Remembering ‘Sentara’ Susan Bahorich, an exceptional storyteller

Like most poeple, she came into my life on the screen.

On an early fall day in 2017, I was in front of my computer, scrolling through social media, searching for the next big story, and she appeared in my feed. Full of life, brightly smiling, holding a video camera, and interviewing everyone on the scene.

The video was on Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center’s Facebook page, but she wasn’t talking about medicine. I wanted to know more about who she was, this person with the smooth delivery and giant on-camera presence.

Susan Bahorich was at a house in Woodbridge interviewing volunteers from Project-Mend-A-House, helping to draw attention to its charitable work repairing homes for those who can’t otherwise afford it. With her storytelling ability, Susan drew you in, made you a participant in the story, and made you care about whatever she told you.

I had the pleasure of working with Susan and getting to know her over the years. I remember getting an email from the team at Sentara telling me I would get to work with the “Sentara Susan,” as she had quickly become known.

I was excited and quickly learned that we were journalists always looking for the next great story. We clicked instantly.

Susan allowed me to interview some of Sentara’s brightest doctors and tour the hospital’s latest and greatest facilities.

Over coffee and lunches, we swapped war stories from our time in TV newsrooms. We talked about the unrelenting hours and demands of the job, hairy situations we encountered while reporting from the scene, and memorable poeple in the community with whom we crossed paths and who helped to make it a better place.

Susan was an exceptional storyteller. She would send me reports about people from our community who overcame challenges, from surviving a fall through the floor or a mom who donated children’s books to the hospital following the loss of her child to men and women who survived heart attacks and lived to tell the tale.

The coronavirus changed how often we saw each other and how we worked together. Like everyone, we relied on more phone and video calls to develop ideas about how to tell the hospital’s story best. I regret not being able to meet for coffee as we once did, but I cherished the collaboration.

As the COVID crisis worsened, she was always forthcoming with information about how it affected nurses, doctors, and staff at the hospital. As reporters, we got lost in so many stats in 2020 — the number of new cases, hospitalizations, deaths — at times, it was overwhelming.

Forever optimistic, Susan reminded me that the people on the front line of healthcare in our community do their jobs every day to the best of their ability. She never forgot about the human angle to every story.

As it did for many others, the email announcing Susan’s sudden passing at age 47 was a shock. I knew she had been a cancer survivor. Still, it took a while to process the fact that the person I considered a friend — someone I could call to bounce an idea or get a trusted opinion from a communications professional — was gone.

Watching Susan’s celebration of life today streamed live from Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center reminded me that, as a journalist, we can never forget that it’s the poeple for whom we are reporting. It’s their trust we must earn every day.

Susan earned the trust of doctors and nurses who were afraid to speak on camera and tell their stories. She helped them overcome their fears by first earning their trust, guiding them through the interview process, pointing them to the camera, and allowing their best to shine through.

It’s a quality I wish more people in this business and this world would possess. Susan, you will live on our screens and hearts forever.

Uriah Kiser is the founder and publisher of Potomac Local News.