News

The Alexandria Health Department (AHD) is warning that Alexandria is seeing a significant rise in influenza.

The Virginia Department of Health data shows that last week there were 122 visits — 13.36% of all emergency room visits — in which Alexandria residents were diagnosed with the flu.


News

Update 1/9 — The Health Department is postponing the event to Saturday, Jan. 18, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. due to impending snow on Saturday

The Alexandria Health Department is hosting a “Walk & Talkthis weekend in the Braddock neighborhood to talk about health issues in the community.


News

Just a few days after an alert for the Taylor Run area, the Alexandria Health Department has issued a second rabies alert: this time for the Dora Kelley Nature Park vicinity.

The alert comes after a raccoon came into contact with a dog on Oct. 27 on the Dora Kelley Nature Park trail, four miles from Taylor Run. The raccoon tested positive for rabies.


News

The Alexandria Health Department is offering 500 free flu shots later this month.

The health department is offering the shots on Saturday, Oct. 26, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Minnie Howard Campus (3801 W. Braddock Road).


News

After lead exposure shut down Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School last week, the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) is offering walk-in blood lead level testing today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday).

According to Eve Elliott, communications officer for AHD, testing is being offered today from 1-6 p.m. and Friday from 1-6 p.m. The testing is free and available to all students, staff, faculty and volunteers. The Alexandria Health Department will not check class or faculty lists.


News

Alexandria City Public Schools is working to reopen Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School by next Monday (Oct. 7) — a week-and-a-half after the school closed due to a lead exposure.

ACPS staff are deep-cleaning the entire school (at 600 Russell Road) after an environmental contractor found lead particles last Thursday (Sept. 27) in a kindergarten classroom, a fourth grade classroom, the school clinic and the main office. The school closed the following day, and students and staff transitioned to remote learning.


News

The Alexandria Health Department said it is working to provide lead testing for students, faculty and staff at Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School, which closed after possible lead exposure.

Testing for lead requires a blood test. According to the Alexandria Health Department:


News

Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School in the Rosemont neighborhood remains closed today (Monday) after being closed last week due to a lead exposure incident at the school.

Principal Suzanne Hess sent a letter to the school’s community last Thursday saying contractors at the school for window replacement work discovered lead in two classrooms.


News

On average, an Old Town resident could make it into their late 80s. Just a few blocks north, residents in the Braddock neighborhood would be lucky to make it out of their 70s (page 8).

As Alexandria gears up for a new Community Health Assessment — the first since the Covid pandemic — Mayor Justin Wilson highlighted the findings of the 2019 report in a newsletter.


News

Alexandria is offering low-income residents with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) a chance to clean up the air quality in their homes for free.

The program, which launched last year, is part of the city’s Healthy Homes initiative. Eligible applicants will get a number of home visits from the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) to make a plan for healthier air.


View More Stories