Each year, Coastal Virginia Magazine celebrates our region’s outstanding medical professionals in the annual Top Docs issue. Though that publication will appear in September, we’re delighted to have the opportunity to shine the spotlight on our Top Docs All-Stars, those physicians who’ve been selected by their medical peers as Top Docs for five years or more in the May 2022 issue.
These exceptional physicians and subspecialists represent diverse areas of practice within our region’s robust health care delivery ecosystem. In Coastal Virginia approximately 99% of the population lives within 25 minutes of a hospital facility, and the metro area alone boasts more than 5,200 physicians and is home to 30 acute care and specialty hospitals.
From the Riverside Health System’s Shore Memorial Hospital on Virginia’s Eastern Shore to Norfolk’s Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters (CHKD), many of the hospitals, health systems and health care entities with which these All Star physicians are associated are busy expanding facilities and programs to better serve their communities.
Many of these health care providers have earned significant awards, while regional teaching hospitals like Eastern Virginia Medical School, and provider-conducted studies continue to advance health care through research and the development of innovative treatments, therapies and procedures. So, as we honor the achievements of our Top Docs All Stars, we’re taking the opportunity to highlight recent accomplishments of several health care providers that call Coastal Virginia home:
- Sentara Healthcare received $3 million from the Hillier Ignite Foundation to create the Luke Hillier Cancer Research Alliance at the Sentara Brock Cancer Center in Norfolk. The new alliance will enhance collaboration between Sentara and Eastern Virginia Medical School and Virginia Oncology Associates. The foundation will increase capabilities for early cancer detection and prevention, especially for those populations at increased risk for the disease.
- All 12 Sentara hospitals were listed as top performers in the 2022 LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) survey, a national LGBTQ benchmarking tool from the Human Rights Campaign. HEI evaluates individual health care facilities’ policies and practices as they relate to the equity and inclusion of their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning patients, visitors and employees
- Chesapeake Regional Healthcare completed a cancer center addition, doubling its footprint. It is one of several expansion projects planned for the hospital. Named The Priority Toyota Cancer Center, the technology-packed, 12,000-square-foot addition offers imaging, treatment, physical therapy, palliative care, outpatient services and patient navigators.
- CHKD has increased its ability to provide whole-child, integrated, interdisciplinary treatment to patients who require both medical and mental health care via two newly renovated units within the main hospital complex. In one particularly creative and healing space, there’s a designated “calming” room where music, textured wall surfaces and other techniques can be used to facilitate the de-escalation of emotions and behaviors.
- Riverside System (Eastern Shore) Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital (RSMH) was recognized for the second consecutive year as one of the Top 20 Rural Community Hospitals by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). This distinguished honor is awarded to health care organizations that exemplify the best possible health care delivery for their communities.
- Virginia Oncology Associate’s Autologous Stem Cell Transplant Program received accreditation by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy. The program remains the first and only transplant program in the region to earn this prestigious distinction.
These are only a few examples of the kinds of significant developments taking place within our region’s health care system. Whether it’s through the use of community data to identify and address disparities, the forging of beneficial partnerships, the expansion of facilities, or the development of innovative treatments, the greater Hampton Roads health care landscape is expanding and adapting to meet the needs of a growing, and increasingly diverse population.
See the full list of our Top Doc All-Stars here.
Beth Hester
Beth Hester is the Managing Editor of CoVaBIZ magazine. Educated at Old Dominion University, she’s an avid angler, cricket devotee, and Japanophile. She’s interested in graphic design and photography, and in her freelance incarnation has written extensively for Virginia Wildlife Magazine and other publications about field sports, land conservation efforts, water quality concerns, urban green space, and the natural world.
