Health-related style notes

Academic and administrative titles

Capitalize a formal title immediately preceding a name, but lowercase the title if it follows the name or stands by itself.

Examples:

VCU President Michael Rao or Michael Rao, president of VCU
Department Chair John Doe, or John Doe, chair of the department

Lowercase professor before a name, but capitalize professor emeritus (male) and professor emerita (female) as a conferred title before a name. Example: Professor Emerita Susan Johnson

Courtesy titles, such as Mr., Mrs., Ms. and Miss, are not used — even on the first reference.

The names and titles of VCU Health’s senior leaders are:

Michael Rao, Ph.D.
President of VCU and VCU Health

Marlon Levy, M.D.
Senior vice president of VCU Health Sciences and chief executive officer of VCU Health System Authority

Sheldon Barr
President of VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital

Liz Martin
President of VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital

John McCurley, M.D., MHA
Interim president of VCU Medical Center

Elias Neujahr, MHA, MBA
President of Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU

Naming

Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU

Provides a broad range of pediatric and adolescent health care services, including inpatient care at VCU Medical Center; psychiatric services at the Virginia Treatment Center for Children; complex long-term care (provided by VCU Health Children’s Services at Brook Road); and outpatient specialty services.

Use Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU on first reference with a singular verb. Do not spell out VCU. CHoR (do not capitalize “o”), or Children’s Hospital, is acceptable on second and subsequent references. Do not abbreviate CH or CHR.

Level I trauma center

Capitalize Level and use the Roman numeral when referring to the designation. Lowercase trauma center.

VCU Health’s VCU Medical Center is the only comprehensive Level I trauma center in the Commonwealth of Virginia, verified in adult, pediatric and burn trauma care by the Virginia Department of Health. VCU Medical Center is one of three adult Level I trauma centers in Virginia, as verified by the American College of Surgeons. The medical center has been a state-designated trauma center since 1981, making it the longest-standing trauma center in the state.

MCV Campus

The name of VCU’s downtown campus. Do not use the campus name unless there is a need to note a location or select directorial and wayfinding signage. The campus includes VCU Medical Center, VCU Health Sciences’ one college and five schools, Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, classrooms, dormitories, a bookstore, Jonah L. Larrick Student Center, and Health Sciences Library.

MCV Foundation

An independent, philanthropic 501(c)(3) organization that supports the educational, clinical and research efforts of VCU and VCU Health.

Medical College of Virginia

References to the Medical College of Virginia, or MCV, as a separate institution may occur only in historical context before 1968, the year Virginia Commonwealth University was established. Examples:

A graduate who obtained an M.D. in 1949 is an alumnus of MCV.
A graduate who received a B.F.A. in 1961 is an alumnus of RPI.
All graduates after 1968 are alumni of VCU.

The Medical College of Virginia does not exist as a stand-alone entity (except in the historical context before 1968), and references using only these initials are incorrect (i.e., VCU/MCV, MCV/VCU or MCV). However, VCU Health MCV Physicians and MCV Foundation are exceptions to this rule.

VCU Health Ambulatory Surgery Center

Provides same-day surgical services, including some diagnostic and preventive procedures. Use VCU Health Ambulatory Surgery Center on first reference with a singular verb. Do not spell out VCU. Ambulatory Surgery Center is acceptable on second and subsequent references.

VCU Health Children’s Services at Brook Road

Provides pediatric long-term care services. Use VCU Health Children’s Services at Brook Road on first reference with a singular verb. Do not spell out VCU. Children’s Services at Brook Road is acceptable on second and subsequent references.

VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital

Community hospital owned by VCU Health System Authority provides health care services to the south-central region of Virginia and portions of northern North Carolina. Use VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital on first reference with a singular verb. Do not spell out VCU. Community Memorial Hospital, or CMH, is acceptable on second and subsequent references.

VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center

A principal comprehensive center of VCU Health that provides patient care, research and education in all areas of solid organ transplantation. It is one of the oldest transplant centers in the country and performed the first human kidney and liver transplants in the state. The transplant center was named in honor of David M. Hume, M.D., who founded the transplant program at the Medical College of Virginia (now VCU Medical Center), and Hyung Mo Lee, M.D., who succeeded Hume and directed the center for two decades.

On first reference, use VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center with a singular verb: VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center performs 50 to 60 liver transplants annually, including whole, segmental and living donor liver transplants. Hume-Lee is acceptable on second and subsequent references. Do not use the in front of VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center unless followed by a department, division or other group name.

VCU Health MCV Physicians

A physician practice plan owned by VCU Health System Authority, overseeing the clinical mission of the VCU School of Medicine. Use VCU Health MCV Physicians on first reference with a singular verb. Do not spell out MCV.

VCU Health Pauley Heart Center

A principal comprehensive center of VCU Health that provides clinical care, research and education to patients with cardiovascular, thoracic and vascular disease. The heart center was named in honor of a major gift from the Pauley Family Foundation.

On first reference, use VCU Health Pauley Heart Center with a singular verb: VCU Health Pauley Heart Center offers the full range of cardiac care services, from consultation and diagnostic tests to treatment of the most complex conditions. Pauley is acceptable on second and subsequent references. Do not use the in front of VCU Health Pauley Heart Center unless followed by a department, division or other group name.

VCU Health Sciences

VCU Health Sciences, the academic programs of VCU Health, has one college and five schools:

VCU Health System Authority

The clinical enterprise of VCU Health and a public corporate body and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia. On subsequent references, the Authority or the health system is acceptable. Do not use the abbreviation VCUHSA.

VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital

Community hospital owned by VCU Health System Authority provides health care services to Virginia’s upper-middle peninsula and Northern Neck regions. Use VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital on first reference with a singular verb. Do not spell out VCU. Tappahannock Hospital is acceptable on second and subsequent references.

VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center

A principal comprehensive center of VCU and VCU Health that serves as a leading provider in cancer research, prevention and control, patient care and education. It is one of two National Cancer Institute-designated centers in Virginia. The cancer center was named in honor of a major gift from William and Evan Massey.

On first reference, use VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center with a singular verb: VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center offers clinical services and advanced treatment options. Massey is acceptable on second and subsequent references. Do not use the in front of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center unless followed by a department, division or other group name.

VCU Medical Center

The collective name of the hospitals and clinics on the MCV Campus, formerly known as MCV Hospitals and Clinics and VCU Hospitals and Clinics. Use VCU Medical Center to designate and differentiate specific parts of the VCU Health System Authority (hospital, provider-based clinics, departments, services, roles, etc.) from its other providing entities.

VCU does not need to be spelled out as Virginia Commonwealth University on first reference. Do not use the in front of VCU Medical Center unless followed by a department, division or other group name. On subsequent references, the medical center is acceptable.

Virginia Biotechnology Research Park

The downtown Richmond office and laboratory park are home to about 60 companies, nonprofits, and government agencies that work in biotechnology and life sciences. This includes VCU’s Office of Research and Innovation and its affiliates. A research park authority board, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia, which includes the president of VCU as a member, governs the nonprofit corporation.

Writing style

Abbreviations and acronyms

In general, avoid using abbreviations and acronyms for clarity. No acronyms are needed in parenthesis after first reference, per our style guidelines — e.g., Virginia Commonwealth University not Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).

Doctor

Use Dr. on first reference as a formal title before the name of an individual who holds a doctoral degree. If appropriate in the context, Dr. also may be used on first reference before the names of individuals who hold other types of doctoral degrees. However, because the public frequently identifies Dr. only with physicians, care should be taken to ensure that the individual’s specialty is stated in first or second reference. The only exception would be a story in which the context left no doubt that the person was a dentist, psychologist, chemist, historian, etc. Do not continue the use of Dr. in subsequent references.

Headlines

Headlines and titles are written in sentence case.

Health care

Two words in all uses.

Location names

Use title case, capitalizing each word except for articles, conjunctions and prepositions. Do not abbreviate the word “at” with the @ symbol.

Multidisciplinary

No hyphen.

Noninvasive