Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center empanels Community Council

Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center has empaneled a 21-member Community Council to help hospital leaders better understand perceptions in the community about access to care, health outcomes, and the consumer and patient experience across the Historic Triangle.

The first-of-its-kind council’s work is being supported by two professors at the College of William & Mary with expertise in sociology and community health.

The Community Council is a committee of the hospital’s standing advisory board. Their mandate is separate from the Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs) that hospitals perform every three years. The council is providing an additional, different opportunity for engagement with diverse community members, and others who may face barriers to care, or feel their unique healthcare needs are not fully understood.

Council members include representatives from non-profit, faith-based and government agencies that serve communities whose perspectives may not always be captured. 

“We know the best solutions come from listening to the people we serve, and our community is strongest when every voice is heard,” said Iris Lundy, vice president of health impact and engagement with Sentara Health. “This survey is an opportunity to listen to people whose experiences may not always be represented.”  

Council members submitted questions for the survey in a process led by chairperson Fred Liggin. Liggin is a pastor and co-founder of 3e Restoration, a faith-based organization that addresses homelessness through “trauma-responsive initiatives and gracious hospitality.”

“I believe the Community Council is not only a courageous initiative but a just one,” Liggin said. “I applaud Sentara for investing in a process of listening and responding.”

“It’s important that hospitals not just care for our neighbors but that they listen to them,” Liggin added, “especially those whose voices have been historically marginalized, so every neighbor is seen and heard.”

Loren Smith, vice president of operations for Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center, and Kapua Conley, eastern market president, are supportive of the council’s work and the survey. 

“We want to know what we can do to better serve the Sentara mission to improve health every day,” said Conley. “We’ll learn by listening to our community.”

Two professors at the College of William & Mary are helping to draft the survey.

Elyas Bakhtiari is associate professor of sociology and director of the Schroeder Center for Health Policy. His research examines the social causes of health disparities, particularly for racial and ethnic minority groups and international migrants.

Scott Ickes is an assistant professor with interests in maternal and child nutrition and social epidemiology. His current research is focused on social and cultural influences of poor diet and health among mothers and children in low-resource communities.  

Drs. Bakhtiari and Ickes took the council’s initial questions and drafted them into a scientific survey to help ensure it identifies barriers to care as perceived in the community. The survey will be shared electronically through a link and QR code, and it will be available in Spanish.

The two educators will recruit William & Mary students to help conduct the survey among target populations. Members of the council serve broad constituencies they can engage for a representative sampling. The members of the council were chosen in part for their reach into the community.

"This is an opportunity to listen, learn, and deepen our understanding of the diverse lived experiences in our community," said Smith. "We are committed to being a healing place for everyone, and we continuously seek new ways to improve health every day."

“By fostering strong community partnerships, we can create more inclusive pathways to care and better support the health and well-being of every person who turns to us,” Smith added.

The survey launches in September and will continue through the fall.