By Kim Van Sickel and Sara McCloskey

What began as a bold leap into leadership at the age of 29 quickly became a lifelong commitment to health care, community and people for Liz Martin.

She has spent more than three decades shaping health care in Tappahannock and the Northern Neck region of Virginia, starting out at Riverside Health System which was then acquired by VCU Health and renamed VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital in 2021.

With two small kids at home, Martin says she was blessed to have a supportive husband who was excited for her to take on a new opportunity as a hospital’s president.

“I started my career with Riverside Health System in 1989 and was privileged to have the opportunity to begin this role at Tappahannock in 1995,” said Martin, president of VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital. “We expected to be here about five years, but we created such deep friendships and love of this region, that we continued to ask to remain here in Tappahannock.”

As she looks ahead to a well-earned retirement, Martin shares her insights, memories and hopes for the future of the hospital and the community she helped shape.

How has your leadership philosophy evolved over the years?

My leadership philosophy has been based on the values instilled in me, particularly by my mother. I have always been taught to look around a room, identify the people who look like they are sitting on the outside, perhaps not being included or not feeling welcome in the group, and to pull them in. Great leaders look for those who are struggling to be seen, heard or valued, and bring those people in. Making connections, demonstrating empathy and being willing to bridge differences builds the relationships that cement a team together so they can be successful in any circumstance.

As I grew in leadership, I learned how to be a better coach, delivering constructive feedback in a way that inspired our teams to be better each day. I have made more than a few mistakes in my career, some pretty big ones, but being transparent, owning my decisions, accepting responsibility and redirecting quickly when needed are actions that I have tried to emulate for my team.

What is your proudest accomplishment?

I think I am most proud of the constantly improving quality of care that is delivered by our team. We have added many new services over the last 30 years, but improving the way in which we provide our care has been our hallmark. Tangible things like building additions and purchasing new equipment are always easy to point to and celebrate, but the professional growth in our clinical teams is really where the difference is made.  

Our teams are more prepared and more passionate about what they do than they have ever been before. The people are who I am most proud of.

How has the health care field changed since you first started?

Health care has become more of a team sport than it was 36 years ago. I remember long ago when the physician was seen as the driver. Now, the physician has a team of professionals that work together in lockstep, each bringing their own skills and insights to the care plan for our patients.

Most importantly, the patient now sits in the driver’s seat, making care decisions based on their personal goals and values. We spend much more time educating our patients so that they can make their health care decisions with all of the information at their fingertips. 

Physicians seem to thrive in their roles as medical experts and patient advocates, and welcome the support of nurses, social workers, dietitians, and rehabilitation specialists as we build sustainable care plans for our patients. 

Since moving to Tappahannock, Liz Martin and her family have become heavily involved in the community. Martin says Tappahannock will remain her home base during this next chapter. (Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

What will you remember most about your time at VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital?

I think everyone who works here at VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital would say we are a family. That doesn’t mean that we all see things the same way, but it means we remain deeply committed to each other, through the good and the bad, and will do anything to support and protect each other and our patients. 

We pull up each other’s bootstraps when we are having a tough day and we stay focused on what we all come to work to do: to provide kind, safe and expert care to our patients. We have always tried to put the face of the person we care most about on the face of our patients and treat them as we would want those we love to be cared for. We are also fiercely focused on transparency. When we know we can do better, we talk about it openly and consider feedback from our patients as a gift. We believe that patient safety can only come in an environment where our team feels safe speaking up. 

Can you share a memory that you think reflects the spirit of this hospital community? 

I don’t think that any experience can define the spirit of our team better than our response to COVID-19. In the very early weeks of the pandemic, we were all horrified and scared watching what was going on in other parts of the world, knowing it would only be a matter of time until we experienced it in the United States.  

Our team stepped up, knowing they would be directly in harm’s way as we began caring for COVID-positive patients. While team members were learning how to protect themselves and patients from infection and they were also making daily changes to practices as they learned how to care for critically ill patients on ventilators with no known treatment for this infection– they were also worrying about our own family and friends at home.    

Team members stepped out of their normal roles and began working in other areas of the hospital to focus on our COVID patients. VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital became the lead agency for vaccinating thousands and thousands of our community members. It was by far the highest degree of stress that has been put on our system, and, by far, the brightest shining moment of our team’s performance. 

What do you think makes this health system unique? 

Our team is heavily made up of people who were born and raised in the community. The longevity of our staff is unique in the health care field. I think what makes them special is their understanding of their role in taking care of our own here in the Tappahannock and Northern Neck region.  

The partnership with VCU Health brings a unique opportunity to bring the expertise of an academic medical center to our rural region. I hope to see continued expansion of clinical capabilities to our area, as well as the advancement of clinical research opportunities for our patients. 

How do you plan to spend your retirement?   

My husband Pat and I plan to do a lot of traveling, something my schedule has not allowed in the past. We are planning for a bunch of trips in the U.S. this year and then would like to go abroad in the coming years. We have 72 places on our bucket list, so we need to get started. 

We also will be happy to have more time to spend with our kids, Ryan and Patrick, who both live within a couple of hours from here.  

Tappahannock is our home, so we will always have basecamp here. We are looking forward to spending a lot more time on the river!

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