Inova Health System

Inova Health System is a non-profit health organization based in Falls Church, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The system is a network of hospitals, outpatient services, assisted living and long-term care facilities, and healthcare centers.

The system's hospitals provide much of the healthcare needs for citizens in Northern Virginia, including the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and Fairfax County and Loudoun County. The flagship hospital, Inova Fairfax Hospital, has been recognized as one of the best hospitals in the nation by HealthGrades and U.S. News & World Report (2009).

In the early 1950s, residents of Fairfax County, Virginia perceived a need for a community hospital, as county residents were forced to travel to Arlington, Alexandria, or Washington D.C., to obtain hospital services and care. The Fairfax County Hospital Commission incorporated the Fairfax Hospital Association (FHA) in February 1956.

Five months after Franklin P. Iams took on the role of administrator in July 1958, construction of the $6 million Fairfax Hospital began in November, and the hospital opened in February 1961. In 1976, the sssociation took over the lease of Commonwealth Doctors Hospital in the City of Fairfax and opened Mount Vernon Hospital in the southeastern portion of the county. The following year, the association opened an emergency care center, ACCESS (Ambulatory Care Center- Emergency Services System) in Reston.