The Schar Challenge
Sharing our gratitude for your philanthropic impact, and previewing what’s possible when we Do. More. Together.
Inova Health Foundation
As we reflect on this milestone,
we celebrate your investment in the health, growth and future of our community. This impact report is a glimpse of all you are making possible.
And yet, there is more within our grasp when we Do. More. Together.
Bolstered by the community’s response, we have now officially launched a comprehensive campaign, Do. More. Together Our goal is to raise $500 million by the end of the decade, to include the $158 million contributed through the Challenge.
This unprecedented level of generosity and community action would be transformative for Inova and for the patients, families and community we serve. With your support, we can help ensure the people of our region live longer, healthier lives.
As you read this report, we hope you are moved and excited by what philanthropy has made possible, and the powerful opportunity that remains before us. Do. More. Together
With gratitude,
J. Stephen Jones , MD President and CEO, Inova
Sage Bolte PhD, CSW, CST, FAOSW Chief Philanthropy Officer and President, Inova Health Foundation
The
Schar Challenge:
By the numbers
“I can’t think of a better way to spend our time, resources and effort than to help make world-class care possible for everyone, here at Inova.”
Dwight Schar Supporter
10K+ donors
$83M raised
1 year
$158M grand total
Martha and Dwight Schar
Reimagining the future of behavorial health
Improving outcomes
In 2023, our Behavioral Health teams across the system delivered care through more than 47,000 inpatient and outpatient visits, 19,500 Emergency Department encounters for psychiatric or substance abuse issues and 26,000 adolescent patient visits at Inova Kellar Center.
Last year, thanks in part to generous community support, Inova launched Universal Depression Screening, making mental health screening a standard part of appointment intake at primary care sites. We are now expanding to all inpatient and outpatient sites. Untreated depression can lead to poorer health outcomes and sometimes suicide. Screening for depression leads to improved health outcomes and saves lives.
Now, more than ever, investing in behavorial health is crucial. Together, we can build a stronger whole-care model for our community.
Increasing access
Thanks to the support of the Kellar Family and other generous donors, the Inova Kellar Center has been a beacon of hope for children, teenagers, and their families for 33 years. In 2023 alone, we had 26,000 patient visits.
Kellar is a nationally recognized, innovative mental health care model offering patient-centric and family-focused approach. Our services include individual and group therapy, medication management, psychological and educational testing, partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient programs for mental health and substance-related disorders.
The Kellar School is a therapeutic education program serving students grades 3 through 12 who have been identified as eligible for special education services. The structured, individualized program is designed to meet the needs of students with emotional and/or learning disabilities.
Since 2023, we’ve screened more than 481,600 patients across various ambulatory and specialty sites:
Impact snapshot 51,250+ of whom needed further screening 8,690+ of whom screened positive for suicidal ideation
Without screening, these patients might not have received the critical support they needed.
Dr. Rick Leichtweis, Casey Kellar-Box and Mary Kellar
The difference philanthropy made this past year at Inova
Kellar Center
• Supported the maintenance and expansion of our services and the development of new programs and initiatives
• Funded essential education and training for our team members
• Helped address workforce shortages in key areas such as therapists, child psychiatrists, and psychiatric nursing
• Covered treatment costs for patients and families who cannot afford them, including providing $350,000 in scholarship and patient financial assistance
340 people for every 1 mental health provider in the US
2022 had the of deaths by suicide ever recorded in the US highest number
Together, we can make a greater difference for the ever-growing number of people struggling with the devastating effects of mental health and addiction issues. By bringing hope and healing to those who suffer in silence, we are not only eliminating stigma but also affirming that mental health is a vital aspect of overall health.
“My loved ones receive care from Inova, and my giving is the least I can do to share my profound appreciation for the exemplary care.”
1 in 5 youth
had at least one major depressive episode in the past year—and over half of them did not receive treatment
23% of adults experienced a mental illness in the past year, equivalent to nearly 60 million Americans
Alquietta Brown PhD, MSHA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC Supporter and Inova Team Member
Inova’s greatest need
Accelerating our ability to serve our community...when minutes matter
Inova Fairfax Hospital Emergency Room is Northern Virginia’s only Level I Trauma Center and the fourth busiest ER in the nation. Originally designed for 60,000 patients, we saw more than 172,600 in 2023. Due to increasing volumes and current space constraints, approximately half of our patients are seen in hallway beds, which lack privacy and space for family members.
This year, we are embarking on a significant expansion, growing from 40 to 102 private rooms, building a specialized children’s emergency entrance and reception area, and creating an innovative space tailored for psychiatric emergencies.
Over the past three years, we’ve seen a significant 32% rise in Behavioral Health patients in our ER, highlighting the urgent need for specialized care spaces.
Philanthropy is playing a critical role in this expansion, including generous support of our plan to launch an innovative EmPATH (Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing) unit, opening in late 2024, the third of its kind in Virginia.
This crucial addition to the ER will provide a dedicated and healing environment for psychiatric patients in crisis, ensuring they receive compassionate care and facilitating their safe return to the community.
This evidence-based approach has seen strong outcomes in other health systems: 70% reduction in hospitalizations 8 hour drop in length of stay in the ER drop in boarding in the ER prior to receiving care
Robert G. Hisaoka
Inova Health Foundation Board Chair and Supporter
“Dana and I have decided to support Inova’s Fairfax emergency department because it plays an integral role in providing world class healthcare to our community. It’s imperative we have a state-of-the-art trauma and emergency department that is easily accessible and can handle tremendous volume.”
Investing in our community
Excitement is building!
Inova has embarked on a comprehensive development plan to expand and upgrade health care services in our growing Eastern Region communities of Alexandria, Mount Vernon and Franconia-Springfield.
Opening this fall
An outpatient care center in Oakville offering full-service emergency care, outpatient surgery, imaging, primary care and specialty services.
Up next
A new hospital Inova Alexandria Hospital at Landmark, featuring an expanded emergency room, private patient rooms, Inova Schar Cancer Center, and state-of-theart birthing facilities and Inova Franconia-Springfield Hospital, our first hospital in the area.
With your help we’re ensuring access to state-ofthe-art facilities and world-class clinical care, from enhancing emergency services and behavioral health to advancing cancer treatment and orthopedics.
Together, we can do more for the more than 170,000 patients who come to our Inova Fairfax Hospital ER each year. Not only can we enhance the experience patients have in their most vulnerable moments, but we can expand to new areas, allowing us to see more people while seeing each of them more fully. And together we can address our community’s greatest healthcare needs through initiatives focused on Health Equity, Arts and Healing, and enhanced patient care and team member support across the entire Inova system.
Driving cancer screening and prevention
Inova Saville Cancer Screening and Prevention Center is hitting the road this fall!
Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Sandi and Jerry Croan, along with the support of Margo and Kent LaMotta and other dedicated donors, we’re launching Inova Mobile Screening—a groundbreaking initiative bringing essential cancer and heart disease prevention services directly to our underserved and most vulnerable community members.
As the region’s first comprehensive mobile screening program, it will offer screenings for breast, cervical, skin, and colon cancer, along with heart disease assessments, genetic testing, and access to cancer prevention clinical trials. Together, we are providing access to life-saving screenings and empowering individuals with knowledge and resources to live longer, healthier lives.
of all cancer cases in the US are attributable to preventative risk factors
Thanks to the generous support of Mr. and Mrs. William J. Inman, along with thousands of other donors who were inspired to step forward to meet this challenge, we continue to make significant strides in advancing our cancer care.
Innovative cancer care, close to home
Inova Schar Cancer focuses on delivering innovative treatments and therapies closer to home, reducing travel burdens for patients and their families. Immunotherapy is changing the landscape of cancer treatment by harnessing a patient’s own immune cells to target and eliminate cancer cells.
• One especially innovative area of immunotherapy is Cellular Therapy (CAR T cell), where a patient’s own immune cells are genetically modified to recognize and destroy cancer cells. This personalized immunotherapy is already changing how we treat diseases.
• Dr. Stephen Medlin, recruited with the support of philanthropy in August 2023, leads Inova Schar Cancer’s stem cell transplant program as Chair of Cellular Therapies.
“Getting a cancer diagnosis is devastating and scary for the whole family. We wanted a place where people could come to receive state-of-the-art care in a caring environment that’s beautiful and soothing (especially with the Arts and Healing Program). Hopefully we can ease their fears with the knowledge that they’re in the right place.”
1 in 2 men will develop cancer in their lifetime
1 in 3 women will develop cancer in their lifetime
“I believe that Inova Schar Cancer offers facilities, innovation and quality patient care across the spectrum–intake, doctors and support staff–that are unique in medical services available today. I am glad to support Inova Schar Cancer.”
Patrick C. Stafford
Christina Co Mather Supporter
The Randolph D. Rouse Foundation
Inova Peterson Life with Cancer impact snapshot
What our donors made possible for patients and their families last year:
61,000+
adults, children and adolescents received care through Inova Peterson Life with Cancer
“We are deeply proud of the tremendous impact that Inova Peterson Life with Cancer has had for the community over the past 36 years, and it means so much to our family to be able to support and help ensure its future impact as well.”
Lauren Peterson Supporter
32,000+ educational and counseling consults provided by Inova Peterson Life with Cancer
2,100+ classes, educational groups and wellness programs hosted by oncology nurse navigators and therapists
Milestones and momentum in cancer care
Inspired by Dwight and Martha Schar’s challenge, the Peterson Family donated $20 million to Inova in 2024, building on their three-decade legacy at Inova, with over 30-year legacy with over $50 million total in impactful support. In addition to supporting the greatest urgent need of our emergency department, their generosity as a whole ensures the long-term sustainability of exceptional cancer care. In recognition of their remarkable investments, the Life with Cancer program was renamed Inova Peterson Life with Cancer®.
Through evidence-based integrative therapies, wellness and movement programs, individual and family counseling, support groups and oncology nurse navigation, Inova Peterson Life with Cancer ensures no one goes through cancer alone. This crucial program offers support to cancer patients, families, and survivors, all at no cost. These services are made possible by the generosity of donors like the Peterson family and you, our philanthropic community.
Together, we can do more to usher in a new era for cancer care by investing in top talent and cutting-edge research to create a seamless world-class treatment model. Our vision is a care model that can detect your cancer early, walk with you into survivorship, and understands that emotional and medical care are both vital for healing.
The Peterson Family
Advancing a leading women’s cardiovascular health program
In addition to the historic gift from Dwight and Martha Schar, philanthropic support from donors like Jeff and Sandra Martchek likewise plays an important role in enabling us to recruit and retain top talent and establish innovative care models at Inova Schar Heart and Vascular.
Dr. Garima Sharma, a nationally recognized expert in women’s cardiovascular health, joined us as Director of Cardio-Obstetrics and Cardiovascular Women’s Health in October 2023. With over two decades of experience, she is dedicated to furthering the understanding and treatment of heart disease in women, addressing critical research gaps and advocating for gender equity in healthcare policies.
Loren Rufino Supporter and Inova Team Member
“I give because everyone deserves to be healthy and cared for.”
Under Dr. Sharma’s leadership, we are advancing a world-class women’s cardiovascular health program. This initiative focuses on the unique challenges and risks of heart disease in women, offering personalized, comprehensive care from early detection and risk assessment to managing cardiovascular health during pregnancy, menopause and inflammatory conditions. Our goal is to improve outcomes for every woman we serve.
Heart disease is the cause of death for 1 out of 3 women of heart related deaths can be preventable
Win Sheridan Supporter “I give to Inova so the best possible care will be there when people in our community need it.”
Educating the next generation in women’s heart health
There is an urgent need to educate physicians on treating women’s cardiac issues, often overlooked in traditional one-size fits all training. At Inova, our oneyear fellowship program—one of only four in the country and made possible through philanthropy— aims to close this gap by training specialists in women’s cardiovascular health through hands-on patient care.
Together, we can advance our capabilities to lead the way in heart health through a culture of innovation and an appreciation that — like every person — every heart is unique. We can deliver personalized care from a world-class team of specialists ready to diagnose, treat and help prevent the most complex heart and vascular issues.
Lina Escoba; Kelly Epps-Anderson, MD; Paula Pinell-Salles, MD; and Garima Sharma, MD
“When I faced serious heart issues, Inova became my lifeline. In April 2010, thanks to a selfless donor and skilled surgeons, I received a life-saving heart transplant. Fourteen years later, I’m still an active patient and proud supporter of Inova Fairfax Hospital’s Heart Transplant Unit. That’s why I chose to give–Inova doctors, PA’s and nurses are all my angels!”
Your support empowers us to enhance clinical care and deliver cutting-edge solutions, including:
• Spectra Phones for the vascular nursing team: Combining AI and multispectral imaging technology for faster, more accurate wound care decisions
• System Cameras for tracking wounds in our electronic database, improving documentation and treatment
• Innovative Treatments like Transcarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR): A minimally invasive procedure that clears blockages and opens narrowed carotid arteries
These advancements are crucial for improving patient outcomes and advancing our care capabilities.
Optimizing outcomes through innovation
With your generosity, Inova’s Vascular and Surgical Services Program is tackling the rising rates of vascular disease and treatment disparities. We are utilizing multidisciplinary teams—including specialists in wound care, vascular surgery, cardiology, and more—to identify risk factors and manage complex treatments, aiming to prevent severe outcomes like heart attacks, strokes and amputations.
Inova Heart Transplant Recipient
Leading the way in heart health
Thanks to the D’Aniello Family and other generous supporters, the Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Program continues to set the standard for enhanced patient outcomes with its multidisciplinary, data-driven approach. The result is a level of care that exceeds standard practice in electrophysiology clinics around the world.
AFib is an abnormal chaotic heart rhythm originating in the heart’s top two chambers, frequently causing the bottom chambers to beat rapidly and in an irregular pattern, often creating a fast pulse. It affects 70-85% of patients increasing their risk of stroke and heart failure, and can shorten their life expectancy. Because AFib is a complex condition that ideally is treated using the expertise of several medical specialists,
Inova’s multidisciplinary approach stands out as unique, offering access to specialists from multiple disciplines including cardiology, and electrophysiology as well as weight loss, pharmacy, behavioral health and sleep medicine.
Early research shows that this approach leads to improved outcomes including a 49% reduction in overall mortality, a 42% decrease in cardiovascular hospitalizations, and a 50%-82% drop in emergency visits, more cost-effective care, and fewer readmissions and shorter length of hospital stay.
Lola C. Reinsch’s generosity launched the Inova Reinsch Pierce Cardiomyopathy Program to improve early detection, expand research and enhance care for cardiomyopathy.
Lola C. Reinsch Supporter
“I stepped forward to make this transformational gift in honor of the exceptional care I received when I faced my own life-changing heart condition just two years ago. Because of my personal health crisis, I was inspired to give what I could to advance heart care for other patients experiencing cardiomyopathies.”
Brett Atwater, MD, D’Aniello Chair, Atrial Fibrillation, Inova Schar Heart and Vascular
Your generosity is changing lives
Taking care of our youngest community members
Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital provides the highest quality of specialized care for the youngest patients in the communities we serve.
Take Asher’s story, for example. Asher was rushed to Inova’s Emergency Department battling acute respiratory distress after a severe choking incident involving strawberries and nuts. Thanks to the expert care of our pediatric team, he was swiftly placed on ECMO, a heart-lung machine to take over heart and lung functions. This life-saving intervention was crucial for the 18-month-old. Today, Asher is thriving at home, a testament to the exceptional care he received.
Your support helps us continue this vital work, ensuring that every child receives the compassionate and expert care they deserve
Steven Narang MD, MHCM President Inova Fairfax Hospital
“Many people don’t realize this but as a nonprofit healthcare system, we don’t have shareholders. Our ‘shareholders’ are you, the community, each one of us.”
Promoting health equity across Northern Virginia
Inova Schar Heart and Vascular Specialty Clinic
In October, thanks to generous support, we launched an Inova Schar Heart and Vascular Specialty Clinic in Sterling, addressing key care equity gaps. Building on this success and focusing on the needs of our community, funds from the Schar Challenge allowed us to open a second clinic in Mount Vernon, Alexandria, bringing advanced cardiology services to underserved, high-risk patients.
Inova Cares Clinic for Families (ICCF) and Inova Juniper Program (IJP)
Inova proudly opened the Inova Cares Clinic for Families (ICCF) in Mount Vernon, Alexandria, this past October, with the support of a $250,000 grant from the James M. Cox Foundation and other generous donors. This new clinic offers crucial services to uninsured and underinsured families, including sick and well visits, disease prevention and psychosocial support.
In conjunction with this opening, we also celebrated the launch of the Inova Juniper Program (IJP) at the same location. For over 30 years, IJP has been dedicated to providing care for individuals living with HIV throughout Northern Virginia, with funding generously provided by additional donors.
Inova Cares Clinic for Children (ICCC)
In January, Inova celebrated the grand opening of its inaugural Inova Cares Clinic for Children (ICCC) in Falls Church, the first of its kind for Inova. Instead of calling to make an appointment, parents can now bring their children directly to the clinic to receive immediate care. This new model of care eliminates the need for emergency department or urgent care visits, providing timely, accessible same-day treatment for sick children. Funding for the ICCC was made possible in part thanks to a transformational gift from the Shrader Family.
Inova Cares Clinic for Families (ICCF) and Inova Juniper Program (IJP)
Inova Cares Clinic for Children (ICCC)
Thank you, for partnering with us on this transformative journey for healthcare for our community
And we’ve only just begun
As of September 19, 2024, we have officially launched Inova’s comprehensive campaign Do. More. Together. to raise a cumulative $500 million total by the end of the decade, to include the $158 million in impactful support contributed during the Challenge timeframe.
Our aim is clear: compassionate, seamless, and world-class care, tailored to meet the diverse needs of every individual in our community—your family, friends and those who need us most.
With tremendous hope for the future, we could not be more excited to be standing alongside each and every one of you as we encounter this unique moment of opportunity. Thank you for rising to answer the Schar Challenge, and helping to lay the foundation for this new chapter in philanthropic support and care for our region.
We can’t wait to partner with you on all that comes next because, as you’ve shown, together, we can do more.
We invite you to read more about the priorities of the next phase of our campaign here:
Inova.org/DoMoreTogether
In May 2023, my wife Martha and I announced a $75 million gift to Inova and challenged the community to join us over the next year. More than 10,000 generous donors gave more than $83 million for a combined total of $158 million, demonstrating a strong commitment to this community we know and love. To all who gave, and those who will give in the future, thank you.
With gratitude,