As a result of the 2011 re-drawing of legislative districts, the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus became a part of the district that I represent in the Virginia House of Delegates. Much has changed since 1961 when “The Fairfax Hospital” opened its doors. The medical facility has grown from a small 96-bed community hospital in a growing, but still mostly rural, county into a regional medical, research, and education center.

I recently attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the Inova Women’s Hospital and Inova Children’s Hospital. The two hospitals will share space inside a new 12-story medical tower on the grounds of the Inova Medical Campus. The construction is part of a multi-year capital improvement project that will upgrade the not-for-profit Inova Fairfax’s aging campus infrastructure, convert most of the campus to private patient rooms, and pave the way for even more advanced technology and research that have earned the campus national recognition through the years . . . fifty-one years to be exact.

With 833 beds today, Fairfax Hospital has grown to become a major medical campus with specialty hospitals devoted to caring for women, children and those facing heart or vascular problems. The campus houses Northern Virginia’s only Level I Trauma Center and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and the staff is teaching the physicians, nurses, and clinicians of tomorrow through partnerships with several area medical and nursing schools.

We in Northern Virginia are fortunate to have close access to such quality healthcare services. But with an aging population and the skyrocketing costs of healthcare, it is important that our healthcare leaders continuously re-evaluate so that care is delivered in the most effective and efficient manner. During the groundbreaking ceremony, I was impressed as I listened to Inova’s Chief Operating Officer, Knox Singleton, outline Inova’s visions for “reinventing the way hospitals deliver patient care.”

A little disclosure here: I formerly worked for Inova Health System as Assistant V.P. of Community Affairs. For that reason I am familiar with Inova’s culture and its commitment to healthcare under the leadership of Mr. Singleton, who joined Inova in 1983. I was fortunate to work with him in enhancing Inova’s outreach efforts in Northern Virginia, which included providing safety net programs offering free or discounted care for those with inadequate or no health insurance.

As part of Inova’s efforts to reinvent patient care, Mr. Singleton highlighted Inova’s commitment to “personalized medicine” and the research underway at the new Inova Translational Medicine Institute. Researchers there are studying the genetic traits in women who deliver prematurely at Inova Women’s Hospital compared to those who deliver at full-term. By studying these differences at the genetic level, they intend to customize patient care and manage disease and risk by providing the right treatment for the right patient at the right time.

There’s a lot going on these days at our Inova Fairfax Medical Campus. Much will continue to change for improved patient care, including the inauguration of an electronic medical record system that will go “live” on campus in November, and the opening of the new patient tower with all private rooms in January. You can read more about the entire campus expansion project at www.inova.org/ifhconstruction. 

Delegate Scott represents the 53rd District in the Virginia House of Delegates. He may be emailed at deljscott@aol.com