Inova Health System Offers Counseling to Students, Families Affected by Virginia Tech Shooting

Falls Church, VA – (April 20, 2007) – Inova Health System has opened a special counseling center for Virginia Tech students and their families in Northern Virginia who continue to cope with the aftermath of the recent devastating campus tragedy.

“Our hearts go out to the families, the students, and everyone who’s been touched by this horrific and senseless act,” said Knox Singleton, president and CEO, Inova Health System. “As a not-for-profit health care system, it is our mission to offer compassionate care to the community we serve, and we pray that we can bring some much-needed hope to the students and families in Northern Virginia who are in need in this time of grief and remembrance.”

Counseling services, offered without charge in Fairfax, Virginia, include:

• Initial assessments
• Short-term grief counseling
• Stress management resources
• Tools and resources for handling traumatic experiences
• Referral services for additional resources available locally and nationally

“People are often affected by trauma in different ways, especially with a tragedy of this magnitude,” says Thomas Wise, MD, chairman, department of psychiatry, Inova Fairfax Hospital. “As trained professionals, we work to identify paths to understanding and develop mechanisms that patients can use to cope with hardship and gradually begin the healing process.”

For more information on how Virginia Tech students or their immediate family members can receive an initial assessment and counseling services, please call 703-204-2122, or visit us on the Web at www.inova.org/support.

In addition, the Inova Kellar Center is pleased to offer an ongoing support group for Virginia Tech students to be held throughout the summer months. Counselors, physicians, and mental health professionals will be available to provide clinical assessments and services to students. For more information, call 703-218-8500.

Inova Health System is a not-for-profit health care system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services including emergency and urgent care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services, and wellness classes. Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community we serve through excellence in patient care, education and research.