Inova Files Letter of Intent for Route 50 Hospital
Immediate Construction of Emergency Services and Healthplex Planned
Falls Church, VA – (February 16, 2009) – Inova Health System has filed a formal letter of intent with the Commonwealth of Virginia to build an 80-bed hospital on Route 50 in Loudoun County. And, as a first step in expanding Inova’s existing medical services to the Route 50 corridor, Inova will move immediately toward construction of a Healthplex on property it owns at the intersection of Route 659 and Route 50. A Healthplex provides the cornerstone for a full-service hospital and does not require a Certificate of Public Need (COPN) from the state to provide emergency care, new physician offices and a wide range of outpatient medical services.
“The decision by Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) to grow its Reston campus now clears the way for a hospital on Route 50 in alignment with the County’s Comprehensive Plan for healthcare,” said Randy Kelley, CEO of Inova Loudoun Hospital. “Inova’s land on Route 50 has already been zoned to accommodate a hospital. Route 50 is a viable location to support the next Loudoun hospital and Inova is delighted to announce that it will immediately move forward to expand healthcare access and availability for under-served citizens in the southern and western parts of Loudoun County.”
Inova’s Certificate of Public Need application for the new full-service hospital on Route 50 will include a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week Emergency Department; medical-surgical beds; Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds; obstetric beds; up to eight operating rooms; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); computed tomographic scanning (CT); a helipad for trauma care transport; and related hospital support services.
“This represents Inova’s continuing commitment to the people of Loudoun County and to the County’s Comprehensive Plan for healthcare to improve access to medical services for everyone in the County, especially those who are furthest from care in the southern and western parts of the County,” said Knox Singleton, President and CEO of Inova Health System. “In addition, locating a hospital on Route 50 will allow Inova to accelerate the growth of medical services on Loudoun Hospital’s Lansdowne and Cornwall campuses.”
The County’s Comprehensive Plan for healthcare encourages the development of higher level, sophisticated medical services and tertiary care so Loudoun residents do not need to leave the County to access that type of care. In addition, the Comprehensive Plan sets a goal of 20-minutes drive time to emergency care for all County residents and calls for the wide dispersal of hospital locations to ensure availability of those services in the event of disaster.
“Locating a hospital on Route 50 is the critical element in realizing the higher goals of the County’s Comprehensive Plan for healthcare,” said Kelley. “Inova’s goal is to have the Route 50 Healthplex built and in operation within 18-24 months. The Letter of Intent we filed February 13 for a full-service hospital notifies the state that we will submit our formal application for a Certificate of Public Need (COPN) by the June 1 deadline. The state review process is typically completed within 9 to 12 months.”
Inova Health System is a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services, and wellness classes. Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research. Inova provides a healthy environment for its patients, families, visitors, staff and physicians by prohibiting tobacco use on its campuses.