Integration Vision and Focus Areas

  1. VHS / EVMS-ODU Integration / Integration Vision and Focus Areas

Working Vision Statement for Joint ODU/EVMS Integration

The proposed ODU/EVMS health sciences integration, grounded in its commitment to the diverse communities it serves and working collaboratively with its strategic partners, will lead in transforming the health and economy of the Hampton Roads regionand beyond, through sustained excellence and innovation in education, research, and clinical care.

The proposed integration would address the following four areas in particular:

  • Mitigating health disparities. The expanded enrollment that will result from an integration presents an opportunity to add new talent to the region in order to meet its current and future healthcare needs. As a result, the region will be better equipped to reduce health disparities locally and in Virginia as a whole with strategic, comprehensive solutions that address the complex and wide-ranging factors and systems that contribute to the current inequitable distribution of resources, providers and patient care.
  • Accelerating economic development. An integration would strengthen and grow the medical, healthcare and research workforces in Hampton Roads —growth that in turn presents economic benefits for Virginia. The proposed integration presents the opportunity for the development of a translational research hub, adding more jobs to the region in fields that are well-compensated, in-demand and desirable —jobs that could represent generational change for families in Hampton Roads and the Commonwealth.
  • Strengthening the clinical workforce pipeline. This integration would enhance health sciences academic programs, research areas, and the workforce pipeline —all with the goal of increasing health care opportunities for local citizens and combating the significant health disparities in our region. A stronger and closer integration also would allow EVMS and ODU to make new investments and to revamp or create new programs that neither could do independently.
  • Expanding research and educational communities. The rationale for an integration is to enable greater educational opportunities for students through coordination between health professions programs and engineering programs. ODU’s recent designation as a Research 1 university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education makes the integration with EVMS an opportunity to further drive research and innovation. This focus on research and STEM education presents economic benefits for the Commonwealth of Virginia by driving the local economy in Hampton Roads, which makes up 20% of all economic activity in the state.

Focus Areas

Having found common ground and opportunities for both schools to grow and benefit the region, the various functional work teams will identify how key areas can function together. We are charting a bold vision for what we can accomplish in our three key areas of impact — education, research and patient care.