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 recognition as one of America’s Best Workplaces for Women, and lessons on leadership, mentorship, and professional growth. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to [email protected] or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.

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 rural communities, and advocacy priorities for NPs in Virginia. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to [email protected] or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.

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 Month, and more. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to [email protected] or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.

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. Send a message to [email protected] to learn more and get involved. Visit this link to join the MLP.Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to [email protected] or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.

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 Base Camp. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to [email protected] or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.

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, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to [email protected] or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.

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 suggestions to [email protected] or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.

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, feedback, or guest suggestions to [email protected] or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.

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 among self-pay/uninsured patients are rising across Virginia. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to [email protected] or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.

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, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to [email protected] or contact us on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.