In 1956, a group of Fairfax County citizens formed the Fairfax Hospital Association to build and operate a hospital in the county. Fairfax Hospital opened its doors in 1961. To meet the needs of Northern Virginia’s rapidly growing population, two more hospitals later joined the Fairfax Hospital Association: Mount Vernon Hospital, which opened in 1976 in the historic Mount Vernon community, and Fair Oaks Hospital, which opened in 1987 to serve the developing communities of western Fairfax and eastern Loudoun counties.

Inova VNA Home Health (formerly the Visiting Nurse Service of Fairfax) was established in 1986. And the following year, 1987, two long-term care centers opened – Commonwealth Care Center in Fairfax and Cameron Glen Care Center in Reston. To reflect its increasing size and scope, the Fairfax Hospital Association was renamed Inova Health System in 1987. To lead Inova’s efforts to respond to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic, HIV Services (now called Inova Juniper Program) was established in 1988. And in 1991, The Kellar Center opened in Fairfax, the first comprehensive behavioral health facility offering outpatient treatment for children.

Inova continued to set milestones. In 1994, heart surgeons at Inova Fairfax Hospital performed their 100th heart transplant. The following year, Inova collaborated with various community groups and local schools to initiate a broad community health initiative – Partnership for Healthier Kids (PHK) – to help link low-income children to primary healthcare. PHK has since served thousands of children and their families and was named a national model by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2000.

In 1997, Alexandria Hospital joined Inova Health System. That same year, the not-for-profit organization added the word “Inova” to all of its facilities. In 1998, Inova formed an affiliation with Sunrise Assisted Living to offer more assisted living services to the growing aging population in Northern Virginia. Under the agreement, Inova owns the facilities and Sunrise manages them,In 2001, Inova opened Inova HealthPlex in the Franconia-Springfield community, to bring much needed state-of-theart healthcare and services to this expanding region. In 2004, the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute – the region’s first dedicated cardiac facility –opened on the campus of Inova Fairfax Hospital and Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children. In 2005, Inova Health System merged with Loudoun Hospital Center to create Inova Loudoun Hospital.

Over the years, Inova Health System has grown to be the largest healthcare system in Northern Virginia offering a wide array of services include nursing homes, mental health services, wellness classes, emergency care, acute care, rehabilitation, long-term care and home care.

Today, Inova employs more than 15,800 people and has been named a top 100 company for Working Mothers by Working Mother magazine and one of the nation’s best employers for workers over 50 by AARP. Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova’s flagship facility, is an award-winning hospital recognized most often for its outstanding cardiac care. U.S. News & World Report has named the hospital one of “America’s Best Hospitals” for several years running.