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Two metro Richmond providers earned top marks in the annual ranking of nursing home care from U.S. News & World Report.
Hiram W. Davis Medical Center, a state-run facility in Petersburg, and The Virginia Home, a nonprofit home for people with irreversible physical disabilities in Richmond, each earned a 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, and a designation of high-performing in providing long-term care in the 10th annual assessment, which was released Tuesday.
Two local facilities, Battlefield Park Health Center in Petersburg, and Envoy of Westover Hills in Richmond, each received 1’s, the lowest grade, and were marked as below average in both short-term rehabilitation and long-term care.
The national rankings included assessments of 36 facilities in metro Richmond. Here’s a look at other metro facilities, listed by their scores, from 5 (the highest) to 1:

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A Surge in Overdose Deaths
Drug overdose deaths are again on the rise in Virginia and are projected by year’s end to surpass the record number of drug deaths that occurred in 2017. The Virginia Department of Health Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has released its second-quarter report on fatal drug overdoses, which shows 772 overdose fatalities through June, and projects overdoses to claim 1,547 Virginians by the end of the year if the trend continues. There were 1,486 overdose deaths last year in the commonwealth, and 1,536 in 2017. Opioids were involved in about 82% of overdose deaths in 2018. Statistics are preliminary.
Bon Secours Grows
Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg is one of three hospitals targeted for acquisition by Bon Secours Mercy Health.
Bon Secours announced its plans on Monday to acquire Southside, Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center in Emporia and Southampton Memorial Hospital in Franklin. Bon Secours expects to close the acquisition by year’s end. No purchase price has been announced.
The merger “will allow us to be a part of a larger network of hospitals in Virginia. Our hospitals have shared values and a commitment to providing our patients safe, quality care from compassionate clinicians. We are very excited about this partnership,” says Trent Nobles, chief executive officer for Southside, in a release.
Leadership Change
Bon Secours has a new president for its operations in Richmond, Faraaz Yousuf. He assumes duties on Dec. 1. In July Yousuf was named chief strategy officer for Bon Secours Atlantic Group (Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, New York and Florida). His previous jobs include service as an executive with a Maryland-based health system, LifeBridge Health, with Sutter Health and with Hospital Corporation of America.