Advances in Cancer Care

Legacy donor recognition

The Riverside Health System Cornerstone Society celebrates estate donors through lifetime recognition. These remarkable individuals are acknowledged in our major publications and are invited to exclusive programs and events. Those contributing $10,000 or more are inducted into our Founder's Society.

Though Riverside shows its appreciation in many ways, the real reward is knowing that you have helped secure the health and happiness of your community for years to come.

For more information, please visit us online at rivhs.giftlegacy.com or call us at (757) 234-8740.

In 2022, we piloted the new donor-funded Patricia R. St. Clair Program for Cancer Genetics and Prevention. In the pilot program, two primary care offices offered genetics screening, counseling and testing services for genes that may predispose a person to a higher risk of cancer. Future support through the Foundation will allow us to expand the program to more locations and to fund cancer prevention and early detection activities and education for clinicians, patients and the community. Through philanthropy, the program is accessible to any patient regardless of insurance coverage or ability to pay. A few notable numbers:

• At Gloucester Partners in Women’s Health, 502 patients were screened and 13 referred for further action (counseling/testing)

• At our Williamsburg Family Practice, 410 patients were screened and 4 referred for further action (counseling/testing)

• During the eleven-week pilot period, if all Riverside primary care practices and Partners In Women’s Health practices had been part of the program (which is a goal toward which we are working), they would have screened more than 32,000 patients. That’s quite an impact!

Dr. Aaron Chevinsky Innovative leadership

New to Riverside is world class physician Dr. Aaron Chevinsky to lead our Cancer Care Network. From his tenure as Surgical Oncologist and leadership roles with Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Wisconsin, Dr. Chevinsky brings to Riverside his expertise in a multidisciplinary approach to cancer care. His vision of growth at Riverside includes several exceptional priorities focused on prevention, education and early detection and creating a comprehensive approach to care across Riverside. Examples of his goals include:

• As a complement to the St. Clair Genetics Program and community screenings for under-insured and uninsured patients, Dr. Chevinsky will work toward creating clinics for high risk patients, thereby enhancing prevention, screening, and early detection efforts system-wide for breast, colon, prostate and lung cancers. These multi-disciplinary clinics would encompass pathology, radiology, molecular and precision medicine in the hope that we can provide consults that result in same-day diagnosis.

• Elevating and expanding academic and research-level training programs in partnership with the University of Virginia, such as internal medicine and surgery.

• Recruiting actively for additional expert and compassionate providers in various disciplines including medical, surgical and radiation oncology as well as gastroenterologists who have the expertise to manage complex conditions.

We welcome Dr. Chevinsky and look forward to the leaps forward our cancer program will take under his leadership and with the support of our community.