Physician Assistants return home to care for community at Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital

Kassidy Irby, 24, and Chandler Bridgers, 25, both grew up in Halifax County. After leaving the area to earn their physician assistant degrees, they chose to return home to care for their community at Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital (SHRH).

Kassidy and Chandler, childhood friends, will join the SHRH hospitalist team soon. Returning home to practice medicine was a decision they made with confidence. 

“I always knew once I graduated, I wanted to come back to my hometown to practice,” said Kassidy, who graduated from Halifax County High School. “I have lived in Halifax my whole life and being able to give back to the community means a lot to me.” 

Path to medicine 

Early in his education at the University of Virginia (UVA), Chandler shadowed Nick Hall, a physician assistant. This experience sparked his interest in becoming a physician assistant. Now, Hall is his colleague at SHRH. 

After graduating from UVA with a kinesiology degree, Chandler joined the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad to gain medical experience. That’s when it clicked that he wanted a future in medicine.

Chandler completed the physician assistant program at Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences in Fishersville, Va. While Chandler was in physician assistant school, he did one of his clinical rotations with the hospitalist team at SHRH and absolutely loved it from day one.

“I did rotations in various parts of Virginia, Florida, and Ohio during physician assistant school and truly felt like I learned the most from the hospitalist team here in Halifax,” Chandler said. “So deciding where I wanted to work was a simple choice.”

“Having a good group of colleagues to learn from was important in my decision-making, and I could not ask for a better group of physician assistants and physicians to work with,” Chandler added, who enjoys playing golf with friends and colleagues during his off time. 

Kassidy also attended UVA to earn a kinesiology degree. She recently graduated from Emory & Henry University in Emory, Va., with a master’s in physician assistant studies. Kassidy enjoys golf, pickleball, hunting, and fishing during her off time. 

Both Kassidy and Chander love the close-knit and small community.  They enjoy seeing the friendly faces and being part of a community where people look out for one another.

Returning home

“Having Kassidy and Chandler return to provide healthcare in our community is wonderful, and we are proud to have them both here at SHRH,” said Dr. Brian Zwoyer, president of Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital. “They are not only talented healthcare professionals but they are embedded in our community and understand what a wonderful place this is.” 

Kassidy is looking forward to the opportunity to work at the new Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital, which is slated to open in 2026.

“I am excited to see the future of healthcare with the new hospital,” Kassidy said, “I think it will be a step in the right direction for the community.”

Chandler agrees that having a new, modern facility will ensure that everyone here has access to the latest and greatest advances in medicine.

“Hopefully, a new facility will also attract new providers to help continue to care for our community,” he added.

The important role of a physician assistant

“As hospitalist physician assistants, we provide all the care a patient receives once they are admitted to the hospital for any reason,” Chandler explained. “Along with the physician, we perform an initial assessment, order and interpret various diagnostic tests, and then come up with the treatment plan.”

Hospitalists also coordinate care provided by other specialists and care team members. Hospitalists ensure that the patient will be cared for when a patient is discharged. That could mean referring the patient to outpatient providers. It could mean helping them transition to a nursing home.

Join us in welcoming home these two new colleagues to our medical staff! You can learn more about the services offered at Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital here.