Medical Transportation to Inova Fairfax Hospital

Getting to Inova Fairfax

Inova Fairfax sits on the Gallows Road campus in Falls Church, and the campus is large enough that “Inova Fairfax” is not by itself an address a crew can drive to. The hospital, the cancer institute, the children’s hospital and the medical office buildings are separate destinations on the same site with separate entrances.

Tell us the building and the department when you book. That one detail is the difference between a rider arriving at their appointment and a rider being wheeled across a campus.

Traffic is the other planning problem. Gallows Road and the Beltway approach are slow in both peaks, and an 8am appointment from Prince William, Loudoun or south Fairfax means leaving considerably earlier than the mileage suggests. We schedule against the corridor rather than the map.

We run to Inova Fairfax from every area we serve — Manassas, Woodbridge, Fairfax, Alexandria, Arlington, Chantilly, Springfield, Ashburn and across the river.

Discharge from Inova Fairfax

Gallows Road trips fall into two groups.

Discharges. A patient cleared to leave Inova Fairfax goes home or to a skilled nursing or rehabilitation facility.

Scheduled arrivals. An appointment, an infusion, imaging or a treatment session at the Schar Cancer Institute, with the ride back arranged too.

Emergency room trips, and moves from Inova Fairfax to another hospital for a higher level of care, are ambulance work.

Inova Fairfax discharges a large number of patients who cannot use a sedan and should not be in a rideshare — post-surgical, post-stroke, and patients moving on to a skilled nursing or rehabilitation facility.

Facilities get a three-hour lead time, stretcher included. Call dispatch three hours before you need the vehicle, or book a day ahead and the ride is guaranteed; changes are free more than two hours before pickup.

What the floor should tell us: whether the patient can sit upright safely for the journey (this decides the vehicle), whether they’re going home or to a facility, whether there are stairs at the destination, whether oxygen or equipment travels with them, and a realistic discharge time rather than an optimistic one.

Ask about the stairs every time. A patient who managed their own front steps two weeks ago may not manage them today.

Picking the van for a Gallows Road trip

It follows how the rider moves today, and on a long treatment course that can change from week to week.

Ambulatory — a rider who walks with a steadying arm; the driver takes them to the right building on the campus, not just the main door.
Wheelchair transportation — the rider stays in the chair, loaded by ramp or lift and fastened at four points before the van moves; no chair at home, and we bring one.
Stretcher — for a post-surgical or post-stroke patient who can’t sit up safely; two crew members run every stretcher trip.
Bariatric — over 300 pounds, with rated equipment and a second crew member. We run fewer of these vans, so book early.

If you’re unsure which applies, describe the rider and the discharge plan, and dispatch will pick the vehicle with you before it leaves.

Booking an Inova Fairfax ride

Reach dispatch at (703) 304-7889 day or night. Same-day trips and discharges need three hours’ notice, booking the day before guarantees the ride, and a call or text confirms it within two hours. Rescheduling is free more than two hours before pickup; after that, or for a no-show, the fee is $50.

Rates and coverage. For a patient coming in from Prince William, Loudoun or south Fairfax, a seated or wheelchair round trip to Gallows Road costs $55 a leg with five miles each way included and $3 for every mile past that; one way is $90 plus $3 a mile, and a stretcher round trip $230 a leg. Our rate card and estimator let you price a whole treatment schedule before it starts. Original Medicare doesn’t pay for these vans, but a Medicare Advantage plan whose ride benefit runs through MTM Health or SafeRide Health can send the trip to us. For Medicaid-covered treatment, start with the plan. Call the transportation number on your Medicaid ID card; the brokers we work with are MTM Health and SafeRide Health. Request H&M Transport specifically when you book your ride.

Inova Fairfax trips that need an ambulance

We drive riders to scheduled care on the Gallows Road campus and home again; nothing medical happens in the van.

Our crews don’t monitor patients en route, don’t take anyone to an emergency room, and don’t move a patient off the Gallows Road campus to another hospital for a higher level of care. If a rider becomes unwell, the driver stops safely and calls 911.

If this is a medical emergency, call 911.

Not sure which you need? Call and describe what’s going on; if it’s an ambulance trip, we’ll tell you.

Common questions

Where will the driver drop off at Inova Fairfax?

Tell us the building and the department when you book. The hospital, the cancer institute, the children’s hospital and the medical office buildings have separate entrances on the Gallows Road campus.

Can you drive me to treatments at the Schar Cancer Institute?

Yes. Many Inova Fairfax trips are appointments on a long treatment arc, and we book recurring treatment schedules. Tell us it’s the Schar Cancer Institute, since it has its own entrance.

Who needs a wheelchair or stretcher ride home from Inova Fairfax instead of a rideshare?

Post-surgical and post-stroke patients often can’t use a sedan and shouldn’t be in a rideshare. The same goes for patients moving on to a skilled nursing or rehabilitation facility.

How early should I leave for an 8am appointment at Inova Fairfax?

Earlier than the mileage suggests. Gallows Road and the Beltway approach are slow in both peaks, especially from Prince William, Loudoun or south Fairfax.

What if a treatment at Inova Fairfax runs long?

Set the ride home as a will-call. Call dispatch a little before the session ends and a driver heads to the right building; call once you’re done and a driver reaches you within 45 minutes. If you’d rather the driver wait, it’s $75 an hour for wheelchair trips and $100 an hour for stretcher.

Can you take an Inova Fairfax patient on isolation precautions?

Yes, if you tell us at booking whether it’s C. diff, MRSA, COVID or another precaution. The crew wears what the precautions call for, the van is disinfected after, and dispatch quotes the extra charge.

Will Virginia Medicaid pay for rides to Inova Fairfax?

Yes. Covered care on the Gallows Road campus, from a Schar Cancer Institute treatment to a follow-up visit, costs the member nothing, though Medicaid books each ride. Call the transportation number on your Medicaid ID card; the brokers we work with are MTM Health and SafeRide Health. Request H&M Transport specifically when you book your ride.

Book a ride to Inova Fairfax

Appointments, discharges, transfers and recurring treatment schedules. Pairs with our Fairfax service area page. For a wheelchair ride to the Inova Fairfax campus from nearby, see wheelchair transportation in Tysons, Falls Church and Fairfax.

Ring (703) 304-7889 at any hour, or start on our reservations page and we’ll call you back.