Sentara Norfolk General Hospital

Tonight, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital shines bright in red to commemorate Sickle Cell Awareness Day and honor the strength, resilience, and courage of individuals and families affected by sickle cell disease.

Observed each year on June 19, Sickle Cell Awareness Day helps raise awareness, promote education, and encourage support for those living with this lifelong condition. By lighting our hospital in red, we stand in solidarity with patients, caregivers, advocates, and healthcare professionals working to improve outcomes and advance research.

Every healthcare worker deserves to feel safe at work.

Today, our colleagues joined Governor of Virginia Abigail Spanberger at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital to celebrate the passage of the Protect Healthcare Workers Act. The new law strengthens protections for healthcare workers by making it illegal to bring weapons inside hospitals and emergency departments.

Since 2022, Sentara security teams have intercepted more than 15,600 weapons at our hospitals. As incidents of workplace violence continue to impact healthcare workers nationwide, Sentara has spent years championing this legislation to help create safer environments for the colleagues who care for our communities every day, as well as our patients and visitors.

"Sentara and other hospital systems have had weapon-free policies for years. But this legislation gives those policies the force of law,” said Dennis Matheis, president and CEO of Sentara Health. “Our goal has always been to protect our patients, visitors and colleagues from violence in hospitals across Virginia.”