VDH will begin texting people who test positive for COVID-19
Starting Thursday, the Virginia Department of Health will begin sending a text to anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 if their mobile phone number is registered in the state’s system. The texts will automatically be sent to anyone with a positive lab test who has a valid mobile number, providing faster notification of r[...]
Bills advance to facilitate COVID-19 vaccine distribution
RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia House and Senate have unanimously advanced separate bills to facilitate administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. House Bill 2333, introduced by Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Richmond, intends to strengthen the state’s vaccine distribution efforts and also bolster data collection. The measure removes ba[...]
State will accelerate COVID vaccinations, Northam pledges
Amid recent criticism from local officials and Virginia residents over the state’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout so far, Gov. Ralph Northam acknowledged citizen frustration and said the state is accelerating its efforts “to get more shots in more arms more quickly” and will also be “significantly expanding tra[...]
Local officials slam Northam administration’s COVID vaccine rollout
With Virginia lagging behind other states in getting residents vaccinated for COVID-19, officials in Hampton Roads, Fairfax County and Chesterfield County have gone straight to the governor with complaints and concerns about the process, which Chesterfield supervisors categorized as “totally defective” and Hampton R[...]
Norfolk consultancy names two VPs
Norfolk-based government health care management and IT consulting firm ARDX announced last week it has hired Mary Shaffran as vice president of service delivery and Jennifer Stone as vice president of business development. With more than 20 years of experience, Shaffran has held leadership positions with Northrop Grumman Corp., [...]
Arlington biotech company names CFO
Regenerative tissue producer Kerecis, which has its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, announced last week it has named Mike Cadigan as its chief financial officer. With 25 years of experience, Cadigan was most recently the managing partner of Cadigan Capital, where he previously advised Kerecis since 2017. Kerecis was founded in I[...]
First case of U.K. COVID variant detected in Virginia
Updated 3:25 p.m., Jan. 25: The Virginia Department of Health announced Monday afternoon that Virginia has recorded its first case of a variant strain of COVID-19 first identified in the United Kingdom late last year. It’s known as the B.1.1.7 variant, and so far, the United States has recorded nearly 200 cases of this mutation […]
Sentara hires supply chain exec
Norfolk-based Sentara Healthcare announced Thursday it has hired Jennifer McPherren as its vice president of supply chain, effective March 15. She succeeds Doug Farley who retired in May 2020. McPherren serves as the vice president of supply chain management and procurement services with Northwestern Memorial Healthcare in Chica[...]
$125M pharma manufacturing plant coming to Petersburg
Utah-based pharmaceutical manufacturer Civica Inc. plans to invest $124.5 million to establish its North American manufacturing headquarters operation in Petersburg, creating 186 jobs and manufacturing injectable medicines for the treatment of COVID-19, the governor’s office announced Thursday. A nonprofit generic drug com[...]
Va. nears 10k COVID cases in single day
The state hit a new one-day record of nearly 10,000 COVID-19 cases on Sunday. The rise in coronavirus infections comes amid a significant increase in coronavirus-related deaths, with approximately 49 fatalities a day, or two deaths per hour, occurring in the commonwealth last week. Meanwhile, Virginia public health officials said they expect a decrease in […]
State anticipates fewer COVID vaccine doses due to U.S. shortfall
Virginia public health officials said Saturday that the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses sent to the state is likely to decrease — possibly by a significant amount — because the federal government does not have the reserve of doses it had said were being held back for second shots. Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s vaccine [...]
Mass.-based software company acquires Reston care management platform
Burlington, Massachusetts-based HealthEdge Software Inc. announced in late December that it has acquired Reston-based Altruista Health Inc. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Founded in 2007, Altruista provides its cloud-based enterprise care management platform, GuidingCare, to approximately health care clients representing more than 16 million members. The platform streamlines management workflows. HealthEdge also [...]