Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Upcoming Event

Best Places to Work in Virginia

Hamburger Menu Hamburger Menu

Tag: children’s hospital of the kings daughters

Answering local needs

Since it began offering inpatient psychiatric care at its $224 million Children’s Pavilion last October, Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters has admitted 500 patients, according to Dr. Carl Petersen, chief of mental health services at CHKD.

One in five children are estimated to have a mental health condition, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“More recently, during the pandemic, we saw an uptick in that number, and it looks like it’s even closer to one in four now,” Petersen says. “And regrettably, we just simply did not have enough providers here in Hampton Roads to meet the needs of kids.”

Located on the same Norfolk campus as the main CHKD hospital, the 14-story Children’s Pavilion also offers outpatient mental health care, as well as a pediatric practice, sports medicine and laboratory and radiology services.

CHKD Health Systems has hired about 400 new employees to staff the Children’s Pavilion, according to Petersen. Currently the health system has 48 beds open for pediatric inpatient psychiatric care, he says. “It’s a real challenge to hire nurses and other pediatric mental health providers to fill the roles that we need them to fill to care for the children in inpatient services.”

CHKD is making progress, though. In 2019, the health system hired its second child-and-adolescent psychiatrist, according to Petersen. That number has now grown to 19 psychiatrists. He’s optimistic that CHKD will be able to find enough staff to open 60 beds for inpatient care by the end of the calendar year.

Susannah Uroskie, president of the board of directors of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Coastal Virginia, says the mental health services being offered at the Children’s Pavilion are “very needed. We’re excited that it’s now available as an amazing resource in our community.”

In other regional health care developments, the folding of Eastern Virginia Medical School into Old Dominion University is moving toward its Jan. 1, 2024, integration deadline, according to Amber Lester Kennedy, assistant vice president of public relations at ODU. In September, the General Assembly approved $14 million to support startup costs for the initial integration and launch of the Eastern Virginia Health Sciences Center at ODU.

Meanwhile, Norfolk-based health care system Sentara Healthcare rebranded in May as Sentara Health to reflect an “enhanced focus on promoting the overall health and well-being” of its patients, members and communities. Sentara also announced that by the end of the year, it would retire its Optima Health and Virginia Premier insurance brands, which support nearly 750,000 total Medicaid members in Virginia, and instead will offer all plans under the Sentara Health Plans brand.

In October 2022, Bon Secours broke ground on the new Bon Secours Harbour View Hospital, which will serve northern Suffolk and western Hampton Roads. The 98,000-square-foot hospital will adjoin the existing Bon Secours Health Center at Harbour View and is scheduled to open in 2025.

Additionally, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center expects to begin performing open-heart surgeries in early 2024. In January, Dr. Colin Greene, then the state health commissioner, approved the center’s application to introduce open-heart surgery at the hospital. Five years earlier, the center’s initial request was denied by a former state health commissioner. The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled in 2022 that the commissioner had erred in the denial, and Chesapeake Regional Medical Center applied again, this time successfully.

In late July, Riverside Health System officials broke ground for the Riverside Smithfield Hospital, a 50-bed acute care facility planned for Isle of Wight County. Riverside plans to open the hospital in early 2026. 

Health Care 2023: AMY J. SAMPSON

Sampson ascended to president and CEO of Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in June, following the retirement of Jim Dahling, who headed the Hampton Roads health system for 20 years. She previously served as CHKD’s senior vice president and chief engagement and innovation officer.

A member of CHKD’s leadership team since 1990, Sampson has been instrumental in developing CHKD’s mental health initiative, spearheading efforts to secure government approval and financial backing for the Children’s Pavilion, a 60-bed pediatric mental health hospital and outpatient center that opened in fall 2022. Plans call for the facility to admit about 2,500 children for inpatient care every year, providing 48,000 outpatient therapy appointments annually, creating 400 jobs.

Serving a region from Williamsburg to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, CHKD employs more than 3,500 people, including about 300 pediatricians, specialists and surgeons. The system includes its namesake hospital in downtown Norfolk, with a Level 1 pediatric trauma center and an array of medical and surgical services. It also has health centers, urgent care and satellite offices at more than 40 locations.

A former Jefferson Scholar, Sampson holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.

CHKD president and CEO James Dahling to retire

After nearly 30 years, Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters President and CEO James Dahling announced his retirement from the Hampton Roads-based health system Friday.

“The board extends immense gratitude to Jim for his visionary leadership,” Akhil Jain, chair of CHKD’s board of directors, said in a statement. “His tenure marked an era of critical expansion for the health system, improving access to pediatric services and aligning CHKD with major shifts in the delivery of health care.”

Amy Sampson, CHKD’s senior vice president and chief engagement and innovation officer, will succeed Dahling, who will retire in 2023, but a transition date has not yet been set.

The leadership structure of the health system will also change. Dr. Christopher Foley, vice president and chief of medicine, is being promoted to chief clinical operations officer, a new position that will replace the chief operating officer. Dahling, Sampson and Foley will work together over the next several months toward the transition.

Dahling came to CHKD in 1994 as vice president and chief operating officer and became president and CEO in 2003, overseeing the expansion of CHKD’s outpatient services to multiservice health and surgery centers throughout Hampton Roads, according to a news release from CHKD.

Sampson

Dahling worked as senior vice president of Richmond Memorial Hospital from 1987 until 1993 and prior to that, held senior management positions at hospitals in Texas and Minnesota. He serves on several state and regional boards, including the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association and Virginia Beach Vision.

“It has been a privilege to lead this organization,” Dahling said in a statement. “CHKD is a remarkable family of extraordinary clinicians, surrounded by exceptional team members and bolstered by our King’s Daughters and volunteers, all of whom are steadfast in their dedication to doing what is best and right for children. I am in awe of their compassion, their commitment to excellence, and their resilience, and I am confident they will continue to grow and flourish with Amy’s insightful and inspirational leadership, and Chris’ knowledge and experience of clinical operations.”

CHKD opened the Children’s Pavilion for inpatient psychiatric care in October.

This year, CHKD opened a 14-story, $224 million Children’s Pavilion in Norfolk to house outpatient mental health care, primary care pediatrics, sports medicine, and laboratory and radiology services. The hospital made a dozen inpatient beds available initially, and another 48 will be open in a phased approach through mid-2023. Outpatient services began in April and the hospital opened for inpatient care in the fall. When fully operational, the Children’s Pavilion will admit about 2,500 children for inpatient care every year, provide 48,000 outpatient therapy appointments annually, and add 400 new jobs to the Hampton Roads area, according to CHKD.

Sampson joined CHKD in 1990 and has been part of the health system’s leadership team. She helped develop CHKD’s mental health initiative, spearheading efforts to secure government approval and financial backing for the Children’s Pavilion, according to a news release. She has also guided the development of the hospital’s mental health program. Additionally, she has overseen strategic planning, government relations, marketing and communications, philanthropy services, community outreach, experience services, the donor milk bank, call center and volunteer services.

Foley came to CHKD in 1996 as a pediatric intensive care specialist. He has also served as chief of the division of pediatric critical care and medical director of CHKD’s pediatric intensive care unit, pharmacy and critical care transport. He became chief medical officer in 2015.

 

More Va. health systems announce vaccine mandates

Major hospital systems in Hampton Roads and Central Virginia announced Wednesday that they will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

In Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, Riverside Health System and Sentara Healthcare jointly announced the requirement and began notifying employees Wednesday morning that they must receive the Johnson & Johnson shot or both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines by Oct. 18.  

UVA Health set Nov. 1 as the deadline for its employees. They must have gotten either both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, or the Johnson & Johnson shot by Oct. 18, to allow for the two weeks to pass for them to fully effective.

The announcements follow the news that the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday. 

The announcements come as the delta variant has spread across the United States, and throughout Virginia. As of Wednesday, 747,640 cases were reported in Virginia, including nearly 3,500 new cases Wednesday.  About 5.4 million Virginians or 63.3% have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 4.7 million Virginians, or about 56%, are fully vaccinated. About 75% of adults over the age of 18 in Virginia have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the Virginia Department of Health. 

“We applaud Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters health system, Riverside Health System and Sentara Healthcare for taking this important step in the name of public health and safety,” Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton said. The association issued a July 18 statement supporting vaccine mandates for hospital and health system employees. 

An estimated 73% to 74% of Sentara Healthcare’s 28,000 employees have received at least one shot, said Sentara Chief Physician Executive Dr. Jordan Asher. Employees who received vaccines outside of the health system must self-report their vaccination status, Asher said, and Sentara cannot guarantee that all have done so yet. 

For Sentara, the COVID-19 vaccine requirement is an extension of its current policy requiring the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), tetanus, chickenpox, hepatitis B and flu vaccines. Employees who refuse to adhere to the policy face a progressive disciplinary process that can lead to termination, Asher said. The policy applies to all employees within the U.S., including remote workers, vendors, contractors, volunteers and anyone else associated with the system.

Multiple factors determined the decision, Asher said. “We think about improving health every day, not only for those patients that have entrusted their care to us,” he said, “but [also] our employees, our medical staff and most importantly, our communities … we are a part of.”

The requirement aligns with the system’s “Safe at Sentara” protocols. The FDA approval, the delta variant’s rapid spread and impact on children, and the system’s goal to prevent it from being overwhelmed and unable to deliver care were also factors, Asher said.

As of Wednesday, 86% of UVA Health’s 14,0000 employees, not including contractors, have been vaccinated, hospital leaders said during a news conference. Anyone who remains unvaccinated on Nov. 1 will face disciplinary action, including the possibility of termination. UVA Health will consider employee requests for exemptions for medical and religious reasons. UVA Health has been holding vaccination clinics and employees also are allowed to get vaccinations from other health care providers.

“We just feel at UVA our duty and responsibility is to make sure that we’re having everyone as safe as possible, so that includes our teams, our community and for patients, to be able to serve as many patients as possible,” said University of Virginia Medical Center CEO Wendy Horton. The full authorization of the Pfizer vaccine by the federal government was one of the factors considered when setting the policy, Horton said, but she noted that UVA Health also was “weighing what’s happening with our own vaccination rates, the patient population, how we’re doing across the commonwealth.” 

Other health systems around the commonwealth have been taking steps in a similar direction in recent weeks, with some mandating the vaccination. 

Falls Church-based Inova Health System announced in June it would require its 18,000 employees to get the vaccine by Sept. 1.  Virginia Commonwealth University Health System in Richmond announced in August it would require employees to be vaccinated by Sept 15. VCU Health employees must submit requests for religious or medical exemption by Sept 1 or get their first dose by Sept. 15. 

Carilion Clinic in Roanoke said employees who are vaccinated by Oct. 1 will get a $150 bonus in their Oct. 15 paycheck. Anyone who chooses not to get vaccinated after Oct. 1 will be tested weekly for COVID-19. As of Aug. 18, 70% of the workforce and 99% of physicians received the vaccine, according to a news release from the hospital.