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:

Not only is “Community Engagement and Health Outcomes” a key initiative of our UVA Health strategic plan’s goal of Cultivating Healthy Communities — it’s also the name of a key office at UVA Health. And true to its name, the UVA Health Office of Community Engagement and Health Outcomes (OCEHO) has been having quite an impact on Charlottesville residents.

UVA Health Chief Community Engagement and Health Outcomes Officer Tracy M. Downs, MD, FACS, (above) launched the Neighborhood Health program to support Charlottesville neighborhoods identified by certain matrices including a social driver of health (SDOH) model.

"Strong neighborhoods are the foundation of strong health — and community connection isn’t just good practice — it’s prevention science in action," says Dr. Downs.

Accessibility Is Key 

One such major endeavor: Community Health Stations. The first opened three years ago at Abundant Life Ministries on Prospect Avenue in Fifeville. It serves local residents from 5 to 7 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of each month. About 30 neighborhood families visit the Prospect Avenue Community Health Station regularly during those days and times. 

This location is staffed on a rotating basis by UVA School of Nursing faculty and students providing free blood pressure, blood glucose, and hemoglobin A1c screenings (measuring average blood sugar levels during the past two to three months; primarily used to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes, or to manage diabetes treatment, with a goal of <7% for most adults with diabetes).  

In addition, various UVA School of Medicine and UVA Health departments present health information; and the Blue Ridge Health District (BRHD) offers free naloxone (NARCAN ®) to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. 

Food and Fellowship 

“Fifeville residents showed us early on that access to healthy food is at the top of their needs,” recalls Jackie Martin, MPH, CDM, Director, Community Partnerships and Health Outcomes (above). “Most families are drawn by healthy food access — they stay around for health services.” 

A farm stand provides fresh produce. 4P Foods works with 200+ independent, family farmers in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina to deliver thousands of pounds of food monthly to communities through local partners. Last year, 4P Foods presented its Food Is Medicine Emerging Leader Award to UVA Health OCEHO for its commitment to Fifeville. 

Martin partnered with Abundant Life Ministries V-Trades program to serve a community dinner at the Prospect Avenue Community Health Station. When the dinner was added, almost 10 people joined.  

Having fun is important, too. After bonding over bingo games, about a dozen people formed a group. “One of the things I’m passionate about is how gatherings in communities are so important to health,” explains Martin. According to the World Health Organization: “High-quality social connections are essential to our mental and physical health and our wellbeing. Social isolation and loneliness are important, yet neglected, social determinants for people of all ages – including older people.”

Cultivating Healthy Communities and Belonging for All 

The Community Health Station is having a real time impact on health outcomes. Tina Washington has lived in the Fifeville neighborhood for more than 20 years. As the Community Health Station opened, she says was encouraged by Martin to volunteer. “I was just sitting around at home doing nothing,” recounts Washington. “So I thought, ‘Why not volunteer? This is a way I can help my neighbors!’”  

Washington helps set up and take down the station and works at the registration table. Not only is she assisting local residents, she’s also setting an example of better health, spurred by the Community Health Station. 

Washington tells Connect she’s been encouraged by nurses and others at the Community Health Station to continue eating and drinking more healthfully, and over the course of some months, she shares that she's brought down her A1c from 8.8 to 5.6! Washington avoids sweets, limits foods such as rice and potatoes to once or twice a week, dilutes sodas with water, walks around the neighborhood for exercise, and plans to go to the gym to work out.

She also finds the station builds community. “Every time I volunteer, I welcome someone new!” she says excitedly. “There are a whole lot of people who will not go to a doctor, but they will come down to the station. It’s really making a difference!” 

What’s Ahead? 
Martin also is connecting with The Point Church about assessing community needs at their Ridge Street campus, which also could draw people seeking help at the nearby The Haven and The Salvation Army in Charlottesville. UVA School of Medicine Internal Medicine residents began holding a health clinic at The Haven in 2018. Martin is talking to The Haven and The Salvation Army to assess their clients’ needs, and whether their clients would be willing to walk to any future Community Health Station at The Point Church Ridge Street.  

Could Charlottesville Be a Blue Zone? 

Martin is incorporating several of the The Blue Zones Power 9^®: Lifestyle Habits of the World’s Healthiest, Longest-Lived People, and incorporating them into her strategic planning on the Move2Health Equity coalition she co-chairs with former healthcare administrator Gregg Winston. 

“Blue Zones” are areas around the world in which Blue Zones' research shows that nine habits contribute to living better and longer. “The Power 9®” are: Move Naturally, Purpose, Downshift, 80% Rule, Plant Slant, Wine at 5, Right Tribe, Loved Ones First, and Belong. 

Mark your calendar: on Charlotteville’s Downtown Mall April 22 to 26 — during the 14th Annual Tom Tom Festival featuring the 2026 theme of “Courage” — Move 2Health Equity plans to present “Could Charlottesville Be a Blue Zone?”