RESOURCES
Understanding Hospital Access in Virginia
Access to high-quality healthcare can shape the health and strength of an entire community.
Across Virginia, hospitals provide emergency care, deliver babies, treat chronic conditions, perform lifesaving procedures, and connect patients with specialized care. They are also major employers and community institutions.
But access to care is not experienced equally everywhere.
Communities of color, lower-income families, and historically underserved neighborhoods can face additional barriers to getting the care they need. When hospitals face increased pressure, reduce services, or close, those existing challenges can become even greater.
The Virginia Care Equity Coalition provides resources to help Virginians better understand what hospital access means for their communities—and what is at stake when that access is threatened.
Care Close to Home Matters
A hospital is often the front door to the healthcare system.
Having strong hospital services nearby means patients can more readily access emergency care, diagnostic services, surgery, maternity care, specialized treatment, and other essential services when they need them.
For communities already confronting barriers to healthcare, maintaining that access is especially important.
More Than a Place for Healthcare
Hospitals don't just care for patients. They are deeply connected to the communities they serve.
They provide jobs, support local families and businesses, partner with community organizations, and serve as anchors for neighborhoods across Virginia.
That means the strength of a hospital can have an impact well beyond its walls.
Making Sure Every Community Is Heard
Decisions about healthcare policy can have very different consequences from one community to another.
The people most affected by those decisions deserve a meaningful voice in the conversation.
The Virginia Care Equity Coalition works to elevate the experiences of communities of color and historically underserved Virginians so policymakers and the public better understand how decisions affecting hospitals can affect access to care.
VIRGINIA HEALTHCARE RESOURCES
Virginia Department of Health
Statewide public health information, programs, data, and community health resources.
Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services
Information about Medicaid and other healthcare coverage programs available to eligible Virginians.
Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association
Information and data about Virginia's hospitals and health systems.
Virginia Health Information
Healthcare data and information about hospitals, healthcare utilization, costs, and quality across the Commonwealth.