WHEREAS, Valley Health, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit health system caring for a population of more than 500,000 in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, the Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, and western Maryland, has greatly served the community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, the Valley Health health system includes six hospitals and more than 60 medical practices and urgent care centers and provides outpatient rehabilitation and fitness, medical transport, long-term care, and home health services; and

WHEREAS, as a health care provider, employer, and community partner, Valley Health is committed to improving the health of the region it serves and recognizes the many ways its caregivers touch and enrich each and every life in its community; and

WHEREAS, over the last two years, Valley Health's more than 6,000 caregivers have demonstrated incredible courage, skill, and resourcefulness, sometimes at great personal sacrifice, in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, the resolve of Valley Health's staff to diagnose, treat, and prevent the transmission of this highly infectious disease, while continuing to address the health care needs of other patients, was vital to the health of the community; and

WHEREAS, Valley Health staff have educated, collaborated, innovated, and communicated to keep their patients, staff, families, and community safe during the pandemic, organizing drive-through testing sites, introducing new telehealth options, opening respiratory care clinics, creating system-wide protocols for best-practice inpatient and outpatient treatment, and distributing free test kits; and

WHEREAS, in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Health's Lord Fairfax Health District, Valley Health coordinated vaccination clinics in four communities, administering over 150,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine; and

WHEREAS, the Valley Health team continually learned and flexed in response to an ever-changing situation, persevering to provide care through a surge that saw a daily census of more than 180 hospitalized patients in January 2022; and

WHEREAS, the physicians, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, technicians, dietitians, behavioral health professionals, social workers, and other personnel who comprise the Valley Health team personify the organization's mission of "Serving Our Community by Improving Health"; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Valley Health, a nonprofit health system caring for patients in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, the Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, and western Maryland, hereby be commended for its service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Valley Health as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for its staff and their contributions to the Commonwealth.