About Sheryl Garland

Sheryl Garland is currently the Vice President for the Department of Community Outreach for the VCU Health System and the Administrative Director for the VCU Center on Health Disparities. She is a native Richmonder who received her undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University in 1982. She later obtained her M.H.A. from the VCU Department of Health Administration (1988). After completing a residency at MCV Hospitals, she went on to hold several positions within the VCU Medical Center including Vice President of Ambulatory Care, Director of Planning, and Director of Strategic and Facilities Planning.

While serving in a leadership role in Ambulatory Care for approximately 10 years, Ms. Garland had the opportunity to oversee not only clinic operations, but expanded into areas of community outreach. Some of her accomplishments included the establishment of a community-based primary care center to chiefly provide care to uninsured and underinsured patients; the development of a partnership with the Richmond City Department of Public Health to integrate traditional public health department services into primary care clinics and physician’s offices; and the creation of the Care Coordination program that is sponsored by a local foundation to coordinate services for uninsured patients in the City of Richmond.

In October 2002, Ms. Garland became the first Vice President to assume responsibility for the Department of Community Outreach in the VCU Health System building upon her previous efforts and creating innovative partnerships with community providers and social services agencies. In addition, one of her primary tasks includes identifying new funding sources to support the health system’s quest to maintain its mission of caring for the uninsured.

Ms. Garland has received several awards acknowledging her efforts to enhance outreach services. These include the ACHE Regent’s Early Career Healthcare Executive Award (1994); VCU’s Presidential Award for Community Multicultural Enrichment (Administrator Award – 1996); VCU School of Medicine Dean’s Award for Community Service (1999); and the YWCA’s Outstanding Woman of the Year 2000 Award in the field of Health/Science. Most recently, she completed a fellowship program with the National Association for Public Hospital and Health Systems in the area of strengthening Ambulatory Care programs in Safety Net institutions (2002).