{"id":3613,"date":"2026-01-02T15:29:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T20:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/norfolk\/?p=3613"},"modified":"2026-01-14T08:04:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T13:04:05","slug":"letter-from-the-director-welcoming-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/norfolk\/2026\/01\/02\/letter-from-the-director-welcoming-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter from the Director: Welcoming 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3614\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/223\/VDH_NorfolkHD_stacked_blue-300x101.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"66\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/223\/VDH_NorfolkHD_stacked_blue-300x101.png 300w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/223\/VDH_NorfolkHD_stacked_blue.png 394w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"3\">Dear friends, neighbors, and partners:<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"4\">As we start 2026, the Norfolk Department of Public Health is here for you. Our goal remains the same: to be a source of health information you can trust.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">There are many reasons to feel good about the future of Norfolk and the Hampton Roads area. Our community is strong because of our hard-working doctors and nurses, our local church groups, and neighbors who look out for one another. Together, we are building a kinder system of care. We want to make sure that no one in our city has to face health problems alone.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6\">This teamwork is more important now than ever. Across the country, the healthcare system is changing, which can make it harder for people to get the medical help they need. We know these changes often hurt people with less money the most. Sometimes, a simple health problem can become a big one if it isn\u2019t treated early.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7\">Our mission is to take on these challenges. By working directly with you, we will help close these gaps. We want to make sure every person in Norfolk has the chance to live a healthy, safe life.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\">Together in Service,<br \/>\nDr. \u201cG\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3669 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/223\/Susan_Girois-244x300-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"138\" height=\"169\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Susan Girois, MD, MPH, FACP<\/strong><br \/>\nDistrict Health Director<br \/>\nNorfolk Health District<br \/>\nOffice: (757) 683-2798<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Norfolk Department of Public Health<\/strong><br \/>\n830 Southampton Avenue<br \/>\nNorfolk VA 23510<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear friends, neighbors, and partners: As we start 2026, the Norfolk Department of Public Health is here for you. Our goal remains the same: to be a source of health information you can trust. There are many reasons to feel good about the future of Norfolk and the Hampton Roads area. Our community is strong [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":3669,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"modified_by":"kathylamm","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Letter from the Director: Welcoming 2026 - Norfolk Health Department<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/norfolk\/2026\/01\/02\/letter-from-the-director-welcoming-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Letter from the Director: Welcoming 2026 - Norfolk Health Department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear friends, neighbors, and partners: As we start 2026, the Norfolk Department of Public Health is here for you. 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