‘Because Students’: Remembering Dr. Dani Noreika — physician, teacher, mentor and student
New VCU Health Administration scholarship named after late physician will support students with interests in health equity
Well into her clinical career as a palliative care physician, Danielle Noreika, M.D. decided to build her research and leadership skills and expand her passion for equitable patient care. To achieve her goals, she joined the VCU Department of Health Administration’s master of science in health administration program, graduating in May.
“There was no ego from her. She was very down to earth, very warm, just really curious to learn from her classmates and faculty and take advantage of all the program offerings,” says Paula H. Song, Ph.D., the Richard M. Bracken Chair and Professor of Health Administration. “She was a model student in every way.”
Noreika — section chief of VCU Health Palliative Medicine and professor in the Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Care — was also the first student to earn the department's new Health Equity certificate, a four-course program to prep professionals to identify and advocate for strategies to reduce health disparities. She was set to join Health Administration as adjunct faculty in the spring, adding to her teaching duties within the VCU School of Medicine.
“She really had a passion to think about how she, as a clinician, could really incorporate a more holistic approach to how she cared for patients,” Song says.
Noreika died unexpectedly October 16 after a brain aneurysm ruptured, and was cared for in the moments following by her VCU colleagues. Her obituary notes “her life’s work was her passion: to love and care for those around her,” which includes husband and Richmond emergency physician Kevin Noreika, D.O., son Matthew, her beloved dog Allie, brother Frank Raimond and many nieces. “Dani” was 45.
A legacy through scholarship
“She was the most selfless, giving and thankful person I’ve ever known,” Kevin says. “She was very appreciative of everybody, and always trying to find ways to thank people, even for the smallest things.”
Which is an ideal he is upholding with the creation of the Dr. Danielle M. Noreika Memorial Scholarship at VCU Health Administration. He has committed enough to endow and name a scholarship that lasts forever. The VCU Health Administration department has committed an additional $25,000 with the hopes of raising additional funds to support students with interests in health equity.
“This was a way that I could honor Dani as best I can based on where her true passions were in her career and life,” Kevin says.
Her peers saw that passion in practice.
“She wanted to make an impact in reducing the outcome gaps driven by social determinants of health,” says Renato G. Martins, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Care. “She would always use that focus as a guiding line in all the projects she was involved in.”
Teacher, mentor, student
Peers and colleagues describe Noreika as a mentor, leader and educator who was compassionate, kind — and accomplished.
She earned her medical degree from the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia and completed her internal medicine residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia. She remained on active duty in the U.S. Navy for nearly a decade before honorable discharge to pursue fellowship training in hospice and palliative medicine at the VCU School of Medicine. She joined the VCU faculty and health system in 2011.
Over the years, she earned numerous awards and honors for her achievements and leadership and published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on palliative care, quality of life and symptom management.
Noreika became medical director of Palliative Care at VCU in 2014 and program director of the VCU Health Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship in 2017. Fellows described her as “the best,” “easily approachable” and a “fantastically comprehensive teacher.”
Stephanie Call, M.D., associate chair for education in the Department of Internal Medicine, once wrote that Noreika “started to impact the world of graduate medical education far before she became program director,” helping redesign resident palliative care curriculum. Noreika added a quality improvement program, started a (pre-COVID) telehealth program and more.
In 2022, Noreika was recognized with the School of Medicine’s Irby-James Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching, with Internal Medicine leaders writing that she “truly personifies the accomplished clinical teacher providing an exceptional educational experience, innovative approaches and noteworthy leadership not only to medical students, residents and fellows but to colleagues at VCU and beyond.” They called her “the face of palliative care” in Richmond and nationwide.
Said one of her fellows: “When faced with a difficult clinical or system level issue I often find myself asking: ‘How would Dani approach this situation?’"
Kevin Noreika recalls a trip to Belize last winter when a guide during their cave tubing adventure told them, “There are no problems, only solutions.”
“That line really struck Dani and truly became her mantra going forward,” says Kevin, who was recently able to identify the phrase from a John Lennon song (“Watching The Wheels”). “It really does get to the heart of how Dani thought and lived her life.”
A recent focus on growing palliative care
Cancer patients make up the vast majority of those under palliative care, a specialty that addresses and relieves pain and focuses on making patients comfortable.
“I talked a lot to Dani about how we expand palliative care outside of cancer” such as end-stage heart or liver disease, says Internal Medicine chair Patricia Sime, M.D. “She was a voice for the palliative patients, and she was very good at talking to health system leadership about the program and how we could help more people.”
Noreika’s most recent research project, backed by funding from the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority, sought to develop clinical protocols and educational materials to reduce the risk of harm from opioid pain medications among Virginians with cancer. The VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center team hopes to develop a clinical pathway for care based on her work.
Robert A. Winn, M.D., director and Lipman Chair in Oncology at VCU Massey Cancer Center, said the Memorial Scholarship “not only honors Dr. Noreika’s extraordinary life but also invests in a brighter future for cancer care and research."
“It is a profound tribute to a remarkable individual whose contributions to oncology, patient care and health equity continue to inspire us all,” he said. “Her dedication to advancing cancer treatment and compassion for patients set a standard of excellence that really resonates throughout our community.”
‘Because students’
At her MSHA graduation in May, Noreika gifted VCU Health Administration’s Song and other faculty wine glasses inscribed with the phrase, “Because students…”
Five months later, Song spoke at Noreika’s memorial service and shared the story. Yes, “Because students” was a laugh at the expense of students (of which Noreika was one). Teaching can bring highs and occasional challenges for faculty, Song noted.
“But as I think about it now, it was a perfect gift coming from her,” she said. “It's ‘because students’ like Dani who make our work so incredibly satisfying. She inspired us, she motivated us, and made us want to be better teachers. ‘Because students’ like Dani, I have great hope and optimism for the future.”
By Jeff Kelley