The Virtua Community Health Institute includes clinical health professionals like physicians, nurses, dietitians and therapists, as well as public health professionals who focus on community need. 

We are passionate about community health and making a difference in the lives of people who have had limited access to care.

Virtua Community Health Institute leadership:

April Schetler, Assistant Vice President, Community Health Engagement
As chair of the Institute, April provides oversight and direction for the development and implementation of a robust enterprise-wide community health strategy. April advances health equity by creating and guiding community improvement programs that address health disparities like lack of access to healthy food, transportation, and housing.

Gregory Mayers, Manager, Community Health Engagement 
Greg coordinates Virtua’s community health portfolio. To promote effective and accessible community-based health programs, Greg guides initiatives and interventions that aim to address the social determinants of health inequity, especially for at-risk populations. Additionally, he works to foster sustainable community partnerships, design evidence-based program evaluations, and advocate for sound policy changes.

Partners in Community Care

The Virtua Community Health Institute (CHI) is closely aligned with a variety of community partners dedicated to advancing health equity in our region.

• Camden County Health and Human Services

• Food Bank of South Jersey

• Gloucester County Department of Health

• NJ Cancer Education and Early Detection

• TD Bank

• Whole Foods

The Virtua Community Health Institute focuses all efforts on optimizing the resources of Virtua Health to eliminate health disparities. 

Our team includes clinical and public health professionals representing Virtua Health’s key service areas. The Institute unites existing resources to expand services and strengthen outreach and collaboration to achieve our common goal of advancing health equity. We use a collective impact model with a common agenda, shared data and coordinated outreach.

The Institute also conducts research and implements interventions to improve our ability to respond to the health and social needs of our community.

Core Values

We share a common set of carefully articulated values to guide us in our efforts:

Communication and collaboration

Listening and sharing are the foundation of our ability to accomplish what our community needs from us.

Respect

It is our honor to serve our community and advance health equity.

Data-driven efforts

Data collection and analysis allows us to measure our impact, make adjustments as needed, and ensure we are responsible to our community of patients.

Servant leadership

We foster a shared sense of mission among our team for the ultimate benefit of our community.

Innovation

Thinking differently is our persistent goal, leading to new and more powerful ways of serving those in need.

Impact

• Donated more than 14,000 pounds of food to the South Jersey Food Bank of New Jersey (2019).
• Volunteered more than 800 hours of service in our community (April to November 2019).
• Completed 3,332 Food Pantry visits (2019 YTD).
• Distributed 80,661 pounds of produce and nonperishable goods through food pantries (2019 YTD).
• Distributed 155,779 pounds of fresh produce through the Mobile Farmer's Market (2018-2019).
• Served more than 28,536 customers through the Mobile Farmer's Market including more than 7,000 donated bags of produce (2018-2019).
• Provided $7,588 in SNAP matching dollars for customers using EBT (2018-2019).

Grants

• AARP Foundations: Tackling Food Insecurity Grant (2019)
• BUILD Health Challenge® award, 3.0 cohort (2019)
• Whole Foods Whole Cities Foundation Grant (2018 and 2019)
• BB&T Bank (2019)
• TD Bank (2018 and 2019)
• Sumner Station Foundation Grant (2018)
• W.W. Smith Foundation (2019)
• 25th Century Foundation (2019)
• City Green’s Garden State Good Food Network (2018 and 2019)

Awards

Community Health Institute (CHI)

• Awarded the 2019 NJBIA Good Neighbor Award for the new Virtua Camden Health and Wellness Center.

Mobile Farmer's Market

• Awarded Dorothy Cox-Fisher Award for Community Service for demonstrating a commitment to civic responsibility, a concern for the community, and dedication to improving the quality of life for its residents through volunteerism and other public service achievements.
• Awarded the 2019 New Hospital Association’s HRET Community Outreach Award in the category of improving nutrition and well-being. 
• Awarded a proclamation for outstanding community service from Senator James Beach in 2018.
• Selected as a nationwide Finalist in Rachel Ray Every Day Feed it Forward Contest. 

Media

CHI has been featured in various written and video publications such as USA Today, Courier Post, NJ Health, SJ Magazine, SNJ Today, Hospital and Health Network, CBN News, 6 ABC News, Burlington County Times, South Jersey Observer, NJ Biz, NJ Spotlight, ROI, NRC Health, and the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Provider’s Hotspot