Broadlands Hospital

It does not really matter whether there is a 'threat' due to the mental facility or not. There is an already existing hospital 5-miles down the road. There does not need to be one here. It makes no sense to put a hospital right next to another one.

 

and it makes no sense to build another grocery store/movie rental/asian food building within 1 mile of another.
and it makes no sense to build a gas station within 1 mile in each direction.
and it makes no sense to build another school next to another one.

supply and demand drive the need for all of these facilities.
there is sufficient demand for improved convenience and access to healthcare, movies, asian food, smaller classes and gas even though facilities already exist in our community.

that is why developers continue to build them. god bless capitalism.

 

Well stated, sunnydog!

 

Interesting - a few more studies and/or statistics that I found would indicate that the opposition to the hospital because of a fear of violence from those with mental illness coming to the neighborhood is misdirected. The greater danger is what the ABC store will bring.......

"Violence in society
Contribution of mental illness is low

As increasing numbers of mentally ill patients have been treated and reside in the community, public concern about their potential for violence has increased. Fear and stigma of mentally ill people have been exaggerated by high profile and occasionally sensationalist reporting of rare, albeit tragic, violent acts.1

Are people with mental illness more violent than other people? An influential German study published in 1973 led to the belief that people with mental disorder were no more likely to be violent than the general population.2 This view remained unchallenged until the late 1980s. The best epidemiological data on violence and mental disorder come from the American ECA (epidemiologic catchment area) study.3 Self reported violence in the past year was measured among a representative community sample of 10 059 individuals. The prevalence of violence in people with no psychiatric disorder was 2%, and it was much higher in young men. Violence was reported in 8% of people with schizophrenia.

People with alcohol (24%) or drug misuse or dependence disorders (34%) presented the highest risk....."

http://bmj.com/cgi/reprint/325/7363/507.pdf

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol

About 1 in 7 Americans aged 12 or older in 2002 (14.2 percent, or 33.5 million persons) drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the 12 months prior to the interview.

Males were nearly twice as likely as females (18.8 vs. 9.9 percent, respectively) to have driven under the influence of alcohol.

More than 1 in 4 (26.6 percent) young adults aged 18 to 25 reported driving under the influence of alcohol at least once in the prior year.

The level of alcohol use was strongly associated with illicit drug use in 2002. Among the 15.9 million heavy drinkers aged 12 or older, 32.6 percent were current illicit drug users.

http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/NHSDA/2k2NSDUH/Results/2k2results.htm#chap3

 

Some other studies on mental health and violence can be found at the following sites:

http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives/Jan98/0272.html

Subject:
Subject: Debunking "mental illness"/violence myth: Consensus Statement

"[This Consensus Statement was published in an article titled "Violence By People With Mental Illness: A Consensus Statement By Advocates and Researchers", by John Monahan and Jean Arnold, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, Spring 1996, vol.19, no.4. As of 1996, this important demystifying statement was signed by over 41 lawyers, advocates, psychiatric survivor-activists, and mental health professionals including some psychiatrists."


http://www.sante-canada.net/hppb/mentalhealth/pubs/mental_illness/index.htm

Subject:
Mental Illness and Violence: Proof or Stereotype?

Two of the key findings (there are more):
· "The strongest predictor of violence and criminality is past history of violence and criminality. This was true regardless of diagnostic group (e.g., whether schizophrenia or substance abuse).
· As yet, there is no consistent evidence to support the hypothesis that mental illness (e.g., depression) that is uncomplicated by substance abuse is a significant risk factor for violence or criminality, once past history of violence is controlled. "


http://www.cmha-bc.org/content/resources/primer/38-violence.pdf

Subject:
Mental Disorders, Addictions, and the Question of Violence

Similar findings to above Canadian study.

 

sunnydog:
I don't know about everybody else, but I generally go to the supermarket about 1/week. Gas stations- I get gas at least 2-3 times/week. Now a hospital- I go to about 1/year-IF</u> that. I think the items you mentioned, such as a video store, a super market, & restaurant etc. are used more times/week then a healthcare facility by any 1 individual.

Basically, there is a bigger need for the stores you listed because they are used consistently every day, buy everyone-not just those with health issues. That is why we need more of them. Try all you want to defend your views-but this really falls short and is just plain ridiculous. I guess this is the only reason you can come up with, simply because there is no clear reason to space out hospitals every 5 frickin’ miles.

There is a whole other half of Loudoun County that is in need of a hospital closer to them then we are. It just makes no sense to put a hospital within 5-miles of another when the other half of Loudoun County still does not have one.

 

All this talk about violence and the mentally ill is pretty moot I think. MY point (way back when) was that Emergency Rooms attract criminals. Now MY point may be just as invalid -- it is only based on 1) watching ER 2) infrequent ER visits 3) police reports. But, I believe from MY experience that is a regular occurrence to visit an ER and see someone who is:
- drunk and disorderly
- a crime suspect
- a gunshot or knife victim
- a gang member

Now, in many of these cases, I'm sure the person is arrested and goes to jail. But, there must be cases where these people (or their friends) leave the hospital on their own. That is MY concern. (IMHO)

--Joy

 

Where are those drunks, disorderlies, criminals, victims, and gang members coming from? From this area? Maybe - I won't rule it out. If so, isn't the real problem that those types exist in this area in the first place? A new hospital isn't going to attract those types into our pristine community.

On the other hand, if they're not from this area, are they going to have to time to travel all of the way to Ashburn to seek medical attention? In an emergency, is a DC gang member going to drive 30 miles to a hospital in Ashburn? Probably not - he's going to go to a DC hospital. Even in a non-emergency, is a gang member going to drive a long distance to a hospital in a small community like Ashburn? Will he even have the means to travel to Ashburn? Not only that, if he's a real hoodlum, he'll stick out like a sore thumb.

The real issue are the thugs that already live here. That being said, the hospital is NOT going to change that - for better or for worse. The hospital isn't going to result in those thugs calling all of their thug friends and inviting out to Ashburn to check out the hospital. If those people are here, they're already here; and the hospital won't change that.

 

I was thinking of the people who go to LHC now. I assume from Sterling, Ashburn, Leesburg, Purcellville. I'm not sure who BRMC would serve that LHC doesn't, so I think it's fair to say the same places. There is certainly more violent crime in Sterling and Leesburg than Ashburn at this point. That may change (hope not). But even so, I'd rather just have Broadlands' baddies here than Ashburn Village's, Ashburn Farm's, Regency's, Farmwell Hunt's, Brambleton's, ... and Sterling's and Leesburg's.

--Joy

 

I agree with Farscape, another hospital here in Ashburn is just ridiculous. Yeah so we have a grocery store on every corner, along with an assortment of other duplicates in every shopping center. Think about it, it is rather sad and tacky that we have this sort of development going on here.... Who are you that you think you need to have every possible amenity at your fingertips when other parts of Loudoun are struggling. Don't tell me that all of the development is here. That is just not true.
HCA wants to be here because they put their $$ into this place and they want to be here where the big money is. They are not going to back out with out a fight. Meanwhile western and Northern Loudoun have to drive out here or go to Fauquier to get to a hospital.
This seems like duh.. dumb planning. Certainly not thinking of the future, just money and how to get it fast.
Go to the meeting tonight and the folks that are for this hospital in Broadlands are going to be very surprized at the desire and need for medical care out west. We don't need it here in Broadlands, really.
Thugs, criminals and drunks in Ashburn? they are already here.

 

Puh-lease! There is nothing wrong with the ABC store which will card minors by the way. It's much harder now to get alcohol underage than it was when I was kid in the 80's. You can get just as drunk off of the wine at the Safeway by the way. If there is a problem with drinking and driving it's the parents fault not the ABC stores or Clydes for that matter.

The alcohol drinking community is not going to enlarge b/c of the presence of a new store. It is debatable, however, that the bad element population will increase b/c of a previously non-existing hospital.

And in reference to another post. The element is coming from the Sterling/Herndon area. There is turf war going on between the El Salvodoran gangs. (Did ya see the marks on Wegmans?) The hospital may bring visibilty to this communtiy that did not exist before, therefore increasing the bad element population. I believe the vandalism we are experiencing now is just bored kids.

 

Homer - I don't think you looked at the stats and/or just missed the point:

1. It's not just talking about underage drinking; it's ALL people over 12.

"About 1 in 7 Americans aged 12 or older in 2002 (14.2 percent, or 33.5 million persons) drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the 12 months prior to the interview.

The level of alcohol use was strongly associated with illicit drug use in 2002. Among the 15.9 million heavy drinkers aged 12 or older, 32.6 percent were current illicit drug users."

2. It also doesn't say that the drinking population will increase. The point was simply that with the ABC store there, and as you noted, any place that sells or serves alcohol - even Safeway or Clyde's could be included - will bring people who drink alcohol (None of which I’m saying I’m opposed to).

And by the stats, the odds are greater of having a dangerous drunk driver and/or dug user in the neighborhood because of those establishments, than the odds of having a dangerous person with mental illness because of the hospital.

 

For stats to be credible they have to come from a credible source. MADD is not credible b/c of bias. Who did the report? What does under the influence mean? I'll bet 0.001%-0.79% which is legal in VA is included in that stat. How many of that 14.2% was over the legal limit? My issue is not with the mental ward at all. It's with the visibility that the hospital brings with it. All folks who get routed from Reston will come here to Broadlands, a place they would not even know of before. It's a good chance that will bring increased crime since as stated in a previous post Loudoun does not have the staff to support us.

We have a serious issue here folks that does not pertain to the hospital. Loudoun still thinks of itself as a rural county and it's police force represents that. We still have Sherrifs and Deputies while Fairfax has a larger, more modern force. I think we need to look to Fairfax to see what can be done here.

 

Well Said SK8R! I was unable to attend the meeting last night as I had a client meeting. How did it go?

 

Homer - all you had to do is click on the link and all of your questions would have been answered, including definitions, survey methodology, etc.

Just in case, here it is again:

http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/NHSDA/2k2NSDUH/Results/2k2results.htm

The information comes from the Results from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies.

I think most would agree that's fairly objective and credible...

 

If I had the time to back up your statements for you then I would read it but since it is your statement why don't you post the answers?

 

Last night's HSA vote results are available at:

http://www.leesburg2day.com/current.cfm?catid=28&newsid=7678

The voting results were 6-0 against the HCA proposal and a 3-3 tie on the LHC proposal.

 

Thanks GCyr!

 

Happy. Good news for Broadlands.

 

Hey! how about an ice rink in that spot? &gt;&gt;&gt;Broadlands Ice Arena&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;
Ashburn Ice House is always crowded.
I know people from Hamilton and Waterford that drive all they way out here to go to that rink.
Too many people going there. We really need another ice rink.