Health Department

Every family deserves a strong start. In observance of National Home Visiting Week from April 20-24, the Fairfax County Health Department is recognizing the vital work of our Maternal Child Health Field program and Nurse-Family Partnership program. These initiatives reflect the Health Department’s commitment to building a healthier community, delivering essential support, education, and services directly to where families need them most.Home visitation programs pair expectant mothers and new parents with specially trained public health nurses who provide regular, ongoing visits starting early in pregnancy and continuing through the child’s first years of life. The benefits for both parents and children are profound. Parents receive hands-on guidance in prenatal care, newborn development, and infant nutrition. Children benefit from a close bond with their parent, fewer preventable injuries, better school readiness, and improved long-term health outcomes."The success of this program is rooted in the remarkable empathy and resilience our staff bring to their work every day," says Joanna Hemmat, Assistant Director of Health Services at the Fairfax County Health Department. "They possess a unique ability to build trust through genuine kindness and a deep respect for the families they serve. It is their unwavering dedication and the human connection they foster that truly makes the difference in our community.”While routine health care provider visits are essential for medical check-ups, home visiting programs offer unique advantages that traditional clinical settings simply cannot match. A clinic visit provides only a brief, 15-minute snapshot of a patient's life. By visiting a family at home over an extended period of time, public health nurses gain a better understanding of a client’s lived reality. They can assess the physical living environment, identify everyday stressors, and tailor their health education to the family's needs. Learning to properly baby-proof a living room, manage a new medication, or establish safe sleep habits for infants is far more effective when taught in the family's own home. Furthermore, being in a familiar environment naturally helps parents feel more comfortable and open, fostering a deeper, more trusting relationship with their nurse.Home visitation provided through the Nurse-Family Partnership and Maternal Child Health programs have consistently proven their value in our community. By emphasizing health promotion, disease prevention, and early intervention, these efforts build on family strengths while actively reducing long-term health care costs."We are incredibly proud of the progress we see every day in our community, one family at a time," says Sylvia Susana de la Torre, the Health Department's Nurse-Family Partnership Manager. "Mothers in our home visiting programs experience healthier pregnancies, parents find more emotional support after bringing their babies home, and their children are successfully reaching key developmental milestones. We also see that many family bonds are strengthened. By meeting families where they are, we accompany them as they take small yet important steps every day to help their children thrive.” As we observe National Home Visiting Week, the Health Department extends our deepest gratitude to the nurses and support staff who make this mission a reality. They are not simply delivering public health services; they are delivering hope, confidence, and connection directly to the front doors of our community.To learn more about the Nurse-Family Partnership and Maternal Child Health services, or to find out if you qualify, please visit the Fairfax County Health Department website.

This is a Virginia Department of Health (VDH) news release. To access this information in other languages, visit the VDH Fish Consumption Advisory page.Effective immediately, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is issuing a fish consumption advisory for the Occoquan watershed due to elevated perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) levels in specific fish species. The affected species include largemouth bass and bluegill sunfish.This advisory includes the Occoquan River, the Occoquan Reservoir, Broad Run, Bull Run, Cub Run and South Run.  Red icons signify where a Do Not Eat fish consumption advisory is in place for the largemouth bass. Fish tissue sample results collected from March 2024 through September 2025 show PFOS levels in largemouth bass and bluegill sunfish exceed the amount considered safe for long-term human consumption.VDH advises not eating largemouth bass from the Occoquan River and Occoquan Reservoir. The advisory covers the tidal portion below the Occoquan River from the Occoquan Reservoir dam downstream to Occoquan Bay including Belmont Bay and the backwaters of the Occoquan Reservoir on the Bull Run arm near Hemlock Overlook Regional Park and just upstream of Davis Ford Road on the Occoquan River arm down to the water supply dam of the Fairfax County Water Authority. Localities impacted are Fairfax and Prince William.VDH advises eating no more than two fish meals per month of largemouth bass from Broad Run from the outlet of Lake Manassas downstream to the confluence with Cedar Run; Bull Run from the I-66 bridge downstream to the backwaters of the Occoquan Reservoir on the Bull Run arm near Hemlock Overlook Regional Park; and South Run from the outlet of Lake Brittle downstream to the confluence with Lake Manassas (Broad Run). Localities impacted are Fairfax, Fauquier, Manassas, and Prince William. A meal is defined as eight ounces of fish.VDH advises eating no more than two fish meals per month of bluegill sunfish from the Occoquan Reservoir from the backwaters of the Occoquan Reservoir on the Bull Run arm near Hemlock Overlook Regional Park and just upstream of Davis Ford Road on the Occoquan River arm down to the water supply dam of the Fairfax County Water Authority; Broad Run from the outlet of Lake Manassas downstream to the confluence with Cedar Run; Bull Run from the I-66 bridge downstream to the backwaters of the Occoquan Reservoir on the Bull Run arm near Hemlock Overlook Regional Park; Cub Run from the confluence with Elklick Run downstream to the confluence with Bull Run; and South Run from the outlet of Lake Brittle downstream to the confluence with Lake Manassas (Broad Run). Localities impacted are Fairfax, Fauquier, Manassas, and Prince William.The health effects of PFOS exposure can include increased cholesterol or changes in liver enzymes. It can also lower antibody response to some vaccines. It can cause pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia, and a decrease in birth weight.Fish consumption advisories alert people to contaminants present in affected fish species. They do not prohibit people from eating fish. Children and women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant have an increased health risk. Nursing mothers and young children should not eat fish from this advisory area.Currently, this advisory area poses no health risk for recreational activities. Swimming, water skiing, and boating can continue in the advisory area.Cleaning or cooking fish does not remove or reduce PFOS. To reduce potential harmful effects, VDH recommends the following precautions:Eat smaller, younger fish (within the legal limits). Younger fish are less likely to contain harmful levels of contaminants.Eat fewer or smaller servings of fish.Try to eat different species of fish from a variety of sources (i.e., different creeks, rivers and streams).For more information, visit the VDH Fish Consumption Advisory page.

Join us in celebrating National Public Health Week from April 6 to 12, as we recognize the work being done every day to make Fairfax Health District healthy. For more than 120 years, the Fairfax County Health Department has worked to protect and improve health across areas including environmental health, disease investigation and prevention, maternal and child health, and emergency preparedness. Today, we serve roughly 1.2 million residents as the largest health department in Virginia. Public health is more than the absence of disease. It's the science of creating conditions where everyone can be healthy and it takes a village. This year's national theme, "Ready. Set. Action!" emphasizes that public health is teamwork we achieve with our dedicated workforce and partners. Explore the our partners in public health and consider getting involved in this work. Visit the pages for the Multicultural Advisory Council, Partnership for a Healthier Fairfax, Fairfax Food Council, and Medical Reserve Corps to see how you can take part in making Fairfax a healthier place to live, work, and play.Throughout the week, find us on social media where we're running a "word of the day" series defining key public health terms. Follow us on Facebook, Nextdoor, Instagram, YouTube, and sign up to receive monthly updates through the Public Health in Action e-newsletter.