Delegate celebrates passage of limited paid leave bill
RICHMOND,Va. — After four years and multiple bills, Del. Elizabeth Guzmán, D-Woodbridge, is on the cusp of being able to secure paid leave for some Virginia workers. “It feels really good,” Guzmán said. “I think about the amount of people who are going to get this benefit and how they will have peace of mind [&hell[...]
COVID restrictions to be loosened Monday; more vaccine sites coming soon
As more pharmacies across the state receive vaccine doses from the federal government and the number of COVID-19 cases declines, Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday he will roll back certain restrictions beginning Monday. Starting March 1, alcohol sales will be allowed in restaurants up to midnight instead of 10 p.m. Curfews will [...]
COVID roundup: 300K vaccine doses arrive in Va.
Virginia received an influx of more than 300,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses this week, in part due to the weather-delayed delivery of 106,000 Moderna doses that were expected last week. The state also is receiving a bump in doses directed to local health departments and districts, as well as twice as many doses arriving in retail [&[...]
Va. vaccine doses will get ‘big bump’ next week
Virginia’s vaccine coordinator, Dr. Danny Avula, said Friday he expects about 213,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to come to the state weekly, beginning next week. That’s an increase of about 60,000 doses from the past week. Last week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the federal government would up weekly natio[...]
U.Va. Health System to buy out Novant Health in NoVa partnership
The University of Virginia Health System has signed a letter of intent to buy out Novant Health U.Va. Health System, a Northern Virginia regional health system owned by the two institutions through a joint operating company that formed in 2016. Financial terms of the proposed acquisition have not been disclosed. Winston-Salem, N[...]
State launches COVID-19 vaccine hotline
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that a COVID-19 vaccine hotline, staffed with about 750 customer service employees, has launched. The number is (877) VAX-IN-VA, or (877) 829-4682. The phone number, targeted for Virginians without reliable internet access, opened the day after the Virginia Department of Health started a st[...]
Statewide COVID vaccine registration site launched
The Virginia Department of Health launched its COVID-19 vaccine registration system Tuesday, available at vaccinate.virginia.gov. A phone hotline will open Wednesday, allowing Virginians who don’t have reliable internet access to register for the vaccine. The site comes after local health districts had set up local sites f[...]
COVID roundup: Despite flattening rates, some Va. ICUs overwhelmed
Over the past week, Virginia recorded its 7,000th COVID-19 death and passed its 1 millionth person vaccinated, while the number of new cases and fatalities continue to decline. At the same time, however, some of the state’s intensive care units are full, according to federal data collected at the beginning of the month. In a […]
Hourigan names new health care division director
Richmond-based commercial construction and development company Hourigan announced Friday that it has named Brian Brown as director of its health care division. Brown brings more than 26 years of experience to the role, including 16 years at Hourigan. At Hourigan, Brown has been instrumental in delivering projects ranging from me[...]
Bon Secours, Sentara join 12 health care organizations forming data company
Bon Secours and Sentara Healthcare announced Thursday they have joined a group of 12 additional health care providers to form a new company, Truveta, which will offer data insights for patient care. Spurred by the rapid research needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Truveta will create a new data platform using artificial intelligence and machine […]
12 Va. hospitals rank among top in the nation
Healthgrades released its 2021 list recognizing the top 250 hospitals in the United States, and 12 Virginia hospitals made the cut — with two breaking the top 100. The 12 Virginia hospitals are among the top 5% of the nation’s hospitals in terms of rankings. The only Virginia hospitals to earn a spot in the top […]
Northam requests federal support to vaccinate federal employees
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser jointly issued a request Wednesday for federal support with vaccinating essential federal employees against COVID-19, many of whom live in the greater D.C. area. Northam, Hogan and Bowser sent a letter to the leaders of the U.S. Department of Health and […]