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History and Growth

Inova Health System began in 1956 as a response to Northern Virginia's growing need for convenient, accessible health care. Known as the Fairfax Hospital Association, the not-for-profit health care system grew from one hospital to a network of hospitals and other health care services that includes home care, nursing homes, mental health services, wellness classes, and freestanding emergency and urgent care centers.

In the late 1980s, we changed our name to Inova Health System. Many people like the name Inova (pronounced inn-OH-vah) because it seems to suggest both our commitment to innovation in health care and our deep roots in the Northern Virginia community.

Our Growth
The phenomenal growth of the suburban Washington, DC, area has meant Inova Health System has had to grow to keep pace with the community's needs. We have added new facilities, services and technological advances each year to meet those needs. Our comprehensive, integrated network of health care facilities and services currently covers a broad geographical based throughout the region.

The oldest hospital in the system is the newest to our network. Inova Alexandria Hospital was founded in 1872 to serve the people of Alexandria and outlying communities. The hospital became a part of Inova in 1997.

Inova Fair Oaks Hospital was founded in 1987 to provide care to residents of western part and Loudoun counties. Exploding in population near the Dulles International Airport and high tech corridor.

Inova Fairfax Hospital is the flagship hospital in the system and houses Northern Virginia's only level 1 trauma center. It was founded in the early 1960s.

Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children shares space and some services with Inova Fairfax Hospital and offers specialized care for children in almost every medical specialty. It became a hospital in its own right in the late 1990s, to recognize its status as the premier provider of health care for children in Northern Virginia. More

Inova Mount Vernon Hospital was founded in the mid-1970s to meet the need for medical, acute, surgical and critical care services in the Mount Vernon area of suburban Washington, DC.