Broadlands Hospital

So, what's up with this? Sounds like it's a done deal from the news articles? I'm surprised I haven't seen an e-mail to the listserv on this. I'm not too keen on the idea, myself. Is there someone who is?

--Joy

--Joy

 

I think the hospital is a great idea. BUT, I really don't like the idea of the psychiatric facility in Broadlands. Why bring this facility here? Will the patients be walking around the neighborhoods? What kind of psychiatric patients will there be? According to what I've read this part of the hospital was suggested by the local leaders here in Loudoun County. I don't think this is a good idea.

-gregg

 

I wonder what kind of avenues we would have to block it if we wanted to. As I understand it, the land is already zone-appropriate, HCA has already put a contract on the land, HCA has already closed the purchase of the additional hospital in Arlington which they're moving, the Board of Supervisors (including Chairman York) are publicly supporting it, as well as the developer. I think the only approval process left is the State Health Board approving the need for beds. I'm not sure what recourse residents would have if they wanted to oppose it. Maybe we'll find out more at the Community Coffee on the hospital on Thursday.

 

We are very unhappy about the prospect of a hospital down the street from us. When we moved here, we understood that professional office buildings would be put in at some point - that's a far cry from the noise and traffic that a hospital would attract. We are contacting all of our elected representatives to register our concerns and solicit their support.

 

I wouldn't look to the local elected representatives for help in blocking the hospital. They were the ones on the podium shaking hands and smiling.

 

From what I've heard the facility will have 60 beds for psychiatric care, and 60+ beds for medical. The entrance will be on Belmont Ridge Road, and there will be a tree buffer between their property and the residential areas.

I still don't like it. Medical facilities means ambulances and sirens. Psychiatric facilities have patients wandering away occasionally, prompting local authorities to have to search for them. I'm not looking forward to either prospect.

If our property values decline as a result of this, I don't think we'll have any monetary recourse. How do you knock on their door and tell them they've just cost you X thousands of dollars?

 

Community Coffee at Mill Run (I believe) on Thursday 7-8pm

 

I would think another location would serve the residents of Loudoun County better. This location is only several miles from the existing hospital.

Add me to the "no" list for this idea.

 

I agree with champney, Loudoun County Hospital is only about 8 miles away from the proposed site. It sounds like the proposed hospital is supposed to benefit western Loudoun County. It sounds like it would be more appropriate for any new hospital to be located in Leesburg, or west of Leesburg.

Sounds like Arlington County doesn't want to lose their hospital (See Washington Post article from today).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47989-2002Jun26.html

And this excerpt sounds promising too...

The last time HCA went through the process, in 1998, it wanted to shut down Pentagon City Hospital and build a facility in Springfield. The Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia recommended against granting the company approval to do so, and Pentagon City Hospital was later closed.

In that case, said Dean Montgomery, staff director for the Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia, "it was a health corporation abandoning a poorer community for a more affluent one, and we found that not to be in the public interest."

Joy

 

I am also greatly opposed to this project. It will certainly lower our property values. Who would want to live that close to a hospital? Certainly not me.

From speaking with the developer, the entrances are planned for Broadlands Blvd, NOT Belmont Ridge Rd.

This is absolutely ridiculous that this project has gotten this far along without any input from the neighbors. I think our elected officials need to be un-elected.


Matthew Houser

 

First the power lines, now a hospital. We are the smallest community in the Ashburn area, why put a 24 hour service facility in this community? World Com has large undeveloped tracts of land off the Loudoun Cty Pkwy, Bellmont Greene is also under development and would offer access to other communities along the Rt 50 corrider. Reston hospital is in a commercial area and there is no psychiatric facility there why should we accept this type of facility in a largly residential community?

 

It sounds like the only way we can get rid of this Hospital is to Write to our State Representatives and the State Health Department, and tell them we don't want it. I've listed some addresses below. Unfortunately, I do not have a contact name/address for the State Health Dept at this time.

Supervisor Scott K. York
Chairman (At Large)
P.O. Box 7000
Leesburg, Virginia 20177-7000

chairmanyork@aol.com

Supervisor J. Drew Hiatt
Dulles District
P.O. Box 7000
Leesburg, Virginia 20177-7000
Office Phone: 703-777-0204
Fax: 703-777-0421
e-mail: jdhiatt@aol.com

Delegate Richard H. Black (32nd District)
General Assembly Building
P.O. Box 406, Office 517
Richmond, VA 23219
804-698-1032
Local Office
20978 Flatboat Court
Sterling, VA 20164
703-406-2951
e-mail: del_black@house.state.va.us

Senator William C. Mims (33rd District)
General Assembly Building
910 Capitol Street, Room 320
Richmond, VA 23219
804-698-7533
Local Office
P.O. Box 741
Leesburg, VA 20178
703-779-1888
e-mail: wma@i95.com

BroadlandsRez

Edited by - BroadlandsRez on 06/28/2002 07:57:01

 

Here's the state contacts (from the web). As I understand it, there are basically 3 levels that get a say in this, with the final word being the State Health Commissioner. The local Health Systems Agency makes a recommendation after holding a public hearing. Their decision is due by Oct. 9. The staff of the Division of Certificate of Public Need makes a recommendation by Oct. 19. Then the State Commissioner makes the final decision based on the information received by Dec. 8.

Dean Montgomery, Executive Director
7245 Arlington Blvd, Suite 300
Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia
Falls Church, VA 22042
Voice (703) 573-3100
Fax (703) 573-1276
Email HSANV@aol.com

Erik O. Bodin, Director
Division of Certificate of Public Need
3600 West Broad Street, Suite 216
Richmond, Virginia 23323
Voice (804) 367-2126
Fax (804) 367-2206
Email ebodin@vdh.state.va.us
http://www.vdh.state.va.us/quality/COPN/default.htm

STATE HEALTH COMMISSIONER
Stroube, Robert B., M.D., M.P.H., Acting State Health Commissioner
1500 East Main Street, Room 214
Richmond, Virginia 23219
Voice 804-786-3561
FAX 804-786-4616






--Joy

 

I think the hospital is a great idea. It will provide a service to the surrounding communities, provide employment for many people, plus take some of the wait out of emergency room care. I attended the meeting on Thursday evening and was amazed by the response. Yes, we may hear an occasional siren but this will only be if a person needs emergency care. Hmmm a little noise vs. a person life. I was also amazed by peoples perceptions of mental health. The danger is lack of proper mental health services. The people who would be treated at this hospital would not be "dangerous" to others. These are people who are depressed, anorexic, confused elderly etc. We need to educate the community to reduce the fear associated with mental illness. This hospital would hopefully provide this service along with other education classes for the public about various aspects of wellness. I think the hospital would be an asset to the community. I fully support the hospital moving to Broadlands.

 

While I can see the benefit to having another Hospital in Loudoun County, I think that the county would be better served if it was moved west. I think an ideal place would be at the end of the Greenway, in Leesburg. That way you would have easy access from Rt.7, the Greenway, and Rt. 15.

Gregg Sandelli

 

There has always been a 5 acre parcel set aside for a mental health facility since the development was originally zoned. My question to all of you is would you rather see a hospital with psych beds that are for “minor” psychiatric disorders such as anorexia, ADD, etc., or a transitional facility for psych patients that are deemed to be in recovery from more serious mental illnesses? We cannot prevent a mental health facility from being built in Broadlands.

I fully support a hospital here in our development and I urge those of you do as well to write or call our supervisor Drew Hiatt and tell him that you fully support the hospital.

Supervisor J. Drew Hiatt
Dulles District
P.O. Box 7000
Leesburg, Virginia 20177-7000
Office Phone: 703-777-0204
Fax: 703-777-0421
e-mail: jdhiatt@aol.com

 

Other pieces of land get rezoned, why can't that happen here as well?

Gregg Sandelli

 

If the hospital/psych center was here before housing development began, how many people would have bought a home here. Im sure the answer would be very few--I for one would not have purchased here. They do this with new communities all the time. Wait until almost all the housing is developed, then throw in the "crap". In my last community the builder "Washington HOmes" could not sell the last few housing plots fast enough so they sold it to HUD. Now we had people in the neighborhood a stone's-throw away who could give a rat.... about how their home and neighborhood looked. Im sure when we went to buy our homes, the builder never mentioned that a hospital was planned to go in. Of course we could have looked at the zoning, but this is "tact" that developers like to take.
Loudoun has one hospital about 4 miles away, just expand it.....there is absolutely no reason to build a "2nd hospital" this close in proximity and in a neighborhood. There is a ton of land out there in Loudoun that does not encompass neighborhoods. There is no reason to put a hospital in the Broadlands, none.

DwArFlOrD

 

The bottom line is:
-Terrabrook (not the homeowners) owns the commercial property.
-It has been zoned (and published as) Commercial from day one.
-The proffer for Broadlands already required a mental health facility from the beginning. (Did Terrabrook advertise this? - NO. Did prospective homebuyers research Broadlands at the County Building? - Doubtful.)
-HCA is a "for-profit" company and I'm sure has done extensive analysis of where the most profitable place to site a hospital in northern Virginia is.
-Broadlands is nowhere near being built-out, so Terrabrook still has an interest in making sure houses sell here.
-If a citizen is interested in influencing the decision of whether the hospital gets built or not, he or she has two avenues to pursue:
1. Make your opinion heard to the State Health Department, who has to approve the "need" for this hospital, and/or
2. Make your opinion heard to the County Board of Supervisors either by phone, letter or speaking at the hearings that will occur. The land must be rezoned to allow the use of a hospital.

 

? Sponge, what are you talking about?
Nobody is refuting that homeowners dont own the commerical property. The homeowners are just trying to retain the values of their home the best they can by defending their position against a hospital going in. A restaurant, laundry mat, CVS....all is fine, but not a hospital--c'mon.
As far as your speculation on HCA performing an "extensive analysis", I find that difficult to believe. My reason is this: How much money are they going to make in a community where another hospital resides about 4 miles away (not to mention Reston or Fair Oaks), and the average age of the community is about 46 years of age. This is not an "old-folks" community here. How many psyche patients will originate from our neighborhoods......these people will be brought in. Its our leadership that has bought into this idea and will allow this to happen, not necessarily due to a good cost analysis model.
Broadlands is not finished being developed, but the houses that reside adjacent to the commercial zoning are completed based on the community maps Ive looked at, hence the impact and concern that is being expressed. The other homes to be built won't be affected at all by this because they will reside off of Claiborne, plenty of distance away.
Irregardless, this is silly. No matter how you slice and dice it, sugarcoat or whatever. A hospital and psyche center has no business being in a neighborhood.....Id love to hear a good reason.

DwArFlOrD