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Sentara Health provided more than $260M of support to communities last year

Rebecca Barnabi
health care
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Sentara Health invested more than $260 million to support Virginia and North Carolina communities in 2022.

The support includes $6.7 million in health and prevention programs, $48.5 million in teaching and training opportunities for healthcare professionals, $48 million in community giving and $157 million in uncompensated patient care.

Sentara is dedicated to promoting health equity and ensuring that all members of the communities it serves have access to necessary resources for optimal health and well-being. Nearly 80 percent of health outcomes are affected by environmental factors, such as birthplace, location of residence, education, employment, recreation and religion. Only 20 percent of direct healthcare affects health outcomes.

“For more than 130 years, Sentara’s presence in our communities has never been defined solely by our hospitals and clinics,” Sherry Norquist, executive director of community engagement and impact at Sentara, said. “We’ve constantly searched for ways to strengthen our communities – and every individual who calls those communities home – by looking farther ‘upstream’ to address root causes of health disparities and to improve community conditions. By listening and striving to be a partner to both community and faith-based organizations who share our mission, we can be an anchor upon which our entire communities can rely.”

Sentara employees also donated more than $1,371,000 to the United Way in 2022.

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca J. Barnabi is the national editor of Augusta Free Press. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she began her journalism career at The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. In 2013, she was awarded first place for feature writing in the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Awards Program, and was honored by the Virginia School Boards Association’s 2019 Media Honor Roll Program for her coverage of Waynesboro Schools. Her background in newspapers includes writing about features, local government, education and the arts.