Sentara College of Health Sciences moving to Virginia Wesleyan

Beginning in January 2026, the Sentara College of Health Sciences of Virginia Wesleyan University will begin training regional health sciences professionals.

In April, Sentara Health announced it would be ending its independent Sentara College of Health Sciences’ nursing and non-nursing degree programs, although the Chesapeake-based college planned to continue its nondegree offerings. At the time, Sentara officials said that state and regional universities would pick up the degree programs, in which 385 students were enrolled in April.

VWU — which will be renamed Batten University in July 2026, after noted philanthropist Jane Batten — announced in June that it would be the college’s new home. Through summer 2026, all current students will complete their courses of study under the current SCOHS name, and there will be no changes to out-of-pocket costs, courses of study or graduation timelines. By fall 2026, programs will move from Chesapeake to the VWU campus in Virginia Beach.

Both institutions are working on required regulatory and accreditation processes as part of the transition.

“Our shared vision is to prepare the health care workforce of the future while honoring Sentara College’s deep community ties and proud academic legacy,” Sentara College of Health Sciences President Angela Taylor said in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with Virginia Wesleyan University to create new opportunities for students, expand access to in-demand programs and continue meeting the growing health care workforce needs of our communities.”

Meanwhile, the Hampton Roads area saw a fair amount of health care growth.

Bon Secours Harbour View Medical Center in Suffolk began serving patients in May. This new, 100,000-square-foot, three-story hospital is attached to Bon Secours Health Center at Harbour View and is forecast to serve about 75,000 patients annually. It will have four operating rooms.

In Isle of Wight County, Riverside Health is building a new hospital expected to open in early 2026. The 200,000-square-foot building will include an emergency department, diagnostic imaging services and 50 inpatient beds. A separate 20,000-square-foot medical office building with 40 exam rooms was set to open in September.

In May, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center opened its dedicated psychiatric emergency room, which helps patients in mental health crisis receive aid without being seen in the general ER. The hospital is also adding a 20-bed inpatient psychiatric unit expected to be open early next year.

Meanwhile, the Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences center at Old Dominion University finished its first year as the new home of the Eastern Virginia Medical School and other health sciences degree programs. In October 2024, the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia approved the formation of the Joint School of Public Health as a partnership between ODU and Norfolk State University, and will offer classes at the two campuses, as well as EVMS’ Virginia Beach campus.

The Veterans Administration’s North Battlefield Clinic opened in Chesapeake in April, but a former local union president representing government employees said at a congressional hearing in July that the facility opened with only 27% of staff because of fewer than usual applications.

Federal Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, have raised alarms that cuts to Medicaid in President Donald Trump’s budget reconciliation bill passed by Congress earlier this year could cause six rural hospitals in Virginia to close, including Bon Secours Rappahannock General Hospital in Kilmarnock and Bon Secours Southampton Medical Center in Franklin. Republican officials, though, say that there will be fixes available to save the hospitals.