For this burn survivor, healing extends beyond the hospital
After surviving a childhood burn, Logan Monk returned to VCU Health to give back. Now, he and his wife help support burn survivors through peer connections.
April 17, 2026
Logan and Brittany Monk volunteer their time at numerous burn survivor events, giving back to the community that has given so much to them over the years. (Contributed photo)
By Joan Tupponce
Logan Monk doesn’t take raising his arms over his head for granted. It’s a feat that was impossible for him before the age of 9 due to a malicious burn injury he suffered as a toddler.
He doesn’t remember that first visit to the Evans-Haynes Burn Center at VCU Health, but his second is still vivid in his mind. During that visit, surgeons performed a skin graft and replaced scar tissue to provide more mobility in his upper torso.
“I was in the hospital for about a month,” Monk said, noting he had five surgeries before his 10th birthday at the hands of “fantastic surgeons.”
“My care was great. I loved all of my nurses,” he said. “I remember my time there fondly. My wound care was painful, but they made it as pain free as possible.”
But the pain patients experience isn’t only physical.
“Burn victims have mental struggles that people don’t think about,” said Liz Bowers, RN, BSN, outreach coordinator for the Evans-Haynes Burn Center. “There is so much more to burns than the physical wounds. There is a large psychosocial element. The trauma from the injury and its aftermath affects the whole person. This can be particularly challenging as a young person facing social and peer pressures.”
Bowers says that’s why peer support networks are so important for survivors of burn and traumatic injuries.
I volunteer to pass the torch to the next generation, inspiring them to live bold, confident and fearless lives as I was taught.
Logan Monk, Burn survivor and VCU Health Evans-Haynes Burn Center patient
Logan and his wife, Brittany, participate in the burn center’s Burn Survivor Sunday. The annual event allows burn survivors and their families to connect with each other. Emergency responders, firefighters and staff members of the Evans-Haynes Burn Center also attend to reconnect with current and former patients.
The survivors were injured in different ways — thermal, chemical, electrical and inhalation burns — and have found different ways to heal both physically and emotionally. Every story is unique.
As for the Monks’ story, healing means being involved with the burn survivor community.
While dating as teenagers, Logan introduced Brittany to the Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp, where he had been a camper and was volunteering at the time. It’s organized specifically for young burn survivors, so they can enjoy summer activities with other kids who have similar experiences. VCU Health’s burn care team suggested that Logan should sign up, and he kept going back.
Peer support makes it easier to “accept yourself when you have evidence of hundreds of people who look exactly like you living their lives without fear,” Logan said. “That’s exactly what burn camp and events like Burn Survivor Sunday offer: an opportunity for people with burn injuries to witness other burn survivors living confidently, boldly and powerfully.”
Brittany and Logan have many special memories at the Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp. It’s a place that means so much to them that Logan even asked Brittany to marry him one summer there. (Contributed photo)
Brittany and Logan volunteered together for six summers. Burn camp is a special place for them. It’s where they grew as a young couple. It’s where they got engaged.
But Brittany didn’t only fall in love with Logan at camp – she also fell in love with serving the burn community. She dreamed of becoming a nurse who worked at a burn center.
“All throughout nursing school, the other students knew me as the girl who wanted to be a burn nurse,” Brittany said. “I was hoping to get a job with Evans-Haynes Burn Center. I put all of my eggs in one basket. It was what I wanted to do.”
Today, that’s exactly what Brittany is doing. She’s now a registered nurse, certified in both burn and trauma care, at the same place where Logan received treatment years ago. She works with patients of all ages, from children to older adults.
“I love to see the patients when they come back to see us after they are discharged,” she said. “It’s so rewarding.”
Inspired by her husband and meeting more members of the burn survivor community, Brittany Monk graduated from nursing school in hopes working in a burn unit (left). Today, you may see her if you stop by VCU Health’s Evans-Haynes Burn Center (right). (Contributed photos)
How VCU Health supports the physical and mental healing of burn survivors
The Evans-Haynes Burn Center was founded in 1947 and is the oldest civilian burn center in the United States. It is the only Level I comprehensive adult and pediatric burn center in Virginia. In 2025, the burn team oversaw the care of more than 700 inpatient admissions.
Logan Monk’s experiences as a camper at both the Central Virginia Burn Camp and the Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp showed him the value of peer support networks. (Contributed photo)Comprehensive care means the burn team has a variety of specialties and expertise to help patients from the moment they are admitted to the hospital throughout their lives, including everything from physical, occupational and speech therapy to nutrition, pathology, psychology and access to Child Life services from Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
“We understand how burn injuries work, both mentally and physically,” said Tiffany Lord, RN, DNP, the program manager at Evans-Haynes Burn Center. “Our staff members are passionate and advocate for those patients. It’s a massive team effort."
The team also understands that burn patients benefit from building relationships with others who have adjusted to life after a burn injury. Burn centers nationwide hold Burn Survivor Sunday events to provide patients and their families an opportunity to connect with community resources and other survivors for that peer support.
Bowers is looking forward to this year’s event, which will include talks on topics related to burns, exhibits and interactive activities. Some are presented outside that feature tours of fire engines, the Chesterfield County Fire Department’s safety house and VCU Health’s LifeEvac helicopter.
The event provides a safe environment for patients where they can be social and interact with people who have had similar experiences. It also gives them the chance to reunite with the staff at the burn center.
“We see people look happy and light as they interact with their peers,” Bowers said. “We really do see people feeling elevated, and we watch them come out of their shells. It’s special to be part of this event.” 
When they aren’t volunteering, the Monks stay busy with their two toddlers. (Contributed photo)
Burn Survivor Sunday can be the first time survivors attend a social event since their injury. Peer support, Bowers and Lord agree, is extremely important in the overall healing process because it gives survivors the opportunity to share experiences and feel validated.
“It’s the power of sharing and being able to say, ‘I understand what you are going through,’” Lord said. “Patients open up to them in a way they don’t open up to us.”
These types of groups and events also provide burn survivors with “some of the tools they’ll need to navigate their lives,” Logan added.
If he was never exposed to other burn survivors that he could look up to, Logan says it would have taken much longer to accept himself.
“Seeing others stand in the same waters you’re drowning in inspires you to stand up. For that, I am extremely grateful to those who organize and financially support events, camps, groups, and functions for burn survivors,” he said.
He volunteers his time to efforts like Burn Survivor Sunday to give back to those who gave him so much.
“I volunteer to pass the torch to the next generation, inspiring them to live bold, confident and fearless lives as I was taught,” Logan said.
Brittany and Logan Monk say events like Burn Survivor Sunday offer opportunities for burn survivors and their families to connect and find support. (Contributed photo)
