News Center

Health district directors and leaders from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) across all 35 health districts gathered at Virginia Commonwealth University's medical campus for an inaugural summit with a dedicated focus on cancer. Facilitated by the Catchment Area Data Access and Alignment office of VCU Massey Cancer Center, the summit featured presentations and discussions from researchers, elected officials and representatives of state-wide organizations.

“We are here to celebrate the rich tapestry of Virginia’s diversity and heterogeneity,” said Katherine Tossas, Ph.D., M.S., director of catchment area data access and alignment and Harrison Scholar at Massey, in her opening remarks. “Cancer, also a heterogeneous disease, stands as one of the largest burdens of disease in the commonwealth and we have so many opportunities to work together to help address that.”

Further charges were delivered by Robert A. Winn, M.D., Massey director and Lipman Chair in Oncology, and Karen Shelton, M.D., health commissioner, VDH.

“You are a major inspiration to me, for what you do every day,” said Winn. “Health district directors are on the front lines in our communities. What power could we have if we align as a commonwealth with our state government, directors and cancer centers? Our efforts here are models for the rest of the country.”

Shelton further emphasized the importance of collaboration: “Take the things we talk about today back to all sectors of the state and let’s figure out how we can optimize our efforts for the entire community.”

The first panel, “Building capacity for evidence-based public health: Implementing best practices within clinical service programs,” was moderated by Elaine Perry, M.D., M.P.H, health director, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts, and acting health director, Central Shenandoah Health District. It featured presentations on Hitting Cancer Below the Belt’s SLICE Project, VDH Tobacco Control Program’s Free from Tobacco initiative, and Massey’s Chickahominy TRUTH Project.

The panelists were joined by Chief Stephen R. Adkins, Chickahominy Tribe, to discuss the ongoing work between Massey and the tribe. “Let’s capitalize on the sense of urgency I feel in this room” he said. “Let’s get the ball rolling and spread the word.”

Following the panel, Vanessa B. Sheppard, Ph.D., associate director for community outreach & engagement and health disparities and founding interim dean of the VCU School of Population Health, spoke to the importance of state agencies, universities and non-profit organizations partnering for public health and training needs.

“Community outreach and engagement is the secret weapon of cancer centers; it allows us to move beyond our research or clinical trials and get into the community, to educate and interact,” she said. “It allows for events like this, where we can connect with one another.”

The afternoon session kicked off with a panel discussion moderated by Thomas Franck, M.D., M.P.H., health director, Chickahominy Health District. The panel focused on using statewide data to drive precision public health and included an overview of Cancer Action Coalition of Virginia’s Virginia Cancer Plan and insights from Virginia’s Cancer Registry. The panel closed with a demonstration of Massey’s needs assessments and precision map tools – a secure, cloud-based platform with easy-to-use visualizations of quantitative and qualitative data collected from many different sources and systems.

The summit’s keynote presentation was delivered remotely from Carlsbad, Calif., by Robert Croyle, Ph.D., former director of the National Institutes of Health’s division of cancer control and population sciences. During his talk, Croyle spoke to the importance of persistence when tackling the country’s cancer burden. “It’s easy for the issues that are on the radar of political leaders that are urgent or immediate to dominate the conversation,” he said. “But the leading cause of death – cancer – needs your support and advocacy.”

The first-of-its-kind summit closed with a legislative panel featuring Del. Delores McQuinn, Rep. Jennifer McClellan and Rep. Rob Wittman. During their discussion, all three legislators urged attendees to advocate for the health of their districts, noting that cancer is an issue that touches every person in Virginia and deserves the attention given during the summit.

The day’s dialogue left many participants with feelings of hope and the desire to continue the conversation. “Understand that this isn’t just a singular event for us to check a box. We see this as the inception of an enduring dialogue and partnership to transform the health of all Virginians. I am excited about all the work we will do together,” said Winn.

Written by: David Oglethorpe, Ed.D.