Let’s get one thing straight. There’s always been women in medicine. As long as humans have been around, women have played a key role in healing, mending, and caring for the sick. That women have taken on medical titles and roles previously reserved for men is less a reflection of women’s ability to deliver healthcare than an example of tenacity not giving into entrenched policies of bias.
At UVA Health, we celebrate all the ways in which women have worked to make medicine available, affordable, accessible, and equitable. We recognize the trailblazers who pushed the boundaries of acceptability as well as the women who, still today, strive to deliver inclusive care and create spaces in the medical system that operate with parity and fairness.
Every year, our writing team gets to talk to women in medicine doing incredible things to improve the lives and wellbeing of people throughout Virginia and beyond.
Here's a few of our recent favorites.
Helping Babies Sleep Across the Country
Rachel Moon, MD, is a UVA Health Children’s pediatrician and a safe sleep expert. Moon helped write the American Academy of Pediatrics’ updated recommendations for reducing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). With more than a decade of studying both the causes and prevention of SIDS, few people are more informed on the importance of safe sleep.
Turning the Genetic Keys
Chelsea Chambers, MS, CGC, helps people untangle their genetic histories. She’s a genetic counselor at UVA Health with a special focus in neurogenetics.
Her work plays a key role in helping patients find out the best way to prevent or plan for serious inherited illness. She answers to patients’ common questions about neurogenetics, genetic counseling, and testing for neurological conditions.
Measuring Care to Ensure Equality
Bizz Glover co-chairs UVA Health’s LGBTQ & Transgender Advisory Committee. She was also part of a leadership team that helped UVA Health University Medical Center earn a “Leader” score of 100 in the 2024 Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). This index rates over 2,200 healthcare facilities on how well their policies and practices support LGBTQ+ patients, visitors, and employees. Her commitment to increasing inclusion for every patient ensures that people who have often faced discrimination and denial of services get the compassionate care they deserve.
A Rare Expert for a Too-Common Problem
Every day in the U.S., 4-5 children die from abuse and neglect. Despite the number of children affected, pediatricians who specialize in child abuse are rare. In Virginia, there are 3.
Jennifer Andrews, DO, is 1 of those 3. In her highly specialized role as a child abuse pediatrician, Andrews look for signs of abuse in forensic exams, consults with doctors who want a second opinion, and helps advocate for ways to prevent child abuse. Her presence at UVA Health Children’s means kids throughout the region have someone with the right training and knowledge to validate, heal, and protect them when they need it most.
Making a Lifetime Impact Across Disparities
Wendy Cohn, MEd, PhD, is UVA Health Cancer Center’s associate director for community outreach and engagement. She leads a team that works to prevent and reduce cancer in the areas UVA Health serves. Recent efforts have extended to rural areas of Virginia that lack access to the kind of expert healthcare located in cities. Cohn’s leadership will continue to impact the lives of untold numbers of people for years to come.
