RHHD Blog: Well Read

Last Updated: May 20, 2024 Sunday, May 19, is Hepatitis Testing Day. Hepatitis can be caused by substance use, alcohol, or viruses. Viral hepatitis includes Hepatitis A, B, and C. CDC encourages all adults in the U.S. to get tested for Hepatitis B and C at least once in their lifetimes. RHHD Epidemiologist Senior Louise Lockett Gordon explains why viral hepatitis...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 3, 2024 All known hurricanes since 1851 that have come within 65 nautical miles of Virginia Beach. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wants you to know that most good hurricane preparation happens before a storm shows up on the forecast. That’s why May brings Hurricane Preparedness Week. NOAA has put...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 3, 2024 Tuesday, May 7, is National Fentanyl Awareness Day. The observation recognizes the approximately 70,000 Americans who fatally overdosed on fentanyl in 2023. Ahead of May 7, RHHD Substance Use Disorder Coordinator Jasmine Blue shares some important facts about fentanyl: What is fentanyl?    Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid and a major...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 3, 2024 Nicole McCurrach receives her RHHD Nurse of the Year award. Nicole McCurrach and her husband were at the Bryan Park playground with their two daughters—aged five and seven—on a Saturday morning when she told him she wanted to become a nurse. She had worked corporate jobs and spent time at...Continue reading→

Last Updated: April 29, 2024 MRC volunteers at work! April 21-27 is National Volunteer Week, and RHHD has reason to celebrate! When we take on community projects, some of our most important teammates are volunteers with the Medical Reserve Corps of Virginia, or MRC. The MRC brings together people from all walks of life to support the educational and emergency...Continue reading→

Last Updated: April 29, 2024 “Health equity work is at my core”: Welcome, Shaleetta Drawbaugh! On April 18, RHHD welcomed Shaleetta Drawbaugh as the new Health Equity Fund Program Officer. The Health Equity Fund (HEF) invests in organizations working to eradicate health disparities throughout our city. Shaleetta has called Richmond home for a long time. She grew...Continue reading→

Last Updated: April 22, 2024 Louise Lockett Gordon’s 2024 YMCA 10K Training Team! Saturday, April 20, marks the 25th annual running of the Sports Backers’ [http://ukrop’s%20monument%20avenue%2010k/]Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K, one of the largest and most popular 10K runs in the United States. RHHD Epidemiologist Supervisor Louise Lockett Gordon has been coaching with Sports Backers’ YMCA...Continue reading→

Last Updated: April 22, 2024 Earth Day is Monday, April 22, but events that raise awareness about conservation and remind us of our responsibilities to the environment are going strong all month long. Earth Day is a public health observance, as far as RHHD and our partners like Richmond’s Parks & Rec Department are concerned. “Studies have shown that...Continue reading→

Last Updated: April 22, 2024 STI aware is STI safe: A syphilis explainer The second week in April is National STI Awareness Week. STIs, or sexually transmitted infections, include conditions like chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and HPV. STIs can still feel difficult to talk about in public. They can bring up shame or fear for a lot...Continue reading→

Last Updated: April 16, 2024 The 2024 County Health Rankings report opens with a thought-provoking finding: “The healthiest counties, where people live long and well, have well-resourced civic infrastructure, including a more accessible information environment (local news outlets, broadband access, and public libraries), compared to counties among the least healthy.” Resources like Richmond Public Library (RPL) and Henrico County Public Library (HCPL) are...Continue reading→

Last Updated: April 16, 2024   Over the past few months, we’ve highlighted some of the newest Health Equity Fund (HEF) recipients. The HEF—which is administered by the Richmond and Henrico Public Health Foundation and supported by the City of Richmond and RHHD—announced its most recent round of funding last month. Recipients applied for dedicated funding in one of the...Continue reading→

Last Updated: April 5, 2024 Basketball statisticians know that paying attention to the numbers can help teams spot threats and adjust their defensive strategy. Along those lines, the Virginia Department of Health has observed an increasing number of mpox cases in 2024. In the first three months of 2024, the number of cases across the commonwealth have...Continue reading→