Fauquier Health Awarded Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care In recognition of their commitment to providing safe and quality patient care, Fauquier Health recently earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care (ACPC)—the only hospital in Virginia with this designation. The Gold Seal recognizes the hospital’s efforts to achieve integrated, coordinated, and patient-centered prenatal through postpartum care, including for both complicated and uncomplicated pregnancies. Fauquier Senior Center Has New Location Since being relocated to 18 Court Street in Old Town Warrenton (directly behind the courthouse), the Fauquier Senior Center is thriving and remains a welcoming and vibrant gathering place for older adults in our community. The center is operating from this temporary space while actively searching for a permanent location to call home. The organization extends heartfelt thanks to the Town of Warrenton, Fauquier County, the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office, and its many community partners for their support in securing a temporary location. In addition to searching for a new permanent home, the center is also always looking for volunteers willing to share their talents and skills, as well as donations to support bingo prizes, craft supplies, and snacks. Community members with information, leads, or support related to securing a permanent facility are encouraged to contact Tina Schilling or Lola Walker with Encompass Community Supports at (540) 825-3100. Open Monday–Thursday from 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., the Fauquier Senior Center serves approximately 25 to 40 members daily and offers a wide range of activities designed to promote social connection, wellness, and creativity. These include arts and crafts, painting, pottery, live music, karaoke, games, dancing, walking groups, exercise activities, and social events—along with a shared love of food and fellowship. Residents are invited to stop by, meet the members, and pick up a copy of the activity calendar. The Fauquier Senior Center looks forward to continuing to grow, connect, and serve the community. For more information or to volunteer, contact Jessica Richardson, Fauquier Senior Center Administrator, at (540) 717-6358 or Jrichardson@ecsva.org. Old Jail Museum’s Most Endangered Artifact in the Running for Top Prize Did you know that Warrenton is home to a 200-year-old bottle of Russian Vodka with an unbroken wax seal and a label signed by America’s favorite Frenchman, Marquis de Lafayette? Visit the Fauquier Historical Society’s Old Jail Museum to see this artifact that Lafayette gifted to the hostess at Norris Tavern (now the Warren Green Building) during his 1825 visit to Warrenton. During his visit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of America’s victory in the Revolutionary War, Lafayette spoke to a crowd of 5,000 on the courthouse steps. Lafayette served as a Major General under George Washington, notably trapping the British at Yorktown, securing French military aid, and becoming a beloved hero symbolizing the Franco-American alliance in the fight for American independence. The vodka bottle was given to the Fauquier Historical Society by descendants of the Norris family and was recently entered in the Virginia Association of Museums’ 2026 Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Program. Currently in the running for first place, the bottle needs your vote to secure funding to help preserve this unique artifact connecting Warrenton to national history. For more information and to place your vote for Lafayette’s Vodka bottle as the top prize, visit vamuseums.org/vote-for-vas-top-10-endangered-artifacts or use the QR code. You may vote once each day from now until February 20. Members of the Fauquier Health Family Birthing Center Team and the Quality Team celebrate the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care, along with Toni Maxwell, RN, FNP-BC, CNO (front left) and Rebecca Segal, FACHE, CEO (front right) Piedmont Environmental Council Photo Contest Winners This year, 115 professional and amateur photographers submitted 650 images of the beautiful Virginia Piedmont from within Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock counties and the City of Charlottesville. Four outstanding photos were selected as winners of the 2025 Piedmont Environmental Council photo contest, after being reviewed and voted on by a team of professional photographers and PEC staff, and more than 1,400 community members. Winners in each adult category received a gift certificate to a participating Buy Fresh Buy Local restaurant, and the youth winner selected either a $100 gift certificate to a Buy Fresh Buy Local restaurant or a prepaid Visa card. This year’s winners in each category are: Beautiful Landscapes: Peter Forister of Earlysville, for Morning Fog and Aurora; Wonderful Wildlife: Shawn Thomas of Ashburn, for Surprise Visitors; Native Plants and Fungi: Jim Emery of Ashburn, for Native Garden through a Raindrop; Youth Category: Corrine Ice, of Ruckersville, for Virginia Native. Fauquier Health Welcomes New Year Baby Fauquier Health celebrated 2026 with a bundle of joy named Kennedy. Weighing 7 pounds and 11 ounces and measuring 20 inches, little Kennedy was born to Brittany and Wilson on January 2, making her the first baby of the new year. Kennedy joins two other siblings, both born at Fauquier Health. Mom and dad are always thrilled with the care provided by the wonderful nurses in the family birthing center, which offers the convenience of labor, delivery, and recovery in the same room. 28 Discover Fauquier ■ February 2026 Hospice Hosts Kids’ Grief and Healing Program The journey through grief and loss may be difficult and lonely, especially for children and adolescents, who are sometimes forgotten grievers. They need a safe place to express the sadness, anger, and fear related to loss, while developing important coping skills. To help these young people (age 4–18), Hospice of the Piedmont offers a variety of nonmedical support programs, including Journeys camps, teen groups, and creative expression programs. These activities provide community and creative healing to youth in need, whether or not their loved one received hospice care. For more information and a list of upcoming events, visit hopva.org/kids-grief-and-healing. ~ Sarah Smarrelli To advertise: 540-349-8060 www.discoverypubs.com