RHHD Blog: Well Read (Archived)

Last Updated: May 19, 2026 Nov. 1 marked the start of the 2024 Affordable Care Act open enrollment season. This year for the first time, Virginia is using its own Insurance Marketplace. Virginia residents will need to visit that site to enroll. The Virginia Marketplace provides information about translation services and contact options. Enroll by Jan. 15 for coverage in 2024!Continue reading→

Last Updated: November 20, 2023 En RHHD, los trabajadores comunitarios de la salud están ideando formas creativas para enseñar sobre salud en sus iniciativas educativas y de divulgación. Los trabajadores comunitarios de la salud trabajan en centros de recursos de RHHD o con grupos que tienen necesidades de salud únicas. Algunos trabajadores comunitarios de la...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 19, 2026 Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, Nov. 5. While you’re changing your clocks, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also encourages you to test your smoke detector and replace the batteries for smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms. In addition to CPSC’s advice, Firefighter Cody offers the following tips: Place smoke detectors on the ceiling because...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 19, 2026 Across RHHD, Community Health Workers—or CHWs—are coming up with creative ways to build health literacy into their education and outreach efforts. CHWs work in RHHD’s resource centers or with groups who have unique health needs. Some multilingual CHWs work in communities where English is not a first or even second language. When these CHWs...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 19, 2026 Health and education organizations have an obligation to ensure that their resources are as accessible as possible, no matter your personal health literacy. At the same time, there are some things you can do to flex your own health literacy muscles, whether you’re at a doctor’s office, a clinic, or at home. Practice Ask Me 3 ...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 19, 2026 We may have reached November, but RHHD is reflecting on the Health Literacy Month that was. Health literacy isn’t just an October project for us—it guides the work we do all year long. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services talks about health literacy having two components: personal health literacy and organizational health...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 19, 2026 The week ahead: No newsletter, just voting! All RHHD clinics and offices will be closed on Tuesday, Nov. 7, and Friday, Nov. 10, in observance of Election Day and Veterans Day. Both days are important for public health workers—and our communities—to observe: Elected officials make critical decisions about how to support and fund...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 19, 2026 El horario de verano termina el domingo 5 de noviembre. Mientras cambia la hora en los relojes, la Comisión de Seguridad de Productos del Consumidor (CPSC) de Estados Unidos le recomienda que pruebe sus detectores de humo y reemplace las baterías de los detectores de humo y las alarmas de...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 20, 2026 The scariest thing about Halloween should be your child’s homemade zombie cheerleader costume, not speeding cars. RHHD Policy Director Ruth Morrison offers some tips for getting home with every candy bar intact (except the ones you eat on the way!): If you don’t have to drive, don’t!   Reducing the number...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 19, 2026 Don’t let Salmonella slow you down this Halloween; let’s save the green faces for Frankenstein’s Monster and Elphaba. CDC has issued a recall for Gills Onions products in light of Salmonella cases in 22 states, including Virginia. CDC recommends throwing away any of the products included in the recall (you can see the full...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 19, 2026 Ghouls and zombies don’t spook RHHD’s Environmental Health and Lead Safe and Healthy Homes teams. They’re too busy ensuring you have what you need to protect your home from outside invaders—like bats, rodents, or insects—or from dangerous toxins like lead. Here are some of their scariest facts: In their lifetime, female roaches can lay...Continue reading→

Last Updated: May 19, 2026 It’s important to know what kind of monster you’re dealing with so you know how to take it out. A wooden stake for a ghost, or silver bullets for a vampire? Buffy would never. Learn the symptoms of the season’s most common respiratory viruses so you know what steps to...Continue reading→