Broadlands Medical Facility

After reading the 4 pages of responses that I generated by asking questions regarding the BRMC (see first post by Yankee1), I feel like I owe everyone an apology. Being a rookie on the Broadlands team (moved in late May) I didn’t realize the topic was such a “hot button”. My single family home does border Broadlands Blvd, and I am concerned with home values, traffic, noise, etc, but if I’m being honest, I could care less what’s built in that area, i.e. office park, restaurants, hospital, etc. They all have their positives and negatives no matter which way you cut it. All I’m asking is that who ever is responsible for building the hospital use a little common sense.

PS: Although I have never worked in a hospital or psychiatric facility, I do think it may be a good idea for everyone to step back and take a deep breath. This neighborhood is beautiful, hospital or no hospital. When the biggest complaints in a neighborhood this size are about what kind of stain we can have on our deck, or complaining that the neighbor’s pool is to big, or whether we should build a hospital or office park.... I think we all forget sometimes just how good we have it....

Having said that, I do like to gossip, so please, go on with your debate !!

"" Long live the Broadlands !!! and GO YANKEES !! ""

 

BOOOO! I won't reveal my team, although you can probably guess. (Hey, there's always next year, right?)

 

Homer,

With all due respect....can you tell me the difference between the medical necessity of treatment for a mental illness and a physical illness?

I have a hard time accepting that one is less serious than the other. Both can be life threatening, both can be debilitating, and both do not discriminate. A family member, a neighbor, or you or me for that matter, could develop the need for treatment of either.

I am looking for some compassion for the sick, and family members of the sick, in this thread, and I don't see it much of it.

I see a bunch of fear of the unknown, and politically driven and developed arguments. Not reality.
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Right on! I'd be all for the hospital if they dropped the mental services.
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The difference is that people who are physically ill do not accidently hurt people b/c of their illness. Compassion does not equal stupidity. You can have compassion and not bring a threat into the neighborhood.

 

Oh Man!

You're opening yourself up on this one. Are you sure you meant what you said?[V]

Read again, and we'll give you a chance to clarify.

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Homer states:

The difference is that people who are physically ill do not accidently hurt people b/c of their illness. Compassion does not equal stupidity. You can have compassion and not bring a threat into the neighborhood.
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We will eh? Well let me take it further. I don't care what you think. It's easy to have compassion, why don't you ask them to be put in you're neighborhood.

If you can poke holes in my argument you go ahead and try if you can. The fact remains there is no good reason to endanger the residents of Broadlands needlessly. There is already a bad element drag racing here. All it takes is someone coming in from Alexandria, looking at how good we have it here before MS-13 starts moving in. Why draw attention to the neighborhood when a mental hospital can go somewhere not so residential.

It's also a fact that there will be more there than bulumic teens and overstressed CEOs. There will be pyros, manics, bi-polars, alkies, from all over since they shut it down in the east. This Mental hospital is not the Happy Happy Somewhere over the rainbow you'd have us believe.

 

I am not looking to poke holes in your argument. I just wanted to know PRECISELY what you think. I now have a much clearer picture. You're entitled to your opinion, and it is insightful. Insightful to your view that is. I accept your view as your opinion, I just don't agree with the opinion or the rational.

The "not in my backyard defense" doesn't go anywhere with me. The hospital "is" in my backyard and I welcome the addition of "complete" health care options to this area of the Commonwealth.

I'll ask you another question to help clarify your view.

Consider the following. A neighbor is driving drunk, has a horrific accident, and is taken to the hospital. As he/she is being treated for sever lacerations, he/she flips out, for some unknown reason. He/she becomes uncontrollable and violent. Escapes, and runs unrestrained through your neighborhood.

Should we deny healthcare to this individual? Or should we show compassion for the health issue and the individual, regardless if it is physical or mental?

Or is it your view, we should ship them out of here, to some other part of the state, for care?

My opinion, and I am sure you will honor it, is:

"That individual is sick and needs medical attention. In this case, both physical and mental care. How can a hospital differentiate between the two? Would you deny care to this individual because they are having an emotion episode requiring psychiatric care?"

Shouldn't a "quality" healthcare facility be concerned about the individual and not what condition(s) they have? To me, a hospital offering both, is offering a better level of care. For me, I want a "full" and complete hospital for the care of my neighbors, family and friends.

Fear is sometimes misplaced and unguided. There is nothing to fear about mental health facilities or patients. Better to have them treated and cared for, than shipped out or ignored. Believe me, mental health does not discriminate, it exists in Broadlands, and Ashburn Farm. Compassion will allow for acceptance of this view and the need for care, regardless, if it is mental or physical.

 

Boy I do love psych tests. Trying to profile me eh? Everyone deserves health care mental or physical. That does not mean it has to be here. And if Mental is a requirement for full healthcare where are those services in the Loudoun County hospital and how does HCA get away with shutting down the only mental in Alexandria area?

It's obvious you have a personal stake in this issue. I respect your compassion. But I say again a Mental hospital is much different then Healthcare. If the mental issues are minor then they can travel to a secluded hospital without damage being done to them unlike a physical trauma. As for your example I'd rather they patch them up and send them to the head shrinker which is somewhere else. How good is the mental going to be in a hospital anyway? Isn't that what outpatient psych services are for?

 

So glad to see some of the positive comments recently made supporting a hospital in Broadlands. Everyone is absolutely right in their thinking…Loudoun County does need a second hospital, and we need the hospital proposed by HCA right here in Broadlands. According to a recent quote in the Leesburg Today (June 18-A School on Every Corner?), “The Ashburn area is by all accounts the fastest-growing area of the fastest-growing county in the United States.” The northeastern area of Loudoun County accounts for 76% of the county's total population.
I am a resident of Broadlands, and I was previously employed by HCA and continue to follow this issue very closely. What many don't realize is that the hospital, Broadlands Regional Medical Center (BRMC), that was approved by the State Health Commissioner on March 10 cannot simply be moved to South Riding. The approval given by the State Health Commissioner is site specific. To obtain approval for a hospital in South Riding would only mean that residents of Loudoun County would be denied a choice in healthcare for many years. The approval process for BRMC took approximately 3 years, plus construction could take up to 3 years. That allows Loudoun Hospital to continue to hold the monopoly and forces residents to leave the county for healthcare/hospital care for at least another 6 years. Based on county projections, the population in Loudoun County will increase approximately 83% between the years 2000 and 2010 (population of 170,000 in 2000 and a projected population of 312,000 in 2010). This means that one hospital, Loudoun Hospital, will be the only hospital serving the needs of more than 300,000 residents if the Planning Commission approves Loudoun Hospital’s Comprehensive Plan and if the Board of Supervisors denies HCA’s application for a special exception to build a hospital on a lot currently zoned for an office park.
What can you do to support Broadlands Regional Medical Center?
Call (703-777-0204 to speak to someone at the office of the Board of Supervisors or 703-777-0115 for the comment line) or e-mail the Board of Supervisors:
Scott York syork@loudoun.gov
Bruce Tulloch btulloch@loudoun.gov
Jim Burton aldiemanor@aol.com
Jim Clem jclem1@loudoun.gov
Eugene Delgaudio eugenedelgaudio@erols.com
Sally Kurtz skurtz@loudoun.gov
Steve Snow ssnow@loudoun.gov
Mick Staton mstaton@loudoun.gov
Lori Waters lwaters1@loudoun.gov

E-mail the Planning Commission stating your support for BRMC:
ckeegan@loudoun.gov

Attend the Planning Commission meeting on July 19 at 7:00 pm at the Government Center in Leesburg.
The Planning Commission needs to hear from Broadlands residents that support BRMC.

If you have any questions for the folks at Broadlands Regional Medical Center, you may contact them at 703-858-3465. You may also e-mail the Director of Public Relations, Megan Descutner, at megan.descutner@hcahealthcare.com

 

Boy, this last post looks like something I'd see from my USENET days ... TROLL !!!



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

This is not the type of post I would hope to see from a member of my HOA.

This was your acceptance "speech" after your election (from the "Thank You" thread at http://www.hoa.broadlands.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=901 ):

I don't think the "average homeowner" would attack another poster like this. Let's try to keep it professional, please.

 

Thanks Pats fan....neilz, both Cliff and Donna know me, so you can verify with them...I am a resident of Broadlands as I stated in my previous post.

 

If Neil wasn't a board member I would think its ok just b/c Jeanne only has two posts and her second one is incredibly Pro HCA. That is a Troll tactic, think of Chris' alt personalities. The forst or second post out of Luv or MaryJo was an attack on HCA.

And go ahead and call the real Supervisor of Loudoun county who stole it from York, Steve Snow. He wants the Hospital (along w/ everyhting else!) in South Riding which is the center of his universe.

 

Actually, it was her first post that was pro-BRMC.

I agree with you, Homer, but the fact remains that neilz is</u> on the board. Cliff and Donna obviously have strong opinions on the hospital and they express them on these boards, but I have always found them to be respectful of the opinions of others and they have not engaged in personal attacks like the one above. Conduct that may be acceptable for you or I is not necessarily acceptable for these "public" figures.

 

I agree, but I really don't see his post as an attack. Maybe a calling out but not attack.

 

Who cares if it is her first post or 1000 post. She is entitled to use these forums any time she wishes, or not. We get new members all the time and I am willing to bet a good portion of them have lived here for quite some time.

 

You dont find it the least bit odd that her very first post is an incredibly Pro HCA post? That's exactly how Luv and MaryJo started and is a Troll tactic. Sure she has a right to post but on the internet it is poster beware especially until these forums are limited to residents (which they wont be).

 

Brooks5 and Homer-
You seem to be so concerned about the mental health component of the hospital. Have you ever been to Dominion Hospital and seen the services they provide? Have you done any research on the supposed "crime" issue associated with it? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the answer is "no" to both questions. Would you like to learn? I'd be happy to set up a tour of the facility and meet with the law enforcement officials who have told me there is no crime associated with the facility (including a Broadlands resident who, as a Fairfax sheriff's deputy, patrolled the area around Dominion Hospital). I'm guessing the answer to this question is also "no". After all, why let the facts get in the way of your preconceived notions.

Brooks5- You claim the article to be "dishonest". We'll be happy to sit down with you, show you our information, show you where we got it, and explain why we reached the conclusions we did. You obviously don't like the results, but they are not "dishonest".

Donna- I am not opposed to a County Healthcare Facilities Plan. Just not the obviously biased one proposed by LHC that zones BRMC out of existence. I would support a plan that recognizes the three currently approved hospital sites in the county, Lansdowne, Cornwall, and Broadlands, and moves on from there. Identifying a site in Dulles South and setting it aside for a future medical facilty makes sense. All the hospital entities around here, LHC, HCA, and Inova, can all tell you how hard it is getting things approved by the state. It does not make sense to eliminate a site approved by the state.
A concern raised by LHC supporters was that there is a fear that the state is telling LHC to close Cornwall and combine their facilities at the Lansdowne site. If the county identifies Cornwall as a location that we want medical facilities to expand, the state will have a much more difficult time denying LHC's future plans there.
I also attended the two meetings on the 29th and 30th. On the 29th, the speakers who supported LHC's CPAM were either Dulles South residents who want a hospital near them (I don't blame them, but nobody wants to build a hospital in Dulles South yet)
or LHC suporters (they even bussed them in). On the 30th, almost every supporter of the proposed CPAM had a direct relationship with LHC (Board members, employees, volunteers, ladies group, etc). I do not mean to imply their opinions don't matter, just the perspective these opinions come from.

neilz- "Jeanne" is a long time resident of Broadlands (longer than you!) and not a troll. Unless, of course, you equate "troll" with "hospital supporter".

Donna and GCyr-
You are both right about the trees. But they also indicated in that meeting they would consider adding additional tree buffer as well as considering putting in more mature trees. This is something that we can demand that we would not have a say in if this was a "by-right" office complex.

 

HAHAHAHAHA! Of course they are going to say that! The law enforcement are probably doing a jig behind your back. Yeah it's gone and those suckers in Broadlands bought into it. I still don't see the value in a mental hospital in a residential area and how it is good for the people who live next to it. Trauma center, sure, cancer research, fine, Maternity great! But NO! The focus is mental and what's more is that people from FAR outside the county will be coming to it.

All it takes is ONE incident. And since y'all are all fired up to have something like this next door how about a Nuclear Power Plant? I can be the safety inspector. Nuclear power plants are completely safe and never have problems! (if you forget about Three mile Island and Cherynoble but those are flukes and only happend once right?)

We'll see but the planning here in this county is insane.

 

And don't forget about the incident that almost was, in your home town of Springfield. Good thing you were there to cap off that tank!