About Inova Alexandria Hospital

• First movable X-ray table in Northern Virginia (1937)
• First hospital on the East Coast to institute the use of epidural in obstetrics (1953)
• First hospital in Northern Virginia to have a lung chamber (1949)
• First hospital in the nation to staff an emergency department around-the-clock. Known nationally as the “Alexandria Plan” (1961)
• The School of Nursing is ranked first among nursing schools in Virginia (1961)
• First in Northern Virginia to provide direct telephone dialing for patients (1962)
• First hospital in Northern Virginia to provide a full-body CAT scan unit (1977)
• First hospital in Northern Virginia to have 1 room for labor, delivery & recovery (1978)
• First peripheral vascular lab in Northern Virginia (1982)
• First Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center in Northern Virginia (1986)
• First hospital in the Washington metropolitan area to use a laser (1988)
• First in the area and 2nd in the U.S. to have an excimer laser, used for vascular disease (1989)
• First Cancer Center in Northern Virginia to be accredited by the American College of Surgeons for its comprehensive community oncology program (1989)
• First Sleep Lab of its kind in Northern Virginia to offer comprehensive evaluations for sleep apnea, insomnia and other problems associated with sleep disorders (1990)
• First hospital in Northern Virginia to offer brachytherapy treatment for prostate carcinoma (1992)
• First hospital in Northern Virginia to have an Outpatient Chemotherapy Infusion Room (1995)
• PCU/Unit 28 is the first unit and hospital in the Northern Virginia area to offer Tikosyn therapy, an oral agent is given for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (2000)
• First hospital in Northern Virginia to have a highly sophisticated Infant and Child Abduction Security Monitoring system (2001)
• First hospital in Northern Virginia to receive JCAHO Stroke Center certification (2005)
• First hospital in Northern Virginia to offer Trilogy™ for cancer patients (2006)
• First hospital in Virginia and Washington, DC metro area to offer NanoKnife™ 

Inova Alexandria Hospital has consistently received The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for stroke care. We were one of the first
facilities in the Washington, DC, metro area to receive the Commission’s Primary Stroke Center certification.

Technologically advanced cancer care at Inova Alexandria includes our state-of-the-art Trilogy™ stereotactic system, the first in Northern Virginia. Trilogy gives our doctors greater power to treat cancer than ever before. The system uses image-guidance technology and the highest dose rates available to target tumors with unprecedented precision.

Inova Alexandria Hospital Birthing Center delivers the most advanced maternity care available close to home. We care for each patient as an individual with unique needs, while highly advanced technology and expertise are at our fingertips and was the first hospital on the East Coast to institute the use of epidural anesthesia in obstetrics in 1953.

Our cardiovascular and interventional radiology services are in the forefront of this fast-growing field. Inova Alexandria Hospital was the first in Northern Virginia to perform peripheral and renal angioplasty and stent placement, as well as abdominal aortic stent-graft. We have one of the largest and most successful uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) programs in the country.