Chesapeake Regional Selected as a 2022 Health Quality Innovator of the Year

Award recognizes Chesapeake Regional’s dedication to improving health in Hampton Roads.

Dec. 9, 2022

CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Chesapeake Regional Healthcare has been named a 2022 Health Quality Innovator of the Year. The Health Quality Innovator Awards is an annual awards program created by Health Quality Innovators (HQI) that recognizes and celebrates organizations using successful, evidence-based approaches to quality improvement. 

Chesapeake Regional was selected as the winner in the Health Equity category for creating Women’s Wellness Wednesdays. This award category recognizes organizations that have successfully implemented interventions to address disparities by race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographic location, disability, and/or sexual orientation across a range of conditions.

Chesapeake Regional is committed to making a difference by strengthening and improving the health and wellness of the communities it serves.

Women’s Wellness Wednesdays began in 2021 after a quality improvement research study focused on demographics of patients who repeatedly visited Chesapeake Regional’s emergency department. The research revealed that middle aged women in the 23324-zip code of Chesapeake lacked access to medical care and needed resources to positively impact their health. As a result, the initiative was created to break down barriers and disparities in care faced by many residents in South Norfolk.

“We’re incredibly proud of what the Women’s Wellness Wednesdays initiative has accomplished, and we are honored to be recognized as a Health Quality Innovator of the Year,” said Reese Jackson, President & CEO of Chesapeake Regional Healthcare. “This is truly a collaborative effort among an incredible team of people working to improve the health of this community.”

Each month, Chesapeake Regional collaborated with over 40 community groups and organizations to offer resources to help improve the community’s health. The project was successful. There were approximately 150 women in attendance each month. Results of the research study revealed that 36% of attendees sometimes had to choose between medical care/medications and paying rent or making a car payment. Women in attendance said the biggest barrier to medical care was that they were unable to afford their co-pays or deductibles. At the end of the year, 80% of attendees said they improved their health.

Learn more about the 2022 Health Quality Innovators of the Year.