Managing Health

The goal of aging in place and being able to live independently is often dependent on your health. The ability to age comfortably and safely in your own home means having made thoughtful plans for what may happen when your health needs change.

Living in Fairfax County, you have access to many health-related resources. In this section, you will also find information available from national nonprofit and governmental organizations that can help you or a caregiver create a plan especially when faced with a chronic condition or even deal with a crisis.

Advance Directives

Care Management

Crisis Hotlines

Disease-Related Organizations

Educational Opportunities

Getting Your Affairs in Order

Hospitals and Urgent Care

Rehabilitation Facilities

Other Providers

Photo of Reston Hospital Center with link

Advance Directives

It’s important to plan for a time when you may not be able to make decisions about your health care. A good place to start is to use a tool such as an Advance Planning Guide to ensure those who care about you know your wishes. Advance directives give family and providers the information they need to assess your wishes about things like a do not resuscitate order or the kinds of medical treatment you want if you cannot tell someone that.

An Advance Directive is a written statement detailing your desires regarding medical treatment if you are no longer able to express informed consent.

Durable power of attorney for Health Care is a document that lets you name someone else to make health care decisions if can’t do it yourself. That person is called an agent and this may also be combined with an advance directive.

Do not Resuscitate Order is a request by you not to have cardiopulmonary resuscitation if your heart stops or if you stop breathing.

To help you navigate advance directives and find form templates, contact Virginia Advance Directives. org

Care Management

Elderlink. A partnership between the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging and Inova Health System, ElderLink provides affordable care management services that includes assessment, care plan development and monitoring. Functional and income eligibility requirements apply. It sometimes offers classes on chronic disease self management as well as help for caregivers. (703) 324-5374. TTY 711

Aging Life Care Association. Find an aging life care professional in our area using their online search tool. An Aging Life Care Professional is a health and human services specialist who acts as a guide and advocate for families who are caring for older relatives or disabled adults.

Crisis Hotlines

  • Friendship Line. Offered by the San Francisco-based Institute on Aging, volunteers are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help older adults (aged 60 and older) and adults living with disabilities in crisis. It also provides emotional support for those needing social contact and call-out services for those who are eligible. An intake referral form is available on its website.

    • (888) 670-1360

  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Hotline. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMSA) offers a confidential, 24-hour national helpline that offers referrals and treatment information. The agency also offers both behavioral and substance abuse service locators for treatment centers in the Reston area.

  • Veteran’s Crisis Line. Dial 988 then press 1. Text 838255

Disease Related Organizations

Often national organizations have listings of local resources that may be helpful if you or someone you care about are faced with managing a chronic illness.

Educational Opportunities

You can find a number of local ways to educate yourself about health-related or aging issues sometimes faced by older adults. The National Council on Aging offers AgeWell Planner that has online questionnaires that can find personalized resources and tools as well as benefits programs.

  • Aging Matters. Weekly interview program that features guests with expertise on an array of aging topics. The podcast airs from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM Tuesdays on Arlington community radio WERA 96.7 - LP FM.

  • Getting the Care You Need (A Guide for People with Disabilities). Published by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the guide offers information and checklists to assist people with disabilities to ensure they receive the care they need.

  • Northern Virginia Falls Prevention Alliance. The Alliance lists useful resources as well as links to local organizations such as senior centers that offer occasional falls prevention classes for older adults.

  • Home Fall Prevention Checklist. The federal Centers for Disease Control produces this checklist to help older adults find and fix potential hazards in the home.

  • Golden Gazette is a free monthly newsletter published by Fairfax County that covers a variety of topics of interest to older residents. It’s easy to subscribe either online or in print. (703)324-4653

Getting Your Affairs in Order

A very good place to start planning for the future is checking out the Getting Your Affairs in Order Checklist from the National Institute on Aging.

AARP has an affordable book that leads you step-by-step through organizing the information your family will need when and if you are unable to do it yourself or you’ve passed away. Developed with the American Bar Association, Checklist for My Family: A Guide to My History, Financial Plans, and Final Wishes, Second Edition is available online from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and elsewhere.

Fairfax County offers two ways of making sure emergency responders to your home know about you either in advance (Emergency Health Profile online) and a Fire & Rescue form that you can print and store close to your home’s entrance just in case.

Hospital, Medical and Urgent Care

Reston is home to a community hospital as well as hundreds of health care providers, from family physicians to specialists in nearly every discipline. Often, you can find provider listings through their professional organizations.

  • American Geriatrics Society. You can find an online directory of geriatricians, those physicians who specialize in treating the elderly and a comprehensive collection information on managing your health on their healthinaging.org website. The site includes helpful wellness and prevention information for both individuals and caregivers that has been vetted by geriatricians.

  • CVS Minute Clinic. Located in the South Lakes Shopping Center, the clinic is generally open until 6:30 PM and offers treatment for minor illness or injuries, physicals, screenings and monitoring. There is also one in nearby Herndon. (866) 389-2727

  • Capital Caring offers primary care at home similar to what used to be called house calls. It is designed mainly for older adults over age 55 who are homebound and are aging in place. 24-hour care line: (800) 869-2136

  • FamilyDoctor.org. Sponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the site offers information on a variety of topics including a special section for seniors, how to choose a doctor and a Neighborhood Navigator that finds social services in the area.

  • Inova Emergency Care. Part of the Inova Fairfax Hospital system, the emergency room at the corner of Baron Cameron and Fountain Drive is open 24 hours a day. (703) 668-8333

  • Inova Health Care System. A not-for-profit system, it includes nearby hospitals (including a major medical center in Fairfax and a community hospital in Fair Oaks), long-term care facilities, assisted living and outpatient services as well as the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Northern Virginia. (855) 694-6682

  • Inova Urgent Care. Located in the North Point Village Center, it is open seven days a week during the day. You can save a spot online or just walk in.

  • Inova Medical House Calls. Currently available in zip code 20171, this program brings primary care to homebound patients aged 65 and older. (703) 698-2431.

  • Reston Hospital Center. A full service, 231-bed community hospital with a 24-hour emergency room, Reston Hospital Center also offers courses in diabetes management and grandparents raising grand babies. It is part of the for-profit HCA chain. (703) 689-9000

Rehabilitation Facilities

An inpatient rehabilitation facility is a hospital, or part of a hospital, that provides intensive rehabilitation to inpatients. Many patients with conditions like stroke or brain injury are transferred or admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility after a hospital stay. Medicare.gov can help you find Medicare-certified inpatient rehabilitation facilities in our area and compare them based on the quality of care they provide.

Other Providers

Reston is home to hundreds of health care providers, from family physicians to specialists in nearly every discipline. we also have a number of assisted living facilities. Often, you can find listings through their professional organizations. To find information on assisted living and skilled nursing facilities/nursing homes, visit our Housing section.