DONOR SPOTLIGHT: Sentara
Your name: Michael Hooper
Your position:Vice President, Chief Medical Officer of Sentara Norfolk General
Hospital
Company name: Sentara Healthcare
Website: www.sentara.com
Phone Number:(757) 388-3000
Business address: 6015 Poplar Hall Dr, Norfolk VA, 23502
Industry: Healthcare
Describe what the company you work for does and what your position entails:
Sentara Healthcare’s mission is to Improve Health Every Day with a vision to be the healthcare choice of the communities we serve. For more than 130 years, Sentara Healthcare has proudly lived its mission by providing expert medical care and addressing important community needs.
As the Chief Medical Officer at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, my job is to focus on the partnerships with our physicians and clinical programs to ensure that we are providing high-quality healthcare to our patients. It includes making sure that we have great people with the right knowledge, skills, and experience. It includes ensuring that we have the right policies, procedures, and protocols to support those people. It includes that we have the right culture to ensure excellence in quality and service. As an academic medical center, it also includes ensuring that we are successfully training the workforce of tomorrow
What is your personal connection to the Elizabeth River Trail?
I have lived in Norfolk since 2011. My entire work life has been at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and my personal life has been in the Ghent or Larchmont neighborhoods. I live and work alongside the trail that connects our communities. As a runner and biker, I have trained on the trail and decompressed on the trail. My children have grown up on it.
Why did you/your company decide to provide sponsorship to the trail?
Sentara is committed to making meaningful and impactful investments in the community – not only through investing in our employees and caring for our patients and consumers – but, through direct investments that strengthen the communities and promote healthy lifestyles. The Elizabeth River Trail is an investment in Norfolk. It connects us to each other and gives us space to be active and relieve stress.
Given your business expertise and the nature of what you do, what benefits do you feel the trail has for the business community?
Businesses are in a symbiotic relationship with their communities. Every business knows that their success is tied to the success of their communities. The citizens of Norfolk and Hampton Roads have a choice of where they spend their lives. The ERT makes our community more livable and more enjoyable. That is good for our community and good for all our businesses and industries.
What’s your favorite trail moment?
Sentara has been fortunate to partner with the trail for the past 2 years to support the Elizabeth River Trail Run (one of our major annual fundraising events) by staffing and supplying the medical tent at the finish line. The run that occurred in the Spring of 2021 was a wonderful event. It was one of the first large-scale community connecting events after a very long 2020 when connections didn’t happen. 2020 was a very stressful year for healthcare workers. Being able to see many of my colleagues and neighbors out in the community, being active and social, and just living was a wonderful moment.
Favorite Trailgrazing spot? (i.e. best local food spot steps from the trail)
The Bakehouse at Chelsea is a great spot. Fresh, delicious food from a true local business.
Best view of the Elizabeth River from the trail?
Hard to beat the Plum Point Park stop. A nice green space with places to sit and water views. Nice spot to rest during a walk or jog. Have even used it for fireworks viewing during Harborfest or Fourth of July!
