March 29, 2004 -- The staff and faculty of UVa Health System have a long history of providing service to Virginia and beyond – both personally and as an organization. However, this has not usually been done as a concerted, systemwide effort. A main charge of the Decade Plan is to integrate community service into the three primary missions of the Health System – education, research and treatment.

Primary to this effort was the creation of the office of Community Relations, Outreach and Service, which reports to Associate Dean for External Affairs Karen Rheuban, M.D., and Chief Marketing Officer Patricia Cluff. The office has three
clear charges – “understand what it is we do, organize what we do and integrate what we do,” says David Cattell-Gordon, the new office’s director and Decade Plan community service committee co-chair with James Kennan, associate director of
the Virginia Health Policy Center.

Community Relations

“Our relationship with the community is vital to our success as a health system,” says Kennan. A major area of emphasis is to improve the interface between the
Health System and the community, neighborhoods and organizations that it serves. This will be done both within the Health System and in coordination with the University’s Office of Community Relations and Outreach Virginia through the
Provost’s Office. The first step is cataloging and integrating efforts that are already being undertaken and are successful.

One example is the organization of events and sponsorships, such as the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk. The Health System is a sponsor of the local walk and employees also volunteer to support the event.

Community Outreach

A second area of emphasis for the office is to coordinate and connect the services we do offer through outreach initiatives, which include providing health care information and sponsoring health screening events. A good example of this service is our efforts through the Remote Areas Medicine Program in Wise. Dozens of UVa physicians, nurses and other staff members provide health care and screenings to thousands of underserved Virginians each July.

In addition, Cattell-Gordon oversees both BodyTalk, which provides free health information and data searches, and the local effort of Safe Kids, the only national non-profit organization solely for prevention of unintentional childhood injuries.

Community Services

Initiatives are under way to enhance and encourage volunteerism among Health System employees. Thanks to a concerted effort, participation in the 2003 Day of Caring, held each September, increased by more than 500 percent from 2002.
On that one day, UVa employee volunteers helped clean Ronald McDonald House, built a puppet theater for a local elementary school and performed many other good works. One goal is to develop a signature program for the Health System, which will form internal and external partnerships that measurably will impact a problem of unmet need in the community.

“Our Highest Calling”

“Our highest calling is service to others,” says Cattell-Gordon. “There are many, many good works going on here at UVa Health System, but this, by intention and by effort, connects with many of us and why we came to work here – to make a positive, measurable impact on places where there is suffering.”