VA4PA

10/07/2025

💡 Join Us in Arlington for PANS/PANDAS Awareness Day! 💡

Northern Virginia friends and community members, we invite you to a special lighting event to raise awareness for PANS/PANDAS.

📅 Date & Time: 7:00 PM
📍 Location: Ellen M. Bozman Government Center, 2100 Clarendon Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201

We’ve made progress, but there’s more work to do to ensure every young person in the Commonwealth gets prompt, adequate, and affordable care. Come stand with us and shine a light for hope and awareness! 💚

Comment “Count me in!” if you can attend.

📄 Read the full press release here: https://www.einpresswire.com/article/855716218/advocacy-group-shines-light-on-pans-and-pandas-debilitating-disorders-striking-virginia-s-young-people

10/05/2025

10/05/2025

The Virginia Alliance for PANS/PANDAS Action is proud to recognize the power of collaboration in advancing care and awareness for those affected by PANS and PANDAS.

Partnership among advocates, legislators, and the Governor’s Office reaffirms our shared commitment to increasing awareness and improving access to care for children and young adults across the Commonwealth.

Together, we’re making meaningful progress toward a future where every child and young adult impacted by PANS/PANDAS receives the understanding, treatment, and support they deserve. 💙

09/25/2025

Friends in Virginia and beyond! We're close to reaching 200 landmarks to be lit up for World PANS PANDAS Awareness Day on Oct. 9, including 3 in Virginia.

We still need more VA landmarks, so please ask your local municipal officials about lighting up one of your buildings. We may have our legislation but our fight is far from over--please help!

Some landmarks to watch for:
• Palazzo di Città | Taranto, Italy
• The Mansion House | Dublin, Ireland
• Niagara Falls | Niagara, Canada
• Wells Fargo Tower | Roanoke, USA
• Glasgow Science Centre | Glasgow, Scotland



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09/11/2025

🌍 On October 9 – World PANS PANDAS Awareness Day – 93 landmarks (and counting) across the globe will shine green, spreading awareness and hope.

Just a few highlights:
• Christchurch Spire | Coventry, United Kingdom
• Teatro Massimo | Palermo, Italy
• Kładka Ojca Bernatka | Cracow, Poland
• CN Tower | Toronto, Canada
• Union Street Bridge | Salem, USA

Can you help us add landmarks in Virginia?!

💚 Each glowing landmark is more than a light—it’s a call for compassionate, multidisciplinary care that acknowledges the brain–body–immune connection in PANS/PANDAS. It’s a powerful reminder of the urgent need for awareness, inclusion, and support for families navigating this complex journey.

Here’s how you can be an advocate:
• Add a profile frame: https://tinyurl.com/2025LightUpforPANSProfileFrame
• Light up your home or office
• Visit a landmark in your area
• Share your photos on social media



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07/01/2025

📢 Big news for Virginia families!
Starting today, July 1, is officially in effect! 💙

✅ Requires insurance (incl. Medicaid) to cover full treatment for PANDAS/PANS
✅ Includes antibiotics, IVIG, behavioral therapy & more
✅ No more denials or delays for necessary care

A huge step forward for kids’ health in VA! 🙌

06/30/2025

We’re thrilled to kick off year two of our global landmark lighting partnership campaign! 🌍

On October 9 – World PANS PANDAS Awareness Day, 13 advocacy organizations (including ours) from around the world will light up landmarks green.

💚 Why green? Based on a global partner survey, green was chosen as the 2025 campaign color because it symbolizes hope and mental health awareness — an important entry point for families whose PANS/PANDAS journey often begins in the mental health system. It helps shine a light on the urgent need for multidisciplinary care, compassion, and understanding.

Now in its second year, this global collaboration continues to unite organizations and individuals to shine a light on PANS and PANDAS, support those affected, and drive meaningful change.

Together, we are stronger and more capable of making a difference.

📅 Stay tuned for monthly updates on landmark approvals — shared on the 9th of each month!



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03/20/2025

Yesterday, March 18, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law House Bill 1641 (HB1641), mandating that both Medicaid and private insurance plans in Virginia cover the diagnosis and treatment of Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS).
This legislation ensures that affected individuals have access to necessary medical interventions, including antibiotics, immunomodulating therapies, and behavioral treatments.
The bill also prohibits insurers from denying or delaying coverage based on previous treatments or diagnoses under different names, such as autoimmune encephalopathy. Additionally, it prevents insurers from limiting coverage for immunomodulating therapies in ways that contradict established treatment guidelines or requiring patients to undergo therapies that only address neuropsychiatric symptoms before authorizing immunomodulating treatments.
The law will be effective July st 2025.
We did it!!! The enactment of HB1641 represents a significant advancement in healthcare access for Virginia families, ensuring comprehensive insurance coverage for PANS and PANDAS treatments.
Join the fight! Together we are invincible!!!

03/04/2025

Hello fellow PANS/PANDAS advocates! NAPPA - National Alliance for PANS / Pandas Action is hosting a Zoom call this Thurs. to kick off plans for the 2025 Capitol Hill Advocacy Days. Please check out the link below and sign up get the Zoom call details. We've had very strong representation from Virginia in past years and hope to do so again this year. We also need someone to step up to organize our state outreach. Let me know if you're interested!

03/01/2025

Virginia friends near and far-- this year has been an incredible journey towards securing affordable care for the diagnosis and treatment of PANS/PANDAS.

But our fight is far from over. We need more research on these debilitating disorders and greater education of doctors and clinicians so they can promptly and adequately treat our children and young adults.

Today, we want to invite you to join us in person or virtually on Sat April 12, for The Alex Manfull Fund 5k at Hains Point in Washington, DC.

This is a very special event, honoring the memory of a beautiful young woman and others who have tragically succumbed to the illness of PANDAS.

Our vision at The Alex Manfull Fund is that no life ever again be cut short or years lost to these devastating disorders.

Funds raised will support cutting-edge research at top-tier research institutions including Dartmouth and Georgetown universities.

Can't join but still want to do something? If you haven't already, please consider contributing to VA4PA founders 5k team PANSdemonium. Every donation goes toward research that will literally save lives. https://givebutter.com/TAMF5K2025/pansdemonium. 🙏❤

Please join us April 12th, 2025 for the 3rd Annual TAMF 5K!

02/19/2025

HB1641 Unanimously Passes the Senate!

The bill now moves forward for signature to become law. A huge thank you to everyone who has tirelessly worked to make this moment a reality. We are confident that Governor Youngkin will soon sign it into law, ensuring Virginia families receive the prompt, adequate, and affordable care they deserve for children and young adults suffering from infection-associated neuroimmune disorders.