Sentara Healthcare, Old Dominion University and Eastern Virginia Medical Center, all based in Norfolk, Va., signed an agreement to find options for closer affiliation that can improve educational research and healthcare in the Hampton Roads region.
Leaders from all three institutions will meet regularly to discuss aligning the university and medical center with Sentara, according to a Dec. 20 news release from Sentara. Closer affiliation will include making an academic health center, more funding from the commonwealth and community partners to the medical center and improving healthcare disparities in the region.
The agreement was signed by Old Dominion President Brian Hemphill, PhD; interim Eastern Virginia Medical Center President and Provost Alfred Abuhamad, MD; and Sentara President and CEO Howard Kern.
Mr. Kern said Eastern Virginia and Hampton Roads make up the biggest metropolitan area in the U.S. without an integrated state-university based medical school.
"Healthcare is already at crisis levels in terms of talent development and workforce," Mr. Kern said. "Strengthening our ability to train and deploy health professionals here in Hampton Roads is essential. Access to federal and private funding for medical and biomedical research is critical to our future economic development."