Community Engagement and Health Outcomes
Together, We Thrive: Building Health Through Connection
Who We Are
We work alongside communities and local organizations to improve health and well-being, especially in places where people face more barriers to care and fewer resources. As part of UVA Health's commitment to transforming health for all Virginians, we focus on challenges like chronic illness, mental health, and life expectancy gaps.
Over time, our work has grown to support local groups, leaders, and neighbors who are stepping up to make a difference. Together, we promote prevention, early action, and practical solutions that help people live healthier, longer lives.
How We Work: Our CIVIC Framework
Bridging Health Gaps by addressing local challenges through both traditional healthcare services and innovative community-based solutions.
Our community health work is guided by five core values that bring UVA Health's mission to life in neighborhoods across Virginia. These values shape how we listen, learn, and work together to close health gaps.
CIVIC is the bridge that translates academic excellence into community impact:
Connection
We build trust and foster strong relationships by engaging deeply with communities to create lasting health improvements.
Initiatives: Community Listening Sessions, Health Ambassador Program, Neighborhood Walks
Insight
We center community voices and local knowledge to guide decisions and shape solutions that truly fit.
Initiatives: Community Health Needs Assessment, Local Advisory Councils, Data-to-Action Workshops
Vitality
We support the full spectrum of well-being—physical, mental, and social—to help communities thrive.
Initiatives: Wellness Pop-Ups, Healthy Homes Initiative, Youth Resilience Programs
Impact
We focus our efforts where they matter most, creating meaningful change that uplifts underserved communities and improves overall well-being.
Initiatives: Chronic Disease Management Clinics, Access Equity Dashboard, Emergency Response Partnerships
Collaboration
We co-create solutions through respectful partnerships, knowing real change happens together.
Initiatives: Coalition Building, Shared Grantmaking, Annual Community Summit
Our Commitment
This work reflects UVA Health's guiding principles and our commitment to deepen community engagement and foster healthy communities. By combining the expertise of a leading academic health system with the wisdom and strength of local communities, we're working to ensure every Virginian has access to care that fits their needs.
Our Goal
To close health gaps by ensuring every community has access to care that fits its needs—through a thoughtful blend of traditional services, innovative approaches, and local insight.
Work With Us
Whether you're a community member, local organization, or partner who shares our vision, we invite you to connect with us.
Get Involved
- Attend a Community Listening Session
- Join our Health Ambassador Program
- Partner with us on a community project
- Participate in our Annual Community Summit
Meeting People Where They Are: Community Care at UVA Health
What does it look like to bring world-class health care directly into communities? Tracy Downs, MD, chief community engagement and health outcomes officer at UVA Health, walks through the programs and partnerships making that possible.
Hi, I'm Dr. Tracy Downs. As UVA Health's Chief Community Engagement and Health Outcomes Officer, and as a board-certified surgeon committed to my patients, I see every day how meaningful partnerships can truly change lives. Because when we meet people where they are, we expand access to world-class care and improve health outcomes one community at a time. At UVA Health, we stand firmly by our mission of transforming health and inspiring hope for all Virginians and beyond. To live that mission, we conduct community health needs assessments to understand the social drivers of health across Charlottesville and the Commonwealth. Also, we collaborate with trusted local organizations already connected to our neighbors. This work begins with listening, learning, and building trust as good stewards of health and hope. Our partnerships bring critical services directly to neighborhoods. Blood pressure and blood sugar checks, diabetes and nutritional education, access to fresh and healthy food, cancer screening information, vaccinations required for school attendance, and physicals for children in sports. But it's not just about the services, it's about the relationships we build around them. We foster connection through community fairs and community health stations, youth outreach homes, our UVA Health mobile care team van, and a pediatric neurodevelopmental and behavioral health clinic. And we take that commitment even further, embedding a UVA Health clinic within local housing developments, bringing personalized health care right to people's homes, and building long-term meaningful relationships. I'm honored to serve on the University of Virginia President's Council on Community Partnerships, co-chairing the Public Health Working Group. At UVA School of Medicine, I support the next generation of physicians and biomedical scientists by managing programs that ensure every student and resident feels supported and mentoring both undergrad and graduate students along their journeys. My own path into medicine was sparked by a college professor nurtured by role models in my family and shaped by clinicians, peers, and mentors who helped pave the way. Now, I'm committed to bringing that full circle. To be that guide, that mentor, that advocate for others. To serve, to lead, and to help our communities thrive together.