Stonespring Medical Center Approved!


Write Letters

**** If you support Route 50 as the location of the next Loudoun hospital, please write or speak to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in support of StoneSpring Medical Center by May 10th.  Click here to get started.  ****

 

BOS@loudoun.gov goes to every Loudoun County Supervisor. 


For Regular mail:  

Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
1 Harrison Street, S.E., Fifth Floor
P.O. Box 7000
Mailstop #01
Leesburg, VA 20177-7000

   
  

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Attend Important Meetings

These are tentative dates for the StoneSprings Medical Center application.  The agendas for these meetings can change up to and including the day of the meeting.  Please check back here or www.loudoun.gov the day of the meeting for any SMC updates.  

*** The Board of Supervisors encourages people to call in advance to sign up to speak at the Board's public input sessions or public hearings by calling the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors at 703-771-5072 or 703-777-0200. Advanced sign-ups will be taken until 12:00 noon the day of the meeting.  Citizens will also have the option to sign-up in person at the meetings.    
      

May 10th - Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on SMC  (speaking opportunity)

     Location:   Loudoun County Government Building [map]
                     1 Harrison Street, S.E.
                     Leesburg, VA  20175
                     Board Room
     Time:        6:30 pm  (according to the agenda SMC will be heard no earlier than 6:30pm)


 

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October 2008 - older material


BRMC Sample letter

Date:     October 26, 2008

To:        Loudoun County Board of Supervisors,

             Loudoun County Planning Commission

CC:        Leesburg Today

From:     Lisa Freeman

             Rachel Hill Drive

             South Riding, VA  20152

 

Re:        Comments for the Record regarding Broadlands Regional Medical Center

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Board of Supervisors,

I have been a supporter of the Countywide Health Care Facilities Plan since its adoption in March of 2005.  This plan calls for healthcare facilities to be located throughout Loudoun County, particularly in underserved areas, such as Dulles South.   It calls for incentives to facilitate the medical services in locations across the county with a goal of having such services be available to all county residents within 20 minutes driving time during peak travel demand.  I’m asking that you honor this plan. 

The proposed Broadlands Regional Medical Center (BRMC) by the Healthcare Corporation of America (HCA) is too close to the existing Loudoun Hospital Center to meet even the spirit of this policy.  It doesn’t seem right that one area of the county would be positioned to have quick access to 2 full-service hospitals, while many parts of the county, including Dulles South, are not well-served.  

There are a number of additional reasons to oppose BRMC’s Broadlands location: 

• Many Broadlands residents don't want a medical center near their homes.  A hospital was not planned for this area, & BRMC will negatively impact the existing stable residential neighborhoods. The previous Planning Commission found 14 reasons to deny the BRMC application; why aren’t these reasons still germane?
• Approving BMRC will seriously delay COPN approval for a hospital in Dulles South.  The Countywide HealthCare Facilities Plan says the Route 50 corridor should be given special consideration for the next full-service hospital & EMS ambulance receiving facility built in the county.  BRMC will not bring new inpatient beds to the service area, of which Loudoun County is a part.  With two hospitals so close, it is highly unlikely that a COPN will be approved any time soon in the same relatively small area of the whole service area. 
• It is critical that the next Loudoun full-service hospital contain a helipad to quickly transport critically ill patients to appropriate regional facilities.   According to the BRMC application, there are no plans to include a helipad.  This does not serve Loudoun County residents well.  
• BRMC is too close to Loudoun Hospital, duplicates services, and may not protect the long-term financial health of existing hospitals.  
• BRMC road proffers do little to improve the speed with which residents in Dulles South will be able to reach the proposed Broadlands site. 
• Time is the most critical factor when dealing with most emergencies.  BRMC’s location in Broadlands will ensure that many Loudoun residents will continue to leave the county for healthcare. 
• Medical care services, in particular, disaster support facilities, should be widely dispersed throughout the county.  Route 50W would undoubtedly be a major evacuation route from points east during emergencies, and would be an ideal location for disaster support.  
• Finally, Loudoun County would still benefit from healthy competition if BRMC is located in Dulles South.  If HCA would relocate BRMC to Route 50, Loudoun County would still benefit from tax revenue.  The Route 50 corridor provides more opportunities for future hospital expansion.  And, a full-service Dulles South hospital will generate additional daytime population, which will help our local businesses and restaurants.                                 
   

I strongly urge you to deny the BRMC application and encourage the building of the next Loudoun hospital in Dulles South per the Comprehensive Plan to serve the thousands of residents that are here.  

Sincerely,

Lisa Freeman

Rachel Hill Drive

South Riding, VA  20152

p.s. I am a private citizen and not affiliated with Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Loudoun Healthcare, Inc., Inova Health System, or any other healthcare provider.  

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Feb 2, 2009 Action Alert

IMPORTANT UPDATE: 

At 5:30pm on Sunday, Feb 1, Supervisor Miller issued a constituent email in which he states:  “If the board does not approve BRMC on Tuesday, it is also passing up a guaranteed emergency room on Route 50 at the same time.” 

Based on the BRMC proffer language, there is NO guarantee of an emergency room.  On page 5 of the BRMC Proffer, (A-15 of the Loudoun County Staff Report) it reads:
      

In an effort to expand healthcare services for residents in the southern portion of the County, the Developer shall use commercially reasonable efforts to establish and open a freestanding emergency department or other healthcare facility on or near the Route 50 corridor (the "Route 50 Facility") no later than twelve (12) months following the date of the issuance of the first occupancy permit for the hospital building to be constructed as part of the Medical Campus pursuant to SPEX 2008-0028.  In the event an occupancy permit for the Route 50 Facility has not been issued within the timeframe set forth in this Proffer, then the Applicant shall be required to pay to the County the sum of $250,000.00 to be used for regional transportation improvements along Route 659 between the Dulles Greenway and Route 50.  If applicable, such payment shall be made within sixty (60) days of the date on which it becomes due under the terms of this Proffer.  Once an occupancy permit for the Route 50 Facility has been issued or, alternatively, the required payment made, the Developer shall have no further obligations under this Proffer. 

          

The option of paying $250,000 seems to make this an unguaranteed commitment.  It would be cheaper to pay the lump sum than develop an emergency room & populate it with equipment & staff.  Also, there is no mention of a helipad.  We don't believe Dulles South should "settle" for a possible emergency facility.   

The BRMC application should be denied based on the many problems associated with it as outlined here at our website.  The denial is appropriate per the County's Comprehensive Plan.  A denial is not the end of the world and will open up the very real possibility that the county will still get a new hospital (with the inherent tax revenue and new jobs) in a much more desirable, underserved, location like Dulles South via one of the following scenarios:

1.  HCA will use this form to either request an extension from the State of Virginia on their Broadlands COPN with the risk being that the State won't grant them any more extensions  

    OR HCA will ask for a "Significant Change Request" (same form) to a Dulles South location on Route 50 

    OR HCA will withdraw.

2.  If HCA loses their COPN, Inova will apply for a COPN for a phased full-service hospital at their site on Route 50, which up until now they could not apply for since HCA held the Broadlands COPN.  It probably won't have the same number of beds that Broadlands will have, but will be sized appropriately for our area, and will grow accordingly over time. 

We continue to believe that an approval of BRMC will delay a full-service hospital for Dulles South for years to come. As always we are not advocating for or against any one healthcare provider.  

 

The bottom line is we want to strongly encourage the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to uphold the Countywide Health Care Facilities Plan of the Loudoun County Comprehensive Plan.  



The next hospital in Loudoun County should be on Route 50!           

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