Virginia Board of Health Members,

As a physician who has taken an appointment at Virginia Commonwealth University starting August 2013, I am very concerned with the onerous and medically unnecessary architectural requirements of proposed regulation 370.  The medical community did not reqest these recommendations.  The purported intent of these regulations is to protect women's health but the clinics in Virginia already provide exemplary care and safety.  Medically inappropriate and unnecessarily burdensome regulations would restrict access to essential health care services including cancer screening, family planning, and STI screening for the women of Virginia and further marginalize young, low-income, uninsured and minority women by decreasing their health care options.  It is my hope that these regulations will be amended to be based upon evidence-driven medical practices that advance public health as opposed to restricting access for safe and necessary medical services.

Thank you,

Frances Casey, MD, MPH

Obstetrics and Gynecology Department

Medstar Washington Hospital Center

Washington, D.C.