By A.J. Hostetler

VCU Health leaders cut the ribbon today on a $6.4 million outpatient clinic for liver patients, offering a centralized location for them to connect with physicians from other disciplines as they fight liver disease.

The Liver and Metabolic Health Outpatient Clinic is expected to serve 3,000 new liver patients for VCU Health in its first year, and 1,000 additional new patients annually in subsequent years. This growth reflects the rising incidence of liver disease and the related increase in obesity and diabetes. More than 3 out of every 10 people in the United States have liver disease, including children.

The 13,000-square-foot clinic is located on the ninth floor of the Adult Outpatient Pavilion on East Leigh Street in downtown Richmond. To accommodate the growing number of patients, VCU Health is adding four hepatologists to its staff this fall, and additional specialities will offer integrated care for patients with liver disease.

Left to right: Arun Sanyal, M.D., director of the Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health; Michael Rao, Ph.D., president of VCU; Todd Stravitz, M.D., hepatologist and philanthropist who co-founded the institute. (Jonathan Mehring, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

The clinic is an extension of VCU’s research enterprise. Outpatients who qualify may participate in research by the renowned VCU Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health, a global leader in clinical and translational research and care for patients with liver disease and related metabolic disorders.

 “We are seeing an epidemic of liver disease, making liver health an urgent public health issue worldwide,” said VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “Liver and metabolic health impact every other system in the body. As VCU’s Stravitz-Sanyal Institute advances innovative research in treatments and cures, this new clinic will expand our ability to bring those treatments to patients globally, providing care in a comprehensive, holistic way that improves outcomes and provides hope to patients suffering from metabolic diseases. 

“We are eternally grateful to Drs. Todd Stravitz and Arun Sanyal for their generosity and leadership,” Rao noted. “Todd and Arun have made the institute and its truly critical global work in saving and improving human lives possible.”

The new clinic reflects the holistic philosophy of the Stravitz-Sanyal Institute, as it draws on not only VCU Health’s hepatology staff but also its cardiology, endocrinology, nutrition, exercise physiology and psychiatry units. Patients will be seen by multiple specialties without leaving the clinic.

“This new liver clinic really was designed with our patients in mind,” said Marlon Levy, M.D., MBA, senior vice president for VCU Health Sciences and CEO of VCU Health. “At VCU Health, we’re dedicated to increasing access to the care people need. Liver disease is a complex condition, so being able to receive comprehensive care and participate in groundbreaking research all in one place will make such a difference for those fighting liver disease in our communities.”

The clinic formally opens to patients next month. At today’s ribbon-cutting and tour by VCU Health leaders, Sanyal, M.D., chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and director of the liver institute, highlighted the broad-based care that liver patients will receive.

“We have one comprehensive program that manages the liver, the heart, diabetes, neurological problems – all of it together in one place, so patients don’t have to go from place to place for their care,” he said. “We reduce care fragmentation by having all the care provided in one integrated format.”

Arun Sanyal, M.D., and Todd Stravitz, M.D., founded the liver institute in 2021. (Jonathan Mehring, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

The outpatient clinic is the second new space VCU Health has opened this year for liver patients. In April, it opened an inpatient clinic primarily to provide pre- and post-operative care for patients receiving liver transplants through the VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center. 

The new liver clinic has 13 exam rooms, two procedure rooms, an exercise area with equipment and a walking track for patients, two infusion bays, two treatment rooms, office space for attending physicians and four specialty clinics, including one devoted to clinical research by the Stravitz-Sanyal Institute. In fiscal year 2025, 11 VCU hepatologists had 56 clinical research studies underway.

“We’re constantly exploring the boundaries of care to make it better, and that’s done through patient-focused research,” Sanyal said. “We’ve integrated our clinical care with our research to learn from our patients and use that knowledge to improve the care that we provide. And we then disseminate that knowledge for the whole world, so that care gets better everywhere.” 

Among recent contributions by VCU that have made their way to patients’ bedsides are the development of two drugs to treat metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis; new clinical guidelines for pediatricians to screen infants for biliary atresia; research finding that 13% of adults diagnosed with dementia may actually have a cognitive disorder associated with cirrhosis; and new guidelines for hepatologists on when and how to use blood-based and imaging tests for the stiffness that may indicate problems in the liver.

VCU’s gastroenterology-hepatology program is ranked in the top 10 worldwide and No. 4 in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report. The new clinic will allow more patients to receive holistic care that frequently starts in the liver.

“The clinic not only supports patients through their journey with liver disease, but it also looks at the health of all the patient’s other organs, through the lens of the liver,” Sanyal said. “The metabolic status of every organ in the body is controlled by the liver. So, by improving liver health we improve the health of those other organs.”

Access for hepatology patients has expanded recently. In addition to hepatology clinics at more VCU Health locations, patients with appointments at the new clinic may park in the Adult Outpatient Pavilion’s parking deck, which has more than 1,000 spaces. A new toll-free phone number, 833-828-5487, is dedicated to liver patients, which eases the process of scheduling appointments.

See how VCU’s Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health is making an impact

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