Patients Come First

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Dana Weston Graves, Senior Vice President and Acute Care Market President for Sentara Health’s Southeast Market – Norfolk. She joins us for a conversation about her career and leadership journey, Sentara’s regional approach to healthcare delivery, navigating a changing healthcare and policy environment, workplace culture and Sentara’s rec...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Dr. Morgan McDowell, President of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners and Director of Advanced Practice Provider Education at Centra Health. She joins us for a conversation about her career and clinical work, the important role nurse practitioners play in patient care, healthcare workforce challenges, expanding access to care in r...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Kevin Key, a Virginia man who received a life-saving living-donor kidney transplant at VCU Health's Hume-Lee Transplant Center. The conversation covers Kevin's history with kidney disease, a frightening health crisis that landed him on emergency dialysis, a living organ donation from his sister-in-law, National Minority Donor Awareness Mo...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Allison Held, Director of the VCU Health Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP). She joins us for a conversation about the work of the MLP at the intersection of health care and legal services to help patients navigate address legal issues that can impact health and quality of life, as well as efforts to expand the MLP framework in Virginia. Sen...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Boryana Peeva, an intensive care unit nurse at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center and a lifelong adventurer. She joins us to discuss a personal journey that’s taken her from her homeland in Southeastern Europe to a clinical career in America, and how a chance patient care encounter gave added meaning to her trip to Mount Everest Bas...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Leora Brown, BSN, RN, CNOR, Program Manager for Product Implementation at Sentara Health. She joins us for a conversation about her work on the successful advocacy effort that resulted in a state law being passed to require surgical smoke evacuation systems in hospital operating rooms to protect healthcare professionals. Send questions, c...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Dr. Josue Chery, Surgical Director of Heart Transplantation at the VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center, for a conversation about heart surgery, organ transplantation, and how his lifelong passion for painting informs his approach to medicine, patient care, and the artistry of cardiac surgery. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Dr. John Muse, MD, MBA, a neurosurgeon with Mary Washington Healthcare, for a conversation about his professional journey, treatment for patients who experience a stroke, brain aneurysm, or other neurological conditions, the recent health system achievement of a successful open brain surgery procedure, and more. Send questions, comments,...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Andre Tolleris, VHHA Director of Data Analytics, for a conversation about leveraging hospital and healthcare data to provide actionable insights that member organizations can operationalize, VHHA data tools, and the public health implications from the findings of a recent VHHA analysis showing that hospital emergency department visits amo...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Nedra Moncrief-Craig, PhD, Commissioner of the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). She joins us for a conversation about the work of DARS in support of individuals with physical and behavioral health service needs while navigating the current shifting federal policy environment, and much more. Send questions,...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Dr. Richard Sterling, Chief Clinical Officer for the VCU Health Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health. He joins us for a conversation about the importance of liver health, the development of the FIB-4 index that transformed liver disease screening, the latest advances in the detection and treatment of fatty live...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features a conversation with Dr. John Alex, an emergency physician with Riverside Health, who joins us for a conversation about his military service, his work in medicine, and simulation education. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to pcfpodcast@vhha.com or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features a conversation with David Knight, PhD, a biology and anatomy professor at Christopher Newport University, who joins us for a conversation about an unexpected cancer diagnosis, how the treatment he received at Sentara Health inspired him to pursue training as a nurse, and much more. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features a conversation with Nancy Gee, PhD, Director of the VCU Center for Human-Animal Interaction. She joins us for a conversation about her work, the impact of therapy dogs in mental health, and much more. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to pcfpodcast@vhha.com or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #Patien...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features a conversation with Melissa Little, PhD, Director of the Center for Nicotine and Tobacco Research at the UVA School of Medicine. She joins us for a conversation about her work, attitudes towards smoking among Gen Z, how those trends may inform tobacco prevention efforts, and more. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions t...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features a conversation with Dr. Robert Hong, a physician with VHC Health, about emerging trends in rheumatologic care, advancements in treatment and diagnostics, and how evolving therapies improve outcomes for patients with chronic joint disease. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to pcfpodcast@vhha.com or contact us on X (T...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features a conversation with Shannon Roberts, Director of Women’s and Children’s Services at Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, about support services for new moms and babies, and more. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to pcfpodcast@vhha.com or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features a conversation with Valley Health President and CEO Mark Nantz that covers how the health system recently won prestigious recognition as one of the top 15 systems in the nation, reflections on his tenure as VHHA Board Chair, how Valley is adapting to coming health policy and funding changes in H.R. 1, and more. Send questions, comments, f...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Terry Thompson, an acute care nurse practitioner who serves as Senior Director of Advanced Practice Providers and Director of RMG Fellowships at Riverside Health. She joins us for a conversation about her professional journey, the role of advanced practice providers on clinical care teams, the work of a Riverside fellowship program to enh...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Dr. Surbhi Bansal, a glaucoma specialist at VCU Health, who joins us for a conversation about her professional journey as well as the process of becoming an author and working on her recently published novel: “Do Not Follow." Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to pcfpodcast@vhha.com or contact us on X (Twitter) or In...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Dr. Amir Eslami, an interventional cardiologist with Sentara RMH Medical Center, who joins us for a conversation about facing his own health challenges while caring for patients, the importance of vulnerability in medicine, taking practical steps towards better health, and the lessons of experience he’s gained as a physician and a person....

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Dr. William Lunn, President of HCA Healthcare Capital Division and the current Chair of the VHHA Board of Directors. Dr. Lunn joins us for a conversation about his professional journey, his thoughts on leadership and inspiration for working in healthcare, challenges and opportunities ahead due to shifting federal health policy, and more....

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Virginia State Health Commissioner Dr. B. Cameron Webb, who joins us for a conversation about his professional journey, his vision for public health in the Commonwealth as leader of the state health agency, challenges and opportunities ahead due to shifting federal health funding policy, and more. Send questions, comments, feedback, or gu...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Ed Markowski, Director of Threat Assessment at the University of Virginia, who joins us for a conversation about his work, the application of behavioral health threat assessment and management concepts to keep staff and patients safe, a FBI and AHA report on that topic, and more. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to...

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Mary Morin, Chief Nursing Officer with Andor Health. Morin is an experienced hospital nursing leader who joins us for a conversation about her professional journey, the work of Andor Health, the applications for its ThinkAndor agentic AI platform as a healthcare solution, and more. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions...