Rt. 50 Healthcare - INOVA perspective
Commissioner Chaloux and members of the Loudoun County Planning Commission:
Please note below my response to the questions posed to me in an e-mail dated Friday, October 24 from Commissioner Chaloux.
1. Does INOVA currently own the property on Route 50 where the County granted INOVA approval for a SPEX application to build a hospital in 2007? I received a constituent call. This constituent indicated that INOVA never completed the final closing papers on this property.
We closed on this real estate transaction in early 2006; the property is owned by Loudoun Healthcare, Inc. and would be operated by Inova Health Care Services. We were granted our special exception by the Board of Supervisors in March of 2008.
2. Has INOVA pursued a COPN for a hospital at the Route 50 location? If not, why not?
We have not pursued a COPN and advised the Board of Supervisors of this before our Special Exception was approved. In fact our planning experts believe that no new hospital beds will be approved by the State anywhere in Loudoun County for decades to come if BRMC is approved. As long as the BRMC issue remains unresolved, there will be no application for hospital beds for this site.
In fact, should BRMC open in Broadlands Inova Loudoun Hospital must surrender 16 beds recently put into service at our Lansdowne campus because of a condition that was imposed by the State Health Commissioner when those beds received COPN approval.
3. What population numbers, geographic radius, and other criteria must exist to make a hospital viable on Route 50? Would the current population support a hospital on Route 50?
We believe a Route 50 hospital is viable, necessary for the population living on Route 50 corridor and consistent with the goals of the County's comprehensive plan. A hospital on Route 50 would be as viable as a hospital at Broadlands (and would not have the detrimental effects). This is based on a study that our health planning experts are just completing and which I will forward to you. The current population that would be served by a Route 50 hospital would be sufficient to sustain a hospital there (if there is no BRMC). If BRMC is built, a hospital on Route 50 will not be viable.
As I have previously informed the Board of Supervisors at numerous public comment sessions, should BRMC NOT be approved and if HCA elects not to seek a COPN change in location, Inova would immediately file a COPN application for a hospital on Route 50.
Meanwhile I will point out that a hospital on Route 50 will have the opportunity to serve all the same patients that a hospital at Broadlands would serve plus more from the south and west. Patients leaving the County now for care should not hesitate to drive to Route 50 if they are now driving even longer distances outside the County. Remember it is this population HCA says it wants to capture rather than taking patients away from Loudoun Hospital. Furthermore, a hospital on Route 50 is less likely to divide patients with Loudon Hospital and Reston Hospital, which would reduce a new hospital's use at the Broadlands location.
4. What are Inova’s plans for providing emergency medical services in the Route 50 corridor if the BRMC SPEX application is approved and if it is not approved? What is the anticipated timeframe in both cases?
We have completed the engineering work required to submit a site plan for our first phase of construction on our Route 50 property. This facility would include a full-service 24 hour/day emergency department along with other outpatient services and medical offices. (This planned facility would replace our leased facility already operating on Route 50.) We are prepared to move forward with this facility immediately if the BRMC application for Broadlands is denied.
If the BRMC facility is approved in Broadlands, all of our planned expansion throughout Loudoun County will be at risk and will be subject to further review and curtailment.
Randy Kelley, CEO
Inova
Loudoun Hospital
Please note below my response to the questions posed to me in an e-mail dated Friday, October 24 from Commissioner Chaloux.
1. Does INOVA currently own the property on Route 50 where the County granted INOVA approval for a SPEX application to build a hospital in 2007? I received a constituent call. This constituent indicated that INOVA never completed the final closing papers on this property.
We closed on this real estate transaction in early 2006; the property is owned by Loudoun Healthcare, Inc. and would be operated by Inova Health Care Services. We were granted our special exception by the Board of Supervisors in March of 2008.
2. Has INOVA pursued a COPN for a hospital at the Route 50 location? If not, why not?
We have not pursued a COPN and advised the Board of Supervisors of this before our Special Exception was approved. In fact our planning experts believe that no new hospital beds will be approved by the State anywhere in Loudoun County for decades to come if BRMC is approved. As long as the BRMC issue remains unresolved, there will be no application for hospital beds for this site.
In fact, should BRMC open in Broadlands Inova Loudoun Hospital must surrender 16 beds recently put into service at our Lansdowne campus because of a condition that was imposed by the State Health Commissioner when those beds received COPN approval.
3. What population numbers, geographic radius, and other criteria must exist to make a hospital viable on Route 50? Would the current population support a hospital on Route 50?
We believe a Route 50 hospital is viable, necessary for the population living on Route 50 corridor and consistent with the goals of the County's comprehensive plan. A hospital on Route 50 would be as viable as a hospital at Broadlands (and would not have the detrimental effects). This is based on a study that our health planning experts are just completing and which I will forward to you. The current population that would be served by a Route 50 hospital would be sufficient to sustain a hospital there (if there is no BRMC). If BRMC is built, a hospital on Route 50 will not be viable.
As I have previously informed the Board of Supervisors at numerous public comment sessions, should BRMC NOT be approved and if HCA elects not to seek a COPN change in location, Inova would immediately file a COPN application for a hospital on Route 50.
Meanwhile I will point out that a hospital on Route 50 will have the opportunity to serve all the same patients that a hospital at Broadlands would serve plus more from the south and west. Patients leaving the County now for care should not hesitate to drive to Route 50 if they are now driving even longer distances outside the County. Remember it is this population HCA says it wants to capture rather than taking patients away from Loudoun Hospital. Furthermore, a hospital on Route 50 is less likely to divide patients with Loudon Hospital and Reston Hospital, which would reduce a new hospital's use at the Broadlands location.
4. What are Inova’s plans for providing emergency medical services in the Route 50 corridor if the BRMC SPEX application is approved and if it is not approved? What is the anticipated timeframe in both cases?
We have completed the engineering work required to submit a site plan for our first phase of construction on our Route 50 property. This facility would include a full-service 24 hour/day emergency department along with other outpatient services and medical offices. (This planned facility would replace our leased facility already operating on Route 50.) We are prepared to move forward with this facility immediately if the BRMC application for Broadlands is denied.
If the BRMC facility is approved in Broadlands, all of our planned expansion throughout Loudoun County will be at risk and will be subject to further review and curtailment.
Randy Kelley, CEO
Inova
Loudoun Hospital
Labels: dulles south hospital, INOVA Dulles South, INOVA Hospital Rt. 50, INOVA Loudoun, INOVA Loudoun Hospital
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