Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Upcoming Event

Best Places to Work in Virginia

Hamburger Menu Hamburger Menu

byline: Robyn Sidersky

Inova Fairfax Hospital retains No.1 state ranking

For the second year in a row, Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church has been named the best hospital in Virginia on U.S. News and World Report’s annual list of the best hospitals in the nation, which was released Tuesday.

The Inova Health System’s hospital also ranked as the top hospital in the Washington, D.C., metro area, and ranked third in Virginia for children’s hospitals and No. 14 in the mid-Atlantic for children’s care. Inova Fairfax Hospital ranked No. 10 in the nation for obsetrics and gynecology and No. 40 for neonatology. (U.S. News includes data from Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital in its evaluation of Inova Fairfax Hospital.)

Last year Inova Fairfax unseated University of Virginia Medical Center as the No. 1 hospital and kept the top spot this year.

“World-class health care is a team sport and I am proud to lead the Inova team which steps up every day, year after year, to deliver the safest and highest quality care to those we are privileged to serve,” President and CEO of Inova J. Stephen Jones said in a statement. “To be named the No. 1 hospital in the state and the region for the second consecutive year during a transformative period in health care illustrates our exceptional team and their ongoing commitment to putting our patients and communities at the center of everything we do.”

U.S. News and World Report’s 2022-2023 Best Hospitals rankings relied on data from more than 5,000 hospitals. Nationally, 164 hospitals ranked in at least one of the 15 specialties assessed. For 12 of the specialties, the rankings are determined by performance data in structure, process and outcomes. For the remaining three — ophthalmology, psychiatry and rheumatology — the rankings rely on expert opinion.

Nationally, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, retained its ranking as the nation’s top hospital.

U.S. News and World Report evaluated 122 hospitals in Virginia, with 17 meeting the publication’s standards for ranking:

The following are U.S. News and World Report’s 2022-23 best hospitals in Virginia:

1. Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church

2. University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville

3. (tie) Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Norfolk

3. (tie) VCU Medical Center, Richmond

5. Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Roanoke

6. Winchester Medical Center, Winchester

7. Centra Lynchburg General Hospital, Lynchburg

8. (tie) Inova Fair Oaks Hospital, Fairfax

8. (tie) Sentra Martha Jefferson Hospital, Charlottesville 

10. (tie) Inova Alexandria Hospital, Alexandria

10. (tie) Mary Washington Hospital, Fredericksburg

12. (tie) Henrico Doctors’ Hospitals, Richmond

12. (tie) Sentara Virginia Beach Hospital, Virginia Beach

12. (tie) Virginia Hospital Center, Arlington

15. Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals, Richmond

16. Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, Chesapeake

17. Bon Scours Memorial Regional Medical Center, Mechanicsville

Ranked No. 2 in the state, U.Va. Medical Center ranked nationally in six children’s specialties: No. 32 in the nation for neonatology, No. 20 for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, No. 49 in pediatric diabetes and endocrinology, No. 39 in pediatric gastroenterology and GI surgery, No. 45 for pediatric neurology & neurosurgery and No. 44 for pediatric pulmonology & lung surgery. It ranked No. 1 in Virginia for children’s care, and No. 7 in the mid-Atlantic for children’s care.

VCU Medical Center, which ranked third in Virginia, was the top hospital for Richmond for the 12th consecutive year, No. 2 in Virginia for children’s care and No. 9 in the mid-Atlantic for children’s care. Nationally, it ranked No. 47 for cardiology and heart surgery. In children’s care, it ranked nationally in three specialties: No. 37 for pediatric pulmonology and lung surgery, No. 33 for pediatric urology and No. 31 for pediatric nephrology.

Sentara Norfolk General Hospital ranked No. 1 in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News area. Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital ranked second and Chesapeake Regional Medical Center ranked third in that area of the commonwealth.

In the Richmond region, VCU Medical Center ranked No. 1, Henrico Doctor’s Hospitals ranked No. 2, Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals ranked third and Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center ranked fourth.

For the publication’s Washington, D.C., metro list, Inova Fairfax Hospital ranked at the top. Inova Fair Oaks in Fairfax ranked No. 4, Inova Alexandria Hospital in Alexandria and Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg tied for No. 5 and Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington ranked No. 7.

Bowman Consulting acquires California firm

Reston-based engineering services firm Bowman Consulting Group has acquired San Diego-based Project Design Consultants, the company recently announced.

Founded in 1976, PDC has 65 employees and provides civil engineering, surveying, planning and landscape architecture to clients in Southern California.

“PDC presents a compelling opportunity for Bowman to advance our market expansion and service diversification initiatives,” Bowman founder and CEO Gary Bowman said in a statement. “California is a new frontier for us, and we are fortunate that Greg [Shields, CEO] and the PDC management team will be leading the effort. The team of professionals at PDC will fit right into the Bowman organization. and we will immediately support each other and maximize our collective utilization. PDC’s well respected and long-standing market presence will add both depth and breadth to our mix of business and will promote our strategic initiative to expand our base of revenue both into Southern California and with key public sector and utility clients.”

Bowman expects the PDC acquisition to contribute $14 million of annualized net service billing.

Bowman Consulting Group has 1,500 employees spread across more than 60 offices throughout the United States. The engineering services firm is publicly traded.

Arko Corp. buys Quarles Petroleum

Richmond-based Fortune 500 convenience retail holding company Arko Corp. has acquired Fredericksburg-based Quarles Petroleum for $170 million, Arko announced Monday.

Arko Corp. debuted this year on the Fortune 500 list at No. 498 and is the parent company of Richmond-based GPM Investments LLC, one of the nation’s largest convenience store chains.

Quarles Petroleum is one of the largest fleet-fueling cardlock operators on the East Coast. The deal includes 121 proprietary cardlock sites, management of 63 third-party cardlock sites for fleet fueling operations, 46 independent dealer locations and a small transportation fleet. The acquisition will add 160 million gallons of gas to the 2 billion gallons Arko sells annually.

Cardlock fueling stations allow businesses to obtain a card for each driver or vehicle and then provide 24-hour, automated access to the fueling station by using the card.

“We plan to continue to pursue acquisitions like the Quarles acquisition as we focus on strategic growth that generates long-term shareholder value,” Arko President and CEO Arie Kotler said in a statement. “The acquired Quarles assets comprise a complementary business that has operated continuously for more than 80 years, and we believe we can grow and expand the company’s fleet fueling platform and continue to provide best-in-class fuel services and solutions to our customers. In addition, nearly 100 Quarles employees will be retained and become employees of GPM. They are accomplished operators, and we welcome them into our family of community brands.”

The Quarles acquisition is Arko’s 21st purchase since 2013. Quarles has locations in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., along with management of third-party fueling sites, and the marketing of fuel cards that give customers access to a nationwide network of fueling sites.

Arko expects the acquisition to add $17.5 million of adjusted EBITDA after paying rent of $7.8 million to Oak Street Real Estate Capital, a division of Blue Owl Capital.

Va. housing market sees sharp drop in sales

The housing market is cooling off, compared to a year ago.

Home sales in Virginia dropped by nearly 19% in June, compared to sales in June 2021, the sharpest drop in the housing market since the beginning of the pandemic, Virginia Realtors reported Friday.

In June, 13,324 homes were sold in Virginia, which is 3,208 fewer sales than the same time last year. At the end of June, there were 19,375 active listings, nearly 200 more than this time last year. It’s the first time inventory has expanded in Virginia’s market in more than seven years, according to Virginia Realtors.

Activity was up about 2% in June, compared to May, which is lower than typical May to June jumps, the report said.

“The slowdown we’re seeing in sales is due to more buyers pressing ‘pause’ on their home search,” Virginia Realtors President Denise Ramey said in a statement. “The lack of inventory paired with the rise in interest rates have created a more challenging environment for home buyers.”

The slowdown is widespread across Virginia, and about three-quarters of local markets have had fewer sales so far in 2022 compared to 2021. The largest declines are in the Shenandoah Valley, coastal communities, Northern Neck and the Eastern Shore, as well as suburban areas of Richmond and parts of Northern Virginia, according to the report.

However, the largest supply growth is the Shenandoah Valley, outer suburban communities in Northern Virginia and the New River Valley.

There are fewer new listings on the market compared to last year, an 11.5% decline. For 10 months straight, the number of new listings has declined when compared to the prior year. But the number of active listings has increased slightly, about 1% over a year ago. Between May and June, active listings swelled by 2,500, a 14.8% increase.

The median home price in Virginia is $397.315, nearly 7% higher than in the same time period last year. The median price is about $25,000 higher than a year ago. But when comparing median home price month-to-month, it has gone down about 1% since May.

It’s still a competitive market for buyers, with pressure remaining to pay higher than the asking price. The average sold-to-list price ratio was 102.4% in June, lower than last month but higher than in June 2021. Homes sold for more than $800,000 have been selling for 2.9% above the list price on average, and homes in the $600,001 to $800,000 range went for 2.8% above the list price on average. However, the list price is not as high as it was in the past few months, which Virginia Realtors says signals easing pressure on home prices.

The number of days a house is on the market is still competitive, with 18 days as the average, three days faster than June 2021. Higher-priced homes sold the fastest, but they sold quickly across all price points.

The wildcard in looking at the housing market is inflation, with mortgage rates rising.

Alexandria bank buys building, brings employees together

Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. has acquired a $22 million office building in Alexandria to bring many of its employees together under one roof.

The Alexandria-based bank announced July 11 that it had bought the 110,047-square-foot office building at 5680 King Centre Drive. The seller was not disclosed.

The bank will bring together its workforce, which is currently dispersed across various locations, to work in the newly-acquired building. It will keep its main headquarters at 100 South Fairfax St. in Old Town Alexandria.

“Consolidating our team under one roof allows us to improve collaboration, work much more efficiently, and continue to strengthen and build the bank’s signature culture of community as we embrace future expansion,” Burke & Herbert Bank President and CEO David P. Boyle said in a statement. “The acquisition of this building is consistent with our plans for growth as we continue to execute our strategic priorities.”

The building on King Centre Drive will have employees from several departments, including commercial, treasury management, retail banking, human resources, operations, finance and accounting, credit risk management, marketing, digital strategy and information technology.

Jim Kornick and Bill Evans, of Avison Young, led a team to represent the buyer.

Capital Square acquires The Trails at Short Pump

Henrico County-based real estate investment firm Capital Square has acquired The Trails at Short Pump, a 350-unit apartment community in western Henrico, the company announced Tuesday.

Located at 3900 Acadia Lane, the nearly 32-acre property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 878 square feet each.

The acquisition is on behalf of CS1031 Trails at Short Pump, which seeks to raise $54.5 million in equity from accredited investors. The property is assessed at $58.1 million, according to county property records.

“Capital Square continues to own the home court from Northern Virginia through Central Virginia (Richmond and Williamsburg) to Tidewater with this latest acquisition in suburban Richmond,” Capital Square Founder and CEO Louis Rogers said in a statement. “This is Capital Square’s 21st acquisition of a Class A or B apartment community in Virginia. The region is experiencing exceptional stability, job production and rent growth.”

Will Mathews and Tommy Leachman of Colliers represented the seller, an entity associated with New York investment firm Angelo Gordon & Co. LP, in the transaction.

Youngkin names director of rail, public transit agency

Gov. Glenn Youngkin has appointed Jennifer DeBruhl to lead the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation permanently. She has been leading the agency on an interim basis since March.

DeBruhl, who succeeds former DRPT director Jennifer Mitchell, is on the Commonwealth Transportation Board, serves as chair of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority Board and sits on several other transportation boards around Virginia. She joined DRPT in 2016 as chief of public transportation and before that spent more than 20 years at the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

“I’m honored to be the next director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation as the agency marks its 30th anniversary,” DeBruhl said. “While the transit and rail industry has been challenged by COVID-19, Virginia has an opportunity to think about the best ways to serve residents moving forward, and I’m eager to work with our partners to find ways to improve. We’ll be focusing on metrics, evaluation, innovation and accountability to provide useful services to the commonwealth.”

DeBruhl went to Virginia Commonwealth University and there she earned a bachelor’s degree in urban studies, a master’s in urban and regional planning, and a certificate in public management.

ODU, EVMS merger possibility arises with new officer hire

A high-profile hire announced Tuesday by Old Dominion University has raised questions about the possibility of a formal merger with Eastern Virginia Medical School, although statements from the two Hampton Roads educational institutions say it’s “premature” to respond to questions about the prospect.

Dr. Alicia Monroe will join ODU in a few weeks as chief integration officer and senior advisor to President Brian O. Hemphill to establish an academic health sciences center in partnership with EVMS and Sentara Healthcare, the university announced Tuesday. The position will be in place for two years, and Monroe, who most recently served as provost and senior vice president of academic and faculty affairs at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, will start Sept. 6, according to ODU. 

An employee of ODU with an annual salary of $425,000, Monroe will have an office with at least two full-time employees, and she will also serve as an untenured professor in the School of Community and Environmental Health, pending approval by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) of the School of Public Health, an ODU spokesman told Virginia Business.

“[Monroe’s] expertise and leadership will be critical in providing needed direction and support to the integration management office across all facets of our planning and implementation efforts. This is a significant step forward in providing a robust framework and necessary resources for addressing our region’s health disparities,” Hemphill said in a statement Tuesday.

But the hire takes on additional significance after Hemphill sent a letter to ODU’s faculty and staff earlier this month stating a goal “to develop a comprehensive plan to integrate ODU and EVMS in 2023,” while also noting that “a formal agreement has not been reached as this merger is contingent upon the work of the functional teams, as well as securing additional resources to support this expanded effort.” 

Dr. Alicia Monroe
Dr. Alicia Monroe

A “joint response” by ODU and EVMS to questions sent by Virginia Business on Tuesday indicates that an agreement to merge the two institutions is not set and is in fact part of the task facing Monroe and her team over the next two years. “It is premature to respond to the question, ‘Is EVMS becoming an arm of ODU?'” spokesman Joseph T. Garvey responded by email. Monroe’s contract ends in two years, he added.

“Dr. Monroe has been selected for a two-year appointment to lead ODU’s Integration Management Office. Once the integration planning and related work are complete, the office and her position would no longer exist.  It is premature to respond to the question, ‘Is that when EVMS would become part of ODU?’ as that is the purpose of the current exploratory and planning work.”

Existing agreements

Hemphill’s letter lays out recent plans that have been in the works between the two institutions, which signed an agreement with Sentara to create a health center and are partnering with Norfolk State University to create a School of Public Health.

In response to a question from Virginia Business about why there is currently no formal agreement for the merger of ODU and the privately run EVMS, Garvey wrote, “as the institutions are engaging in the beginning of a comprehensive planning effort …  the institutions are being very intentional and thoughtful in bringing together campus constituents and engaging with various stakeholders.”

“In recent months, cross-functional teams, including both ODU and EVMS officials have been working to develop strategies,” Hemphill wrote. Further down, he wrote that nine functional teams are being formed further explore areas including accreditation and faculty affairs, clinical affairs and medical group, communications and branding, development and philanthropy, enrollment management and student affairs and others. 

A website, www.odu.edu/exploration, will be updated in coming months, Hemphill wrote. 

These agreements are in addition to other regional health initiatives EVMS and ODU are part of. In January 2021, Sentara announced a $10 million investment split between ODU, NSU, EVMS and other organizations in Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg and Suffolk. ODU and NSU each received $2 million to support the development of the School of Public Health, and another $3 million went to ODU, EVMS and NSU for public health and health equity initiatives. The remaining $3 million went to community organizations to address underserved communities. Sentara also donated $2 million to EVMS to support the development of the School of Public Health. In May, Sentara established two new collaborative grants at ODU, EVMS and NSU for collaboration among the three institutions, along with Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, to decrease health disparities in underserved communities.

One point ODU officials emphasize every time another partnership between the university and EVMS is announced, including in the news release announcing Monroe’s hire, is the decades-long relationship between the institutions.

EVMS appointed Dr. Alfred Abuhamad from interim head to permanent president, provost and dean in June.

The two schools are “currently exploring ways to strengthen health-focused academic program offerings, world-class research in both existing and new specialty areas, and state-of-the-art clinical care, as well as expand the workforce pipeline for needed health care workers,” Garvey wrote in response to questions from Virginia Business.

“That academic health sciences center could take shape as the result of an integration of EVMS and ODU,” he added. “All of that work is contingent upon an internal planning process, as well as engagement and support with critical partners.”

Repeating a legacy?

One of Hemphill’s legacies at Radford University, where he served as president for five years, is a 2019 merger between the Jefferson College of Health Sciences and Carilion Clinic to create Radford University Carilion. The merger made Radford’s nursing program the second-largest in Virginia and 22% of Radford’s students are pursuing a degree in a health-related field.

For an April 2021 Virginia Business story, Kay Kemper, former rector of ODU’s board of visitors, commented on the possibility of history repeating itself as Hemphill left Radford to become ODU’s president last year.

“Dr. Hemphill’s successes range from enrollment management to fundraising, and many of his forward-thinking initiatives in such areas as health sciences and partnership-building mirror Old Dominion’s longstanding strengths and priorities,” Kemper said. “We believe he will write an exciting new chapter for ODU.”

Similarly, Abuhamad said Tuesday in a statement, “We are looking forward to great collaboration with President Hemphill, Dr. Monroe and all of our ODU colleagues. In meeting with Dr. Monroe, it is clear that she brings a great deal of energy, expertise and excitement to our growing partnership.”

Editor’s note: The story has been clarified to show that EVMS appointed Dr. Alfred Abuhamad from interim to permanent president, provost and dean.

GDIT receives $908M contract

Falls Church-based federal contractor General Dynamics Information Technology Inc. has been awarded a $908 million contract to support IT and network systems operated by the U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

The award is for the single-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity Europe-Wide Information Technology and Enterprise Network contract run by the 764th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It has a five-year base period with a three-year option.

Task orders include modernizing and supporting existing infrastructure, networks, systems, operations and maintenance, cybersecurity and managing new requirements and emerging technology, according to a news release from GDIT. The work will be done at various facilities in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey and other countries in Europe.

“This contract will equip airmen across Europe with the knowledge, tools and data they need to mobilize and operate at any place and any time,” Brian Sheridan, senior vice president for GDIT’s defense division, said in a statement. “Consolidating multiple mission-critical services under a single contract will also allow for greater speed, flexibility and accessibility of IT services needed across the region.”

GDIT is a business unit of Reston-based Fortune 500 aerospace and defense contractor General Dynamics Corp., an aerospace and defense company that employs more than 100,000 people worldwide and generated $38.5 billion in revenue in 2021.

Herndon-based ePlus acquires Texas company

Herndon-based technology solutions provider ePlus Inc. has acquired Future Com Ltd., a Texas-based tech company, ePlus announced Monday.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal closed on July 16.

Future Com offers hardware, software, support and consulting services.

“As we actively work to grow our security business, which now accounts for more than $500 million of our annual adjusted gross billings, we are confident that the expertise of the Future Com team across the cybersecurity landscape will be of great benefit to ePlus and our customers,” ePlus President and CEO Mark Marron said in a statement. “In addition to strengthening our security capabilities, it strengthens our geographic presence in Texas and around the entire region, allowing us to provide an expanded level of support to customers there with expertise spanning the entire security landscape.”

For fiscal year 2022, which ended March 31, the company reported about $1.8 billion in net sales, a 16.1% increase over the previous year.

“Fiscal 2022 marked a highly successful year for ePlus, as we generated strong financial results while investing in our people and capabilities to enhance long-term growth,” Marron said in a statement.

EPlus has more than 1,500 associates with offices in the United States, the U.K., Europe and Asia-Pacific. Future Com has about 25 employees.