Since her first call to the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad as a kid, Chief Virginia Leavell knew that emergency medicine would be a big part of her life.
“I was in Charlottesville having breakfast with my grandmother and she went into cardiac arrest,” says Leavell. She called 911 and soon the CARS volunteers arrived. “They actually gave me a job to do—holding an IV bag— and I think that really stuck with me.”
During her time at the University of Virginia, it was this experience that drew Leavell to join the rescue squad in 2003. After graduating with a degree in psychology, it was the rescue squad that made Leavell decide to stay in Charlottesville rather than return to her hometown of Belfast, Maine. “It was just such an important part of my identity, and the place where I felt the most purpose,” she says. “There’s a strong sense of belonging within the crews and the organization as a whole.”
Now in her third term as chief, Leavell is finding new ways to help the Charlottesville community as a whole, including through the CARS Community Accessible Resources Education and Support program. From opioid overdoses to firearm injuries, CARS CARES aims to identify areas experiencing higher occurrences of specific risk factors and provide appropriate training for people in the area. “Spending more time in those communities that have the highest risk factors so that we become trusted by others, so that they are not going to hesitate to call 911 … they have an idea of what’s going to happen and who’s going to show up,” Leavell says. “Making that more accessible we hope will improve outcomes overall.”
Between her role as chief of CARS and her work with the Albemarle County Fire Rescue Community Risk & Resilience division, Leavell spends a lot of time thinking about emergency response. “The only way I fit everything into a day that needs to be fit is wearing those multiple hats at the same time, and trying very hard to take those hats off when I get home,” she says.
Leavell’s entire family is involved with CARS, including both of her children and her partner, who serves as the organization’s medical director. “My youngest was 5 days old when he attended his first board meeting with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad,” says Leavell.
Growing up around the rescue squad, both of Leavell’s children—now 6 and 15 years old—are involved with the volunteer organization. While her older child enjoys helping with outreach events teaching about NARCAN and Stop the Bleed training, her youngest “loves to practice CPR on everybody.”
“In a lot of ways it’s sort of bringing the family into the fold,” says Leavell. “I think that I’ve just been incredibly lucky to segue so much of that into my professional work.”