Building Virtual Care with Purpose: ChristianaCare’s Strategy in Action

Dr. Sarah Schenck, Executive Director of ChristianaCare’s Center for Virtual Health, joins the show to share how her team is rethinking care delivery, from primary care to hospital-at-home. As both a physician and a leader, Dr. Schenck unpacks how ChristianaCare uses technology to stay connected to patients, improve outcomes, and make healthcare better for everyone, especially those most often left behind.

ChristianaCare launched its virtual primary care program back in 2018, years before the pandemic. Born as a solution to better serve the organization’s own employees, the program quickly expanded and now supports diverse populations through high-frequency, low-intensity digital care. 

From a hybrid hospital-at-home model to AI-powered patient selection tools, ChristianaCare’s Center for Virtual Health is pioneering digital programs across the care continuum. Their virtual primary care practice delivers proactive, text-based care through tools like the WOW Plan and 4-2-1 Rule. Group-based behavioral health programs and condition-specific virtual clinics (like for Long COVID and concussion) round out a rich portfolio. 

Patients love the flexibility. Readmissions drop. Care gaps close. And underserved communities, tracked through granular ADI analysis, often see the greatest benefit. Through thoughtful design and a strong sense of mission, ChristianaCare is proving that, when done right, virtual care can truly meet people where they are.

A primary care physician with a track record of driving successful clinical care transformation, Dr. Schenck is an expert in delivering whole-person, patient-centered care within a team-based setting. Under Dr. Schenck’s leadership, ChristianaCare was the first health system in Delaware to earn certification as a multi-site Patient Centered Medical Home from the National Committee for Quality Assurance.  

Dr. Schenck also played a significant role during the COVID-19 pandemic and currently serves as medical director for the health system’s virtual COVID-19 practice, monoclonal antibodies COVID-19 treatment program, and virtual COVID-19 recovery clinic. 

Dr. Schenk received her Medical Degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University and her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Virginia