Welcome to The Pulse, a weekly roundup of health-focused news. Each Thursday, we bring you updates on health policy, community surveys, new clinical studies, programs and services in Southwest and Southside Virginia.
Got a tip or story idea? Email me at emily@cardinalnews.org.
New specialty pharmacy opens in Roanoke, with plans for major expansion
A new specialty pharmacy serving senior living communities has opened in Roanoke.
SpecialityRx packages medications and delivers them directly to nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
The company operates 15 pharmacy centers across the United States. During a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week, Executive Vice President Raghav Dubey said the Roanoke location will grow into a regional hub over the next few years.
The pharmacy currently serves about 1,500 residents within a 100-mile radius. Over the next few years, Dubey said that number will increase to 10,000 patients.
“We have a lot of aspirations here and a lot of hope to grow,” Dubey said.
While the pharmacy initially employs 20 staff members for its Roanoke location, leadership expects to triple or quadruple that workforce over the coming years as operations expand. To support its growth plans, SpecialtyRx would like to partner with regional colleges and training programs to create a pipeline of workers to the facility.
Dubey said the company is still trying to get a sense of the workforce shortages in Southwest Virginia.
Roanoke Mayor Joe Cobb, who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, noted that Roanoke is a leading U.S. retirement destination. The region is also home to many long-term care facilities, he said.
“All of this is about investing in our community, and it’s about celebrating our successes, acknowledging our opportunities for growth and remembering that we’re here for each other,” Cobb said.
New dashboard maps travel time to maternity care across Virginia
A new online dashboard helps Virginians see how far they must travel for labor and delivery services. Virginia Health Information developed the tool using hospital discharge data from 2019 to 2024 to map labor and delivery units across the state.
The interactive dashboard estimates average travel distance and travel time to childbirth services. Users can explore access by county, health insurance type, delivery type, maternal demographics, health indicators and hospital characteristics, according to a press release from Virginia Health Information. Users can also see how many births are associated with each county in the same time period.
Several counties in Southwest and Southside Virginia have some of the state’s longest travel times to delivery care. Average travel distances and times include:
- Alleghany County: 51.7 miles and 76.8 minutes
- Patrick County: 56.4 miles and 86 minutes
- Henry County: 42.2 miles 63.9 minutes
- Scott County: 45 miles and 62.9 minutes
- Dickenson County: 43.7 miles and 70.9 minutes
“As communities across Virginia continue to evaluate access to maternal healthcare, understanding the geographic challenges families face is increasingly important,” VHI CEO Kyle Russell said in a press release.
According to the press release, the dashboard was developed for clinicians, policymakers, public health professionals, journalists and community organizations to better understand the relationship between geography and access to hospital delivery services.
Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts support back-to-school health
The Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts are urging families to schedule back-to-school physicals and immunizations before appointments fill up.
Families can contact their local health department to schedule free immunizations. There are a limited number of appointments available for school physicals, but those are offered on sliding-fee scale.
The health district will provide immunizations at the Back to School Extravaganza at William Fleming High School in Roanoke from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.
For information or to schedule an appointment, families can contact their local health department.
