Medical Center has had an active Employee Engagement Committee (EEC) since 2015, the creation of Blue/Orange team competitions began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when uncertainty and isolation called for a morale boost. 

Megan Barbour, PharmD, Clinical Oncology, and EEC member, explains: “We thought it would be something new and exciting to build relationships, and we could even use it to give back to the community. Team captains and providers get to display the trophy (pictured, left) in their offices when their team wins, and the whole team has bragging rights, of course!” 

This particular competition, dubbed the “School Snack Donation Drive,” began in 2022 and has continued every year since. Other competitions included step count challenge, Major League Baseball bracket challenge for the playoffs and the World Series, National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball brackets, pumpkin carving contests, and several donation drives — but Megan adds that this one is the teams’ favorite!  

Thinking Outside the Box

This positive community engagement showcases how UVA Health team members provide care in ways that are not only tied to a clinical space — they support our strategic plan initiative of philanthropy and resource stewardship to help the most vulnerable members of our communities. 

Through this competition, alongside ongoing healthcare efforts, UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center provides an encouraging example of how to think outside the box when it comes to enacting our values and highlighting how much our team members care about what they do — and have fun doing it!