Broadlands Hospital

Cliff, I forgot to ask...if this was a closed meeting...how did you find out about what transpired during the meeting?

 

I didn't get any of this information from HCA.
Thinks for your spin on what transpired.
I guess it's just coincidence that you, as an Inova employee, was there "as a resident" along with a couple of attorneys.
I believe it.

 

Cliff must read: "HCA has not yet filed its BRMC application with the county, but a pre-application meeting took place on Monday with HCA officials and county staff members. According to Donna Fortier, who is a Broadlands resident employed by Inova Loudoun, she attended the meeting, as did Leesburg attorney Rhonda Paice -- both representing the Concerned Citizens of Broadlands." http://loudounextra.washingtonpost....2008/mar/18/broadlands-board-say-no-hospital/

 

All I can say is when a project or development creates this much animosity in the community it usually never ends up being a good neighbor development. As beautiful as the broadlands is it is still somewhat of old school planning. Where the commercial ends up right against the residential without correct transitions or buffers. Trees you can see thru in the six months we have no leaves on the trees are not buffers.

It is very sad and shameful to see all this hate on this topic.

Hopefully the good news future development will be planned as good neighbor development not bad neighbor development. I have never bought that some bad neighbor development is inevitable. No bad neighbor development should ever happen or divide a community such as this hospital.

It is very sad to see these almost several thousand pages and what has happened to people here nearly going insane. Good neighbor developments don't do that.

 

I don't see any hate. People love a good debate and this is a douzy!

 

You know it! Years of mis-spent youth planted firmly in front of the TV!

 

I agree with Cliff...tell me one major building project that impacts a residential area that's met with the residents holding hands and singing Kumbaya or We Are the World????

I think debates really help ferret out the "edge cases". You're missing the inherent value of the wisdom of the crowds that will some day transcend the stupidity of the regulators.

The whole idea that health facilities are being rationed through some 19th century notion of a Certificate of Need is truly another sign that we are just one puddle jump away from a nationalized healthcare system.

Do you honestly think you're going to get to debate this stuff when Uncle Sam says "plunk down that hospital in Lee's backyard"???

We're already one merger away from a single major healthcare payer/insurance company. Then it will be Medicare/Medicaid and the only large commercial payer that will write policies in all states. Then see what happens to your healthcare costs when your employer can't price shop for you healthcare coverage.

There are so many things germaine to this debate that you're not even considering. It's far beyond where they put the facility...

As an ex-hospital adminstrator, it's a fine line you walk when you are both "resident" and employee of a health system. Either you drink the Kool-Aid and support your employer's project, you risk your employment by voicing your opposition or you stay on the side lines despite the fact that your's is probably one of the most cogent and accurate of the opinons the public would hear.

I always chose the later. I would suggest the Inova/HCA employees do the same. Every time you open your mouth or lay fingers on your keyboard, someone is going to cry foul.

I've lived through these debates over and over again with every facility I've ever built. This hospital is going to get built regardless otherwise HCA would have walked away already. The numbers work for them. And the reason Inova is fighting it so much is that the numbers DON'T work for them! The only thing that this is doing is delaying the inevitable and driving the cost up. And that's Inova's strategy here, boys and girls. They know this hospital is going to land somewhere in their catchman area. They want to make this so expensive for HCA that they'll walk away. Well...knowing HCA...they don't walk away and they have pockets much deeper than Inova ever will. Inova is a big fish in a little pond. HCA is a big fish in a HUGE pond.

When I was in business school, a wise mentor taught me, "when something doesn't make sense, follow the money". And it's about the money...

 

Buffettbassman, you need to take a course on city and suburban planning from a top notch school and after that take a trip throughout the country and look at the best planned new suburban communities. Loudoun is flunking it's planning and zoning compared to many many new communities throughout the world. I mean look at the good ones and the junk ones. Look at the woodlands texas which I was involved in when I was starting out and worked for the only architects I have ever worked for. And that is only one of many beautiful communities that have been planned by innovative experts, certainly not a few selfish residents.

 

Of course, the "hate" is coming from the person who consistently calls his neighbors and supposed "good buddies" selfish and impugns their motives.

 

I'll pass Lee. I have 3 degrees from some of the finest schools in this country. Frankly, I'm simply not that interested because it will be what it is.
I love the community I live in and it's my neighbors that make it beautiful...not some hospital, not some office building. The people are the true bricks and mortar.

Candidly sir, your claim to expert knowledge in this subject matter hasn't translated in any meaningful form in your commuications. At least to me anyway. Like most people, scare tatics don't work on me because I can reason beyond that fire and brimstone argument. And as far as conspiracy theories go...I leave that to Coast to Coast AM and the Art Bell types who I listen to every morning. They're more entertaining.

Regardless of the doomsay approach you espouse, there will be a truth. Life has told me that you'll be neither right nor wrong. You'll be some gradation of right and wrong, as will I. I know it kind of takes the fun out of it looking at it that way, doesn't it.

While I admire passion, I don't zealotry as someone else pointed out. History has not been kind to zealots, nor should it be. When you walk out your door tomorrow morning, listen to the birds sing, look at the budding trees and flowers and remind yourself that none of what we say here matters one bit. The birds will continue to sing and the flowers will continue to bud LONG after we're been returned to the Earth. Be grateful that you awoke and took a breath. Be grateful you're not one of the millions who suffer through an existance where they don't have to worry about such trivial things like where they put a hospital. Go most anywhere on the planet and people would welcome such a thing. Go to Haiti...you'll immediately see exactly what I'm talking about.

I grateful for all of those things. I bet when you're not on line, you are too.

 

Buffettbassman in all seriousness your last post really was a beautiful and wonderful post. You know you are right it is time to smell the roses I have some life long friends coming into town over the next several weeks and you are right enjoying friends and and family and people and nature are some of the best moments while we are here on the planet.
Now if we can just keep Loudoun beautifully developed with all good neighbor developments.

Buffetbassman thanks for that beautiful post.

 

Okay, so it's off topic, but what's the issue with having the church - I'm assuming St. Theresa's - built there (if it ever actually happens, that is)?

 

Churches seem to be pretty empty during the week. They would seem to be quiet neighbors. Well....unless it has a school attached.

 

There is a school there and now they're building a church, since all the masses now are being held in the school cafeteria.

 

Look...I don't want to take the thread off topic and least stir up a hornet's nest of my fellow Catholic's responding in disbelief that I would publically state I don't want a church I belong to in my backyard.

That doesn't make me a bad Catholic...that doesn't make me anything other than a home owner who has concerns about the encrochment on his property. My comment was metaphorical in the sense of I can't choose to have them not build the church any more than anyone here can stop the hospital from being built. Other than this forum, I've not uttered one word in complaint against the church. And here's why: People who own property have a right to build on it and use it as they see fit. I understand and accept that. That makes me VERY tolerant of my neighbors because if they have that right, so do I.

Not every neighbor will like what I do with my property. It's my right to do that within a community standard. And this will come off harsh but I say "tough stuff"! If I want to build something off the back of my home and it's within the community standard, then you shouldn't have anything to say to prevent me from doing that.

If I get villified for my property rights opinion, so be it. But I work hard to be able to own my property. I have the right to do with it as I please within the standard.:scaredeyes:

 

Thanks for your kind response. Please enjoy your friends. Collect them as precious gems. I do! When it's all said and done...we're together in this crazy world. The sooner we figure it out, the more fun we are!
Cheers, Lee...

Chris

 

I was asking because I have a friend who lives on the other side of the church. I thought maybe there was a huge downside that I wasn't aware of and was curious what it might be. No offense was intended, just idle curiosity.

 

Interesting news. So much for the ridiculous argument that Inova has been trying to spin that competition would lead to higher prices:
It'll be fun watching their spinmeisters deal with this:


For Release:May 9, 2008
FTC and Virginia Attorney General Seek to Block Inova Health System Foundation’s Acquisition of Prince William Health System
Transaction Would Reduce Competition and Result in Higher Health Care Prices in Northern Virginia
By a unanimous vote, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a complaint challenging the proposed acquisition by Inova Health System Foundation (Inova) of Prince William Health System, Inc. (PWHS) and authorized the staff to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in federal district court to block the deal pending a full administrative trial on the merits. The action in federal district court will be brought jointly with the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The administrative complaint charges that the proposed acquisition would violate the federal antitrust laws by reducing competition for general acute care inpatient hospital services in Northern Virginia. The complaint further charges that as a result of the merger consumers in Northern Virginia will pay higher prices and lose the benefits of non-price competition.
According to the FTC, the acquisition of independent PWHS by Inova, the largest hospital system in Northern Virginia and PWHS’s closest competitor, would eliminate the significant, existing price and non-price competition between them in offering hospital services to the community.
“There is no question that Northern Virginia residents have benefitted from the robust competition between Inova and PrinceWilliamHospital through better services and lower prices,” said Jeffrey Schmidt, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “If Inova acquires Prince William Health System, this vital competition will be lost, health care prices will increase, and many residents will be forced to accept reduced health care coverage or no coverage at all.”

 

When have people ever been able to shop prices on healthcare costs? I wish I could... doing multiple CT scans a year at ~$250/pop AFTER insurance sucks I feel like it's one of the last businesses that you find out what it costs you after you got the service... *sigh*

I'm all for competition, but like I've said before, two hospitals in this close proximity isn't that smart... 50 is better, yes I know it's years away, but still doesn't make Broadlands the best physical location.