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

Two patterns cover nearly everything we do at a hospital.

Discharges. A patient has been cleared to leave and is going home, or on to a skilled nursing or rehabilitation facility. This is the larger half of our hospital work.

Scheduled arrivals. Bringing a patient in for an appointment, an infusion, imaging or an outpatient procedure — and collecting them afterwards.

What we don’t do is take anyone to the emergency room, or move a patient from here to another hospital for a higher level of care. Both of those are ambulance trips.

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. Call dispatch at least three hours before you need the vehicle; booking 24 hours ahead guarantees availability., including for stretcher. Our facility cancellation window is two hours, deliberately inside that, so a booking made at three hours’ notice is never inside its own cancellation window.

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.

The stairs question is the one most often missed. A patient who managed their own front steps two weeks ago may not manage them today.

Levels of service

Which vehicle you need depends on how the rider moves, not how far they’re going.

Ambulatory — the rider can walk to and from the vehicle with a steadying arm. The driver assists at both ends.
Wheelchair transportation — the rider stays in their chair. Ramps on our minivans, hydraulic lifts on our full-size vans, and four-point securement before the vehicle moves. You don’t need to own a chair; we can provide one.
Stretcher — the rider can’t sit upright safely for the journey. Two crew on every stretcher trip.
Bariatric — over 300 pounds, with equipment rated for it and additional crew. Fewer vehicles, so more notice helps.

If you’re not sure, call and describe the situation. Getting this right before dispatch matters more than anything else about the booking.

Booking and cost

Dispatch answers around the clock at (703) 304-7889. A day’s notice is comfortable for an appointment; facilities scheduling a discharge get a three-hour lead time, including for stretcher.

Our rate card and estimator are published, so you can work out the price before you call. If the ride is covered by Medicaid, book through your plan’s transportation broker rather than through us — the number is on the back of the member’s ID card. Medicare generally does not cover non-emergency medical transportation.

What we can’t take

H&M Transport runs non-emergency medical transportation. We carry people to scheduled medical care and back home again, and the ride itself is transport rather than treatment.

That means there are trips we can’t take. We are not an ambulance service. We don’t provide medical care or monitoring on board, we don’t transport anyone to an emergency room, and we don’t move patients from one hospital to another for a higher level of care. Those are ambulance trips, and they need a crew and a vehicle equipped for them.

If this is a medical emergency, call 911.

If you’re not sure which you need, call us and describe the situation. We would rather tell you to dial 911 than send the wrong vehicle.

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 the appointment runs long or I don’t know my return time?

Book the return as a will-call. If you can, call dispatch a little before your appointment wraps up, and we’ll start a driver your way so you wait as little as possible. If you can’t call until you’re finished, that’s fine: we’ll route the closest available driver, and our standard is to pick you up within 45 minutes of your call. The earlier you call, the shorter your wait. If you’d rather have the driver wait on site, prescheduled wait time is $75 an hour for wheelchair trips and $100 an hour for stretcher trips.

Do you transport patients on isolation precautions, such as C. diff, MRSA or COVID?

Yes, with notice. Tell us about any isolation precautions when you book. The crew wears the protective equipment the precautions call for, and the vehicle is disinfected after the trip. An additional charge applies, and dispatch will quote it when you book.

How do I ask for H&M Transport through Virginia Medicaid?

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. Covered rides to medical appointments cost the member nothing.

Book a ride to Inova Fairfax

Appointments, discharges, transfers and recurring treatment schedules. Pairs with our Fairfax service area page.

Call (703) 304-7889, any hour, or start on our reservations page.