Allie Tran, who works in UVA Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit, followed in her mother’s footsteps when she became a nurse. Photo: John Robinson

Open hearts: Is compassion something you can teach?

When Dorrie Fontaine became dean of UVA’s School of Nursing in 2008, a subtle shift in how nurses were taught to tackle tough situations—the death of a young patient, a family pushing back on end-of-life decisions—was already under way. Toward the end of her tenure, former Dean Jeannette Lancaster partnered with philanthropist Tussi Kluge to [...]

Director Erika Viccellio is excited that, after a five-year collaboration with the Women’s Initiative, the Charlottesville Free Clinic is now offering mental health services to its patients. Photo: Christian Hommel

Mainstreaming mental health: Inside Charlottesville’s Free Clinic’s study on integrated care

John Davis never pictured himself going to the Charlottesville Free Clinic, much less to regularly meet with a therapist. Mental health patients have to conquer society’s stigma and the negative connotations surrounding treatment, and until Davis found himself uninsured and spilling his guts to the Charlottesville Free Clinic’s licensed social worker, he said he never [...]