When Mitchell Rosner, MD, stepped in to lead Charlottesville, Va.-based UVA Health on an interim basis in February, his top priority was maintaining stability in operations and patient care.
“The second was working with our faculty, physicians and front-line staff to address concerns they had,” Dr. Rosner told Becker’s. “I had several one-on-one meetings, and worked to change some cultural elements to improve engagement around the issues staff and faculty had concerns about.”
It paid off. On Sept. 12, he was appointed to a three-year term as CEO of the health system and executive vice president for health affairs at the University of Virginia — a move backed by more than two dozen health system chairs and leaders.
The group wrote in a letter to university leadership that during his interim tenure, Dr. Rosner “has gained and fostered the trust and respect of our faculty and lent much needed stability to a tumultuous period for UVA Health.”
Dr. Rosner has been a faculty member at the UVA School of Medicine for 21 years and served as the chair of the department of medicine. He also completed his residency and fellowship in nephrology at UVA Health University Medical Center.
Focus on access, workforce
Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, Dr. Rosner said he is focused on clinical care, with an emphasis on access and operations issues such as capacity and throughput.
Recruitment and retention are also top priorities, he said.
While the system — which includes an academic medical center, three community hospitals, a specialty rehabilitation hospital and a network of primary and specialty care clinics — is primarily urban and suburban, it does include rural-based satellite sites. To support retention in those areas, Dr. Rosner emphasized the importance of connection.
“One of the things we do at those sites is make sure they have a very strong connection to the home medical center so that they feel very connected, whether that’s by encouraging them to have rounds or educational opportunities with us,” he said. “Even though they’re in a rural community, they have that connectivity to a large medical center that can make them feel comfortable in being in a different area.”
The system has also launched initiatives to expand telehealth and bring care closer to home.
“We’re looking at opportunities to do more advanced primary care telemedicine, using remote monitoring and other techniques to allow patients to stay at home getting labs done remotely,” he said. “We also want to be able to create more care opportunities in people’s communities — whether that’s through urgent care centers or building up primary care practices or subspecialty practices that are strategically located.”
Vision for the system
Dr. Rosner outlined key goals he aims to accomplish by the end of his term.
“First and foremost for me is always patient safety and quality,” he said. “We want to be recognized as having the very best, safe environment with the highest quality care.”
Second, he said the system’s tertiary care medical center is focused on delivering advanced care for people with complex conditions.
“I want to make sure that we’re here for people throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, to make sure that they know that we’re an option for them and that we want them to come here,” he said.
As an academic institution, UVA Health is also committed to training and caring for the next generation of caregivers, including nurses, physicians, physical therapists and respiratory therapists. Another priority is expanding patient access to clinical trials.
Dr. Rosner said he maintains a busy clinical practice and continues to see patients.
“That gives you the perspective of knowing what works, what doesn’t and what the frustrations are day to day,” he said. “In terms of being sympathetic and empathetic to our providers, it really helps to be out there with them and have some idea of what changes are needed to make life better for people who are working in the system.”
It always comes back to the patient, Dr. Rosner said.
“Having that experience of caring for patients over a long period of time, developing those relationships — that’s really important to me.”
