Eastern Virginia Medical School holds an honored position in American history as the only school of medicine founded by a grassroots effort of the local community. Even though EVMS was brand new, it already had deep roots and a strong sense of identity. Planning for the medical school started in the early 1960s as the region turned its attention to improving the quality of care in the region.

The idea of a medical school in Hampton Roads gained momentum in 1964 when local citizens persuaded the Virginia General Assembly to create a medical authority charged with starting a school. Fundraising for the proposed medical school began in 1970, as a group of community leaders launched a $15 million campaign. By the time EVMS matriculated its first class in 1973, the EVMS Foundation had attracted $17 million in gifts and pledges. The school also had attracted much-needed medical specialists to a region where many basic services were lacking.

EVMS serves the region of southeastern Virginia known as Hampton Roads, a community that consistently ranks high in independent quality of living surveys. One of the most populous regions of Virginia, Hampton Roads' largest cities including Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. The main campus is located in Norfolk, Virginia.

The main campus is part of the Eastern Virginia Medical Center, which also includes Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the region's primary tertiary care center, and Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, a full-service, acute care facility which serves as the regional referral center for pediatrics.

Today, 2,300 physicians hold degrees from EVMS, including 500 who practice in Hampton Roads and 300 who practice in other regions of Virginia. In addition, the school has a growing health professions program, with programs in biomedical sciences, public health, and other specialties. Approximately 180,000 people received medical care from physicians and health professionals at EVMS.

Besides boosting the Hampton Roads economy annually by more than half a billion dollars and creating more than 10,500 jobs, EVMS has put the region on the map internationally for biomedical research. Reproductive medicine and research in pediatrics, geriatrics, diabetes, and cancer are among the areas where EVMS excels.