Riverside Smithfield Hospital Appoints Inaugural Advisory Board to Guide Future Growth and Community Healthcare Priorities
Riverside Smithfield Hospital (RSH) has formally appointed an inaugural advisory board, a significant milestone in developing the new hospital to best serve all residents of its surrounding communities.
The seven-member board, which likely will hold its first quarterly meeting by year’s end, represents multiple localities, governing bodies, businesses and professions in Isle of Wight County, Smithfield, Surry County and parts of Suffolk.
Most members do not have a background in healthcare. Instead, the group was carefully constructed to reflect a diverse range of perspectives, including factors such as race, gender, age, educational levels and professional backgrounds to discuss local medical needs and challenges.
“As we work to increase access to health care in this region, it’s incredibly important to have community members partnering with us,” says Jessica Macalino, RSH President. “Each of our board members will bring a very unique and valuable voice on what services we should have available immediately and in the future.”
The RSH Advisory Board will work alongside hospital leadership to develop strategic goals and priorities that align with Riverside’s mission and the evolving healthcare needs of the community. They will also provide financial, quality, safety and regulatory oversight as well as guidance on services, specialties and equipment within the hospital and in the community.
The Board initially will report to the Riverside Regional Medical Center (RRMC) Board of Directors before becoming a separate governing body. By 2026, plans call for the RSH Board to meet monthly and expand to nine members.
Valerie Butler, an elected member of the Smithfield Town Council, will chair the RSH Advisory Board and also sit on the Riverside Health System Board. Butler is a real estate agent whose extensive community leadership includes serving on the Board of the Peninsula Chapter of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities and as President of the Isle of Wight NAACP.
Another RSH Advisory Board member, Theo Cramer, PhD, will serve on the RRMC Board of Directors. Dr. Cramer was appointed as Superintendent of Isle of Wight County Schools in 2022 after a 30-year career as a public educator in Maryland.
Other inaugural RSH Board members are:
- Robert W. Jones, an attorney whose practice focuses on Real Estate, Criminal Defense, Zoning Law, Corporate Law and Wills and Estate Planning.
- Jim Monroe, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Smithfield Foods.
- Alysia Erin Pack, a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner whose family owns a number of local restaurants in Smithfield, Surry and Suffolk
- Melissa Rollins, Surry County Administrator and a Surry native.
- Thomas Woodward, President-Suffolk & Western Tidewater for TowneBank.
“We’re thrilled to have brought together people with such a wide scope of expertise and experiences,” Macalino notes. “Together, their input will help us shape a healthy future for our hospital and the patients who will turn to us.”