News

The county’s Human Rights Commission says it probably is not the correct venue for proponents of a single-payer healthcare system to make their pitch.

However, the panel’s chair said at a meeting last month that he would look into whether it had the authority to recommend that the County Board consider the matter.


Around Town

Arlington’s third annual community health fair brought crowds to Carlin Springs Elementary School over the weekend.

From flu shots and eye exams to bike giveaways and tips for healthier eating, the event hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Arlington and VHC Health offered a one-stop shop for families.


News

An estimated 200,000 Virginians will be eligible for reductions in their health insurance costs through a new fund in the state government’s biennial budget.

Legislators approved a $150 million Healthcare Affordability Fund, supported by taxes levied on energy usage by data centers. It will support eligible Virginians not covered by insurance through their employer, Medicare or Medicaid.


News

A $17.5 million donation to VHC Health, the largest philanthropic gift in the organization’s history, is supporting a new cancer center expected to open in 2028.

VHC Health is renaming its outpatient pavilion the “Arlene Evans and Barry Dewberry Outpatient Pavilion” in honor of the donors, who previously contributed $3 million to the hospital that helped establish a simulation center on the hospital’s main Arlington campus.


Schools

Three years after dropping Kaiser Permanente and Cigna as health-insurance providers, Arlington Public Schools is bringing them back.

Superintendent Francisco Durán said at the May 28 School Board meeting that the two firms had been selected to provide health-insurance coverage for a three-year period beginning at the start of 2027. They will replace CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, which has held the contract since January 2024.


News

The Culpepper Garden housing complex for low-income seniors is on track to fully phase out assisted-living services by June 30.

“We are looking forward to having all our residents settled [in other housing arrangements] by that day, which is what we promised,” Culpepper Garden CEO Marta Hill Gray told ARLnow.


News

A proposal for a new behavioral health center on S. Carlin Springs Road is facing pushback on environmental impacts and effects on the surrounding neighborhood.

Misgivings about the 146-bed, 131,000-square-foot development proposal from VHC Health and Lifepoint Health made their way into discussions at the March 26 meeting of the county’s Forestry & Natural Resources Commission.


News

VHC Health has a new training center for staff following a sizeable donation from a local couple.

The 2,200-square-foot Arlene Evans and Barry Dewberry Simulation Center, made possible through a $3 million gift from Evans and Dewberry, aims to mirror real-world clinic environments, hospital officials said on Feb. 12:


Around Town

A skincare center offering facials, lip filler, Botox injections and other treatments is opening in Virginia Square this week.

Skin Pharm plans to open its doors on Thursday at 3901 Fairfax Drive. It’s offering complimentary skin consultations, discounts and a giveaway in its opening days.


News

A rising number of syphilis infections in Arlington is driving a push to do better at testing and treating the sexually transmitted infection.

In the most recent data, from 2024, Arlington’s rate of syphilis infection — 31.2 cases per 100,000 population — was nearly 50% higher than the Virginia rate of 21.4 cases per 100,000, and was more than double that of Northern Virginia as a whole (14.3 cases per 100,000).


News

Northern Virginia Democrats were in high spirits at the inauguration of Gov. Abigail Spanberger this weekend, looking toward new opportunities for a variety of bills held back by the previous administration.

Legislators and political observers expect fewer vetoes and more collaboration with Democratic policymakers — including those in Northern Virginia — under Spanberger, a centrist Democrat who emphasized bipartisan solutions to issues like housing and health care costs on the campaign trail and in her inauguration speech.


News

State Sen. Barbara Favola (D) is stepping into a new role as chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee on the other side of a recent battle with cancer.

When the Virginia General Assembly convenes in January, Favola, who announced in May that she had been diagnosed with uterine cancer, will be only two months removed from the end of chemotherapy treatments.


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