NEWPORT NEWS, VA - Governor Abigail Spanberger today signed a first-in-the-nation, comprehensive legislative package focused on improving education, training, access, and coordinated care for Virginians with sickle cell and their families.

The Queen Candis Act was created in memory of Candis Gabriella King - a brilliant, vibrant 15-year-old whose passing sparked a unified effort to protect and uplift others battling sickle cell disease. At Sentara Community Care Center in Newport News, the Governor celebrated the life and advocacy of Candis together with her parents - Joshua King and Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon King - and the entire King family while signing the new legislation into law.

"Thousands of Virginians are living with sickle cell disease right now. They are managing chronic pain, navigating a healthcare system that too often dismisses them, and in some cases driving hours to reach the nearest specialist," said Governor Abigail Spanberger. "Some of them are students in our schools whose coaches and nurses may not know how to recognize a crisis. Some are patients in our hospitals who face bias that shapes the care they receive. That is not a system that is working. The Commonwealth of Virginia has a responsibility to do better for Virginians."

Governor Spanberger continued, "Today, Virginia is charting a different course. We are taking a monumental step forward for families across our Commonwealth facing sickle cell disease. Thanks to Joshua King and Secretary Candi Mundon King, the entire King family, leaders in the General Assembly, and advocates from across our Commonwealth, we are choosing to lead through the Queen Candis Act. Thank you for your unwavering work on behalf of Virginia families. And thank you for channeling your loss into something that will protect and uplift thousands of Virginians for generations to come."

"Our daughter, Candis, was a talented singer, performer, and color guard kid who loved Transformers and looked out for everyone around her," said Joshua King and Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon King. "She battled sickle cell with a bravery most people never saw, and she taught herself to advocate for her own care with extraordinary strength. This legislation carries her light forward - so that every sickle cell warrior in the Commonwealth can advocate for themselves the way Candis did, and no family has to bury their child far too soon."

The bipartisan legislative package Governor Spanberger signed into law supports parents, teachers, and healthcare professionals in managing, recognizing, and treating sickle cell disease. The new laws create greater training for school nurses across Virginia on sickle cell disease and support high school coaches in identifying the risks for student-athletes with the sickle cell trait. Additionally, the Governor signed legislation to establish Virginia's first sickle cell trait awareness and education program and create the Virginia Sickle Cell Coordinated Access Network to connect healthcare providers with real-time consultation from sickle cell specialists.

Governor Spanberger was joined at the signing by Secretary of Health and Human Resources Marvin Figueroa, Speaker of the House of Delegates Don Scott, sickle cell advocates, and bill patrons who led the legislation - including Senator Mamie Locke, Delegate Delores McQuinn, Delegate Briana Sewell, and Delegate Cliff Hayes.

"Sickle cell disease has shaped the lives of thousands of Virginia families, often painfully and for far too long without enough from us in response," said Secretary of Health and Human Resources Marvin Figueroa. "Queen Candis changed that. She demanded better. She told the truth about what patients actually experience, and this legislation exists because she refused to let the system look away. Virginia is overdue in addressing this crisis, and families living with sickle cell have waited long enough to be heard and taken seriously. Today, we take an important step toward doing right by them."

"In Hampton Roads - home to half of Virginia's sickle cell community, where one in twelve African Americans carries the trait - people living with sickle cell deserve to be supported, not overlooked," said House Speaker Don Scott. "The Queen Candis Act ensures our schools, communities and healthcare systems throughout the Commonwealth have the resources to provide care and support for those facing this painful disease. I am proud of the work the House of Delegates has done to make this work a reality and grateful to Governor Spanberger for signing it into law."

"I have worked for over six years to bring this critical legislation to the Commonwealth," said Senator Mamie Locke. "Across Virginia and our nation, Black women continue to face alarming maternal mortality rates and disparities in healthcare outcomes. Oftentimes bias, whether conscious or unconscious, can impact the care patients receive and the way their concerns are addressed. And this reaches well beyond the delivery room. The same biases that endanger Black mothers also harm patients living with sickle cell disease - patients who are too frequently doubted, dismissed, or made to prove their pain before they are believed. For them, being heard can be the difference between suffering and care. Every patient deserves to be heard. Every patient deserves to be respected and treated with dignity. With the passage and signing of this legislation, every day we move closer to that goal."

"The sickle cell community has spent too long feeling ignored - their pain doubted, their voices unheard," said Delegate Delores McQuinn, Chair, Virginia Sickle Cell Caucus. "The Queen Candis Act changes that by providing better access to care and resources for providers - so care can come faster and no one is dismissed. This is how we turn a history of being overlooked into better health outcomes - and it is how we honor Candis and every warrior who deserved to be believed."

The new laws build on Governor Spanberger's work together with the General Assembly to address the healthcare challenges facing Virginia families, parents, and kids across the Commonwealth. In April, the Governor signed a package of bipartisan legislation - commonly known as the Momnibus - to improve and expand healthcare coverage for Virginia mothers and families, particularly women who face the highest risks. As part of the legislation, Governor Spanberger signed bills to expand care for high-risk mothers, increase access to maternal mental healthcare screenings, and enhance the tracking and reporting of unexpected, life-threatening complications during pregnancy.

Governor Spanberger signed the following bills to improve training, education, and care for Virginians with sickle cell and their families:

• HB1418 (Delegate Delores McQuinn) - Establishing Virginia's first sickle cell trait awareness and education program. Passed unanimously.
• HB1391 (Delegate Cliff Hayes), SB813 (Senator Louise Lucas) - Establishing the Sickle Cell Coordinated Access Network to connect healthcare providers with real-time consultation from sickle cell specialists. Passed unanimously.
• HB1446 (Delegate Briana Sewell) - Requiring school nurses across Virginia to complete training on recognizing and managing sickle cell disease. Passed unanimously.
• HB1503 (Delegate Cliff Hayes) - Helping high school coaches identify the risks and strategies for student-athletes with sickle cell trait. Passed with bipartisan support.
• HB1147 (Delegate Cliff Hayes), SB22 (Senator Mamie Locke) - Requiring licensed physicians and nurses to complete bias reduction training as part of their continuing education requirements. Passed with bipartisan support.

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