People enrolled in health maintenance organizations in Virginia paid an average monthly premium of $280 last year, according to Virginia Health Information’s recently released report on HMO quality and cost. Premium costs per member ranged from $243 a month at HealthKeepers Inc., which has 283,201 members in Virginia, to $320 at Maryland-based CapitalCare Inc., with 591 members in Virginia.

The following places are offering flu shots.

Since suffering a heart attack two years ago, Queenie Riley has been trying to lose weight. By exercising and eating two meals a day plus a Slim Fast drink for breakfast, she managed to lose 51 pounds, getting down to 299. She lived with the fear of regaining the weight as she had after previous weight-loss attempts.

Over the past year, Virginia has improved its rates of high school graduation and appears on its way to fulfilling the ambitious goal of preserving an additional 400,000 acres of land by 2010. But the state is also experiencing a disturbing spike in its infant-mortality rate and has suffered setbacks in its efforts to combat consumer fraud, reduce obesity and alleviate traffic congestion.

Norovirus is the likely cause of illnesses that closed a local child-care facility in Richmond. The Friends Family Childcare Center in Jackson Ward closed voluntarily Friday at noon after children experienced episodes of vomiting. The facility will remain closed until Monday. John C. Purnell Jr., executive director of the day-care site, directed all questions to the Richmond City Health District.

Despite recommendations from the government and doctors, only 52 percent of U.S. adults said they planned to get the flu vaccine this year, according to a Consumer Reports survey. Among the reasons: 27 percent said they disliked shots—even though a nasal spray is available—and 5 percent said they would rather get sick than go to work.

Black children in Virginia are 12 times more likely than white children to experience the double disadvantage of being poor and living in neighborhoods with a high level of poverty overall.

Goochland County residents will know by the middle of this month whether a plan to build a new hospital in its eastern end has approval from the state to proceed. State Health Commissioner Karen Remley is expected to decide by Nov. 18 whether a proposed 97-bed, $183 million hospital is necessary and practical for the West Creek business park.

Goochland County residents will know by the middle of this month whether a plan to build a new hospital in its eastern end has approval from the state to proceed. State Health Commissioner Karen Remley is expected to decide by Nov. 18 whether a proposed 97-bed, $183 million hospital is necessary and practical for the West Creek business park.

Six years ago, I was a new mom to a beautiful baby boy. My son Hayes was everything to me. His chubby cheeks, his blue eyes that seemed to smile on their own, his soft laugh when I would talk to him. Our days were spent at our own photo shoot. I would snap photos of Hayes all day long. He had an adorable and wise demeanor about him.

Bobby Coleman was at the front of a pack of 5,000 finishing up a rainy 3-mile walk through Innsbrook yesterday morning. He did it in about a half-hour. Not bad for a guy who underwent sixtuple-bypass surgery in June. “This feels great,“ Coleman said of the Start! Richmond Heart Walk, an annual event led by the American Heart Association.

As a pediatrician, my life’s work is about caring for children. Next month, we each have an opportunity to use our voice and vote for leaders in our commonwealth and our nation. Before we cast our votes, as parents and citizens we have to ask the question, “Who’s for kids, and who’s just kidding?“ We need to look carefully at the “children’s agenda” that each candidate has put forth. Forget political party; race, gender, and family. Avoid campaign ads—do what I tell my patients and their parents every day in my practice: Turn off the television! Instead, take a look at their campaign materials and ask some hard questions.

By Lee Bowman Scripps Howard News Service When should doctors and nurses and EMTs stop trying to save or artificially preserve a patient’s life? And just who gets to make the call that someone is dead? Several recent studies illustrate today’s complex terrain of terminating care and declaring death in different settings. First, there’s death outside the hospital, specifically death from sudden cardiac arrest, something that kills more than 160,000 Americans a year.

Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, said today that Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s health plan would take away health benefits from 580,000 Virginians. At a news conference organized by the Center for American Progress Action Fund at the state Capitol today, Edwards said the 580,000 figure is an estimate based on projections that the McCain plan would cause companies to drop health care benefits.

On October 21, 2008, Lakewood Manor, a retirement community located in Henrico County at 1900 Lauderdale Drive, will celebrate its 30 year anniversary. Today, Lakewood is home for nearly 500 residents. As of the writing of this article, four residents who moved to Lakewood Manor in 1978, continue to be numbered among the Lakewood family. These residents who have called Lakewood home now for 30 years are Miss Edna Thomas, Miss Ida Crowder, and The Reverend and Mrs. Hugh T. Busey.