Sentara Health

Every healthcare worker deserves to feel safe at work.

Today, our colleagues joined Governor of Virginia Abigail Spanberger at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital to celebrate the passage of the Protect Healthcare Workers Act. The new law strengthens protections for healthcare workers by making it illegal to bring weapons inside hospitals and emergency departments.

Since 2022, Sentara security teams have intercepted more than 15,600 weapons at our hospitals. As incidents of workplace violence continue to impact healthcare workers nationwide, Sentara has spent years championing this legislation to help create safer environments for the colleagues who care for our communities every day, as well as our patients and visitors.

"Sentara and other hospital systems have had weapon-free policies for years. But this legislation gives those policies the force of law,” said Dennis Matheis, president and CEO of Sentara Health. “Our goal has always been to protect our patients, visitors and colleagues from violence in hospitals across Virginia.”

We are excited to announce a joint venture with BAMF Health to establish Virginia's first comprehensive vertically integrated theranostics program.

Theranostics, which combines the words ‘therapy’ and ‘diagnosis,’ is a growing approach to precision medicine, which tailors treatments to the unique molecular characteristics of a patient’s disease.

Unlike standard chemotherapy, which can also kill healthy cells, theranostics identifies molecular targets unique to specific diseases. The customized radiopharmaceuticals, delivered by IV, attach themselves to cancerous cells and deliver targeted radiation over a period of weeks, thus minimizing damage to healthy tissue.

“Sentara is investing in the future of precision medicine,” said Michael Hooper, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Sentara Health. “Theranostics is still in development, but we see the potential, and we want to be on the leading edge to provide groundbreaking, lifesaving care for our patients.”

When Benjamin Goldberg was going through cancer treatment as a little boy, his mom Wendy noticed something. On the days that included dance therapy or meditation, the anxiety lifted — and everything went better.

Benjamin passed away at age 8. But what Wendy witnessed never left her.

When she was diagnosed with a stage 4 cancer herself, Wendy believes the combination of traditional treatments and non-clinical activities saved her life.

“I had less than a 30% chance to survive 5 years ago, and now I have no cancer,” she said. “So, I do believe that the integration of non-medical interventions truly works.”

Now, through the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation, she's partnering with Sentara on one of the 1st studies in the U.S. to formally examine how art and music therapy affect cancer patients — including whether those interventions reduce the need for hospital services. The hope is that the data will help expand social and financial support for these activities.

The year-long study is recruiting participants in the Hampton Roads, Virginia region now! Learn more at the link in the comments 👇