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The state health commissioner yesterday acknowledged Fredericksburg's explosive growth and terrible traffic by granting permission for two new hospitals.
The decision by Dr. Robert B. Stroube clears the way for construction of the Stafford Hospital Center at the county courthouse and the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center in Massaponax. Both are expected to open in 2009.
"It's a very important day for Fredericksburg," said Fred M. Rankin III, president and chief executive officer of MediCorp Health System.
MediCorp, the parent company of Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, will build the 100-bed Stafford hospital at an estimated cost of $158 million. HCA Health Services of Virginia, part of the national HCA chain based in Nashville, Tenn., will spend about $152 million to build the 126-bed Spotsylvania hospital.
"We think this is fabulous news for the community. We're delighted and extremely gratified," said HCA spokesman Mark A. Foust.
Stroube's ruling means hundreds of new jobs. The total construction spending is about eight times the amount spent on the city's new James Monroe High School.
HCA's project will mean tax revenues for Spotsylvania and shorter drives for many residents of Caroline, King George and Orange counties.
Residents across the region will see a new supply of traditional hospital services, including more operating rooms, more MRI and CT scanners, more labor-and-delivery care, around-the-clock emergency care and a 55-percent increase in hospital beds.
The decision also means potential relief for some of the busy services at Mary Washington, such as the ER.
"It's recognition of the maturity and the sophistication of this community and the need for additional healthcare services," Rankin said.
If all goes as planned, local residents will someday be able to drive a 15-mile stretch of U.S. 1 and choose from three full-service hospitals.
Stroube's decision was released about noon yesterday, ending an eight-month state review. It represents the first time the state has authorized two competing hospitals at the same time, said Erik Bodin, director of the state's Division of Certificate of Public Need.
The two projects also are the first new hospitals sanctioned by the state in recent history. Prior to yesterday, all recent state permits have been for replacement or relocated hospitals, such as Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center in Richmond to replace Bon Secours Stuart Circle Hospital, Bodin said.
The decision was greeted by nearly universal acclaim yesterday, from county officials and from those who might someday use the new hospitals.
"I'm 90 years old. I'm not going to need a hospital very many more years. But I think about my children who have little ones," Stafford resident Edith Fleming said. "It will be good for them if they need hospital service."
Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors Chairman Hap Connors called Stroube's ruling "the right decision."
"It expands health care services to the fastest-growing region in the state," he said.
And Bob Gibbons, chairman of the Stafford Board of Supervisors, said, "It's great news for Stafford. We couldn't be more thrilled."
The decision mirrors a recommendation made in March by the Rappahannock Health Advisory Council, a local health planning group.
Stroube did not follow the advice in a March report from a regional health planning agency, which suggested one new hospital, or the report published in April by his own staff, which said Fredericksburg did not need any new hospitals.
Instead, the commissioner affirmed that Fredericksburg is the largest, fastest-growing region in the state with only one hospital. He also acknowledged "significant traffic congestion" throughout the area.
He liked the idea that HCA will bring competition and choice to the local market, without harming MediCorp. And two new hospitals will bring health services closer to where residents live, he said.
"Together, the projects offer the opportunity of responding to actual and anticipated growth in a timely and effective manner," he wrote in his opinion.
Stroube did attach bureaucratic strings to both permits, though the conditions did not seem to discourage the applicants.
From MediCorp, he accepted a bed-swap offer the company made in May. MediCorp officials said they would move some of the licensed beds at Mary Washington Hospital to the Stafford center if the state was worried about having a surplus of beds in the region.
The transfer would take place only if Mary Washington is not at 75 percent average capacity when the Stafford hospital opens. The current average capacity is about 67 percent.
The beds would not actually be moved. Instead, staff would be removed from certain floors or sections of MWH.
To HCA, Stroube said the company must use 10 of its beds for psychiatric care. The company had not proposed a psychiatric service.
He also told both new hospitals that they could not offer radiation therapy using linear accelerators. And he refused HCA's request to offer PET scanning.
Both services are used in the treatment of cancer and are available at Mary Washington.
Staff reporters Meghann Cotter, George Whitehurst, Emily Battle and Kelly Hannon and staff librarian Craig Schulin contributed to this story.
To reach JIM HALL:
Email: jhall@freelancestar.com
| 712 |
| new jobs |
| 226 |
| new beds |
| $310M |
| building costs |