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Women’s History Month | UVA Health Women Advocating for Inclusion: Dr. Laurie Archbald-Pannone
This Women’s History Month 2024, Connect highlights some of the women advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion at UVA Health and beyond — advancing our bold vision “to be the nation’s leading public academic health system and a best place to work — while transforming patient care, research, education, and engagement with the diverse communities we serve.”
Unprecedented Collaborations
Since well before the inception of our latest UVA Health mission, Laurie Archbald-Pannone, MD, MPH, AGSF, FACP, has been taking to heart "Transforming Health and Inspiring Hope for All Virginians and Beyond" and supporting initiatives such as:
- Community engagement and health equity
- Value-based care
- Superior quality, patient safety, and outcomes
- Easy access and experience of care
- Distinction in education
- Leading research and translational impact
- Statewide (and in her case, nationwide) expansion
Just one example: the determination of the Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society and of the American College of Physicians to make virtual medicine age-inclusive is helping lead to unprecedented collaborations across the commonwealth and the country — and allowing her to bridge her wide range of interests in geriatrics, infectious diseases, and innovation.
Ever Curious
Born in Nashville, Tennessee to parents originally from Jamaica and Trinidad — Dr. Archbald-Pannone grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Gainesville, Florida.
“Pretty early on, I was interested in how things work, pulling apart everything I could — much to my mother’s chagrin,” she quips. Her curiosity extended to the workplace of her father — an academic veterinarian — his graduate students, and the creatures they helped.
The exposure to healthcare for animals sparked her interest in science and medicine — for humans.
In high school, Dr. Archbald-Pannone focused on becoming a physician and understanding the complexities of the human body, but didn’t want to take a traditional pre-med route. She wanted to learn, “How did we get here? Why do we do what we do? Do we need to do it differently? How do we take it forward?”
Ever curious, she found answers while attaining an undergraduate degree in the History of Medicine, Science and Technology from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. “History teaches us that everyone believes they’re doing the right thing in their time. Over time, we can learn and grow in our understanding and practice of medicine. Keeping that in mind helps us to humbly approach the history of medicine we make each day,” she explains.
Dr. Archbald-Pannone then earned her MD from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.
In 2002, she arrived at UVA Health and completed a residency in internal health.
That was followed by a research fellowship in infectious diseases and a clinical fellowship in geriatric medicine.
She also earned a master’s in public health at UVA.
Virtual Lifeline
“The flip switched in March 2020,” she remembers of the wedge the COVID-19 pandemic drove between patients and providers. “Suddenly, clinicians had to figure out how to get in touch with our patients and do whatever it takes to take care of them remotely.”
By 2021 — UVA Health, West Health, and Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center (MATRC) set up the Collaborative for Telehealth and Aging (C4TA) — bringing together experts including Dr. Archbald-Pannone from 52 health systems, academic institutions, member organizations, and nonprofit foundations to develop, in 2022, the first-of-its kind Principles and Guidelines for Telehealth and Aging.
Equitable and Accessible
In 2023, C4TA launched CE4TA — Center of Excellence for Telehealth and Aging — an open learning community supporting high quality and effective care for older adults to “age in place and live with dignity.”
As the pandemic slowed its chaotic roll, the question became: can telehealth be an effective tool for taking care of our older adult patients? CE4TA reports success will take designing systems that are:
- Equitable and accessible
- Person-centered
- Integrated and coordinated
Dr. Archbald-Pannone still keeps at the forefront, COVID-19’s impact on seniors. Just this month, she penned an article for a global audience about why those over age 65 should get another shot this spring. “Even now, four years after the start of the pandemic, people 65 years old and up are about twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than the rest of the population,” she writes. “People 75 years old and up are 10 times more likely to die from COVID-19.”
She also serves as Medical Director of the Virginia IMPACT (Infection Mitigation, Prevention, and Control Through Technology) initiative funded by Virginia Department of Health (VDH)/Virginia Long-Term Care Infrastructure Pilot Projects (VLIPP) to support people living in congregate communities. She also maintains her practice at the UVA Geriatrics Clinic at the Jefferson Area Board for Aging (JABA), a nonprofit Area Agency on Aging helping ages 60+ for nearly half a century in the Charlottesville area.
From Older Generations to Next Generations …
At UVA School of Medicine, Dr. Archbald-Pannone guides future clinicians as Claude Moore Associate Professor of Geriatrics and Infectious Diseases and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs of the Dunglison College learning community.
It wasn’t always easy forging her own path as a woman of color in medicine. “I didn’t necessarily see ‘me’ in the roles I envisioned for myself,” she recalls. “I saw a lot of people who had different aspects of what I wanted to put together and was fortunate to have fantastic mentors to help guide me on my path. It’s important to highlight the great work we’re each doing in medicine so people can see where they might fit in medicine,” she says.
In her role as a member of the Committee on Women in Medicine and Science (COWIMS)’s Steering Committee, Dr. Archbald-Pannone is excited to highlight the great work women are doing in our community with the COWIMS Woman of the Month series. Her call to action: welcoming all UVA and UVA Health team members to submit a nomination.
Patient-Centered
Dr. Archbald-Pannone affirms that patients are at the center of everything we do. “All our teaching is focused on how we work with individual people. Our research directly impacts individuals — understanding each person’s health goals and believing in the data and evidence-based medicine.”
Harkening back to her upbringing as a curious child who turned into a curious undergrad, she says, “It becomes a very personalized way to do medicine and one of the things I love the most about geriatrics — you get to need to know people one-on-one, where they came from, where they are, where they’re going. The patient-provider relationship is at the core of all that we do!”
We are so lucky to have Dr. Archbald-Pannone as part of our UVA family. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do!
So proud and always thankful she has these bountiful blessings and continued knowledge she shares, great article.