INOVA in the mix

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Wednesday, October 20th, 2004

Loudoun Headline News Audio Click Here
Daily, with News Director Tim Jon

LHINova?

Our local medical provider makes a deal with another industry leader in the region. Loudoun Healthcare confirmed a merger today with Inova Fairfax. Staff at Loudoun Hospital’s Administrative Offices told us to await further information.

Our contacts at Inova hadn’t even heard the news when we spoke earlier this afternoon.

Loudoun Hospital continues to await an appeal on the State’s permission for their competitor- HCA- to move forward on their plans for a Regional Medical Center in Broadlands.

Stay tuned.

 

FYI - A letter sent to Inova and a similar one sent to LHC employees:

Dear Inova Family:

I am pleased and proud to share with you some exciting news that will have a tremendous impact on the future of health care in Loudoun County. Inova Health System and Loudoun Healthcare, Inc., have agreed to merge our organizations to rapidly expand the delivery of comprehensive, sophisticated and advanced health care services to meet the needs of the fast growing communities of Loudoun County. Our not-for-profit organizations will combine resources to improve geographic distribution of health care facilities in the county and to address access for all Loudoun County residents.

Both the Inova Health System Board of Trustees and the Loudoun Healthcare, Inc., Board of Directors have approved this merger.

At Loudoun Hospital Center, enhanced services will be developed in cardiology, cancer, neurosurgery, neonatology, perinatology, women’s services and pediatrics. Plans for the Western Loudoun Medical Center (also known as the Cornwall Campus) include further development of inpatient and outpatient services to serve the residents of western Loudoun County. A new campus will be developed in the South Dulles area with initial plans to include the introduction of comprehensive emergent/urgent care and advanced medical imaging. Community health centers will be built in Lovettsville, Middleburg, Purcellville and Dulles Airport.

Loudoun’s vision of a health care system is much like the one that we have developed across Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria. We are proud to be a part of the effort to bring outstanding and comprehensive health services to Loudoun County.

We now await Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approval of this merger, which will take several months. We will communicate any news regarding this merger as soon as we have it. In the meantime, if you have any questions or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to ask your supervisor or department director.

I hope you share my enthusiasm as we prepare to welcome the Loudoun family into the Inova family and bring state-of-the-art, quality health care to all those who live in the Loudoun community.

Sincerely,

Knox Singleton

 

I think its great news for LHC, Inova, our community and our county. As they say, you can't please everyone, but this merger creates many new and exciting avenues that will be available to all of us.

 

Y I P P E E !!!

 

This is fantastic. My husband works for INOVA. What a great employer!!!!

 

Ok. Just so I understand the celebration here, according to the letter Loudoun is going to get an urgent care/imaging center in South Dulles, some TBD services at the Western Loudoun Medical Center, and Community health centers in various other areas. Umm, question, where is the 2nd HOSPITAL that everyone seemed to agree we needed?

While this merger is good news as it relates to improving the service and capabilities at LHC (I am suprised we aren't seeing the lamenting of the takeover of our "little community hospital") it still does not address the need for a 2nd full service hospital in the county.

 

Story in today's Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49661-2004Oct20.html

 

VWeisenberg, Just to clarify it is not a take over it is a merger. Those are 2 different things. Don't forget the CPAM is still something that is being determined, so before you start making assertions about no second hospital, the CPAM needs to be discussed and decided on.

 

See the article that Tech Head referred to ... it states that the urgent care center is being created with the intention of turning it into a full-service hospital in the future.


Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

I would guess this is being called a "merger" because it is a softer, mpre PC sounding word. Inova would have no advantage to "merge" with little 'ol LHC. This will simply become another Inova hospital in their chain and in their attempt to control all the health care in Northern Virginia.
That being said, if we are going to be stuck with one hospital in the county for the foreseeable future, I am glad it will be an Inova hospital and not LHC.

 

Cliff, that's an interesting comment, as far as referencing attempts to "control all the health care in Northern Virginia", and being glad its Inova. I'm glad its Inova too, because they are non-profit. I think HCA was trying to target a base and control, but purely for profit.

I also think that this merger, which couldn't possibly have been thrown together in a back room in a couple weeks, should put to rest the argument that the CPAM was somehow concocted that way. It is possible, given this turn of events, that negotiations and planning began long ago, after BOTH HCA and LHI were denied the first time--on the grounds that until what's approved is in play and evaluated against need, there will be no approvals.

We now have existing local healthcare entities working together for regional need. I think that's a good thing.

Barbara Munsey, from South Riding.

 

Barbara,

Takeover, merger, it's all semantics. My point was not that Inova absorbing LHC into it system was a bad thing for the county, it definitely will be a huge improvement over the current situation. My point was that all of the positives that are in the Inova proposal are tempered by the fact that it does not contain plans for a 2nd full service hospital, which we need more than a urgent care center and several health clinics.

I have grown weary of hearing how the CSCAM (sorry CPAM) is the answer to our need for a new hospital. The CPAM is a simply a guidline by which the county is attempting to define placement of services, resources, infrastructure, etc.. It has no real connection to actual delivery of anything other than making it clear where developers, corporations, and other entities can place projects that will likely be supported by the board. It in no way can force anything to actually be built and if it does not mirror the market demand for facilities and services, all it will accomplish is to delay or deny the development of the county.

The Board can "desire" that everything outlined in the CPAM as it relates to healthcare will be implemented, but they don't have the actual power to make it happen, only to prevent anything else from being implemented.

 

Qoute from todays Leesburg Today

"As to how the merger will strengthen LHI’s hand in the ongoing struggle with HCA, Huebbers would only say “Broadlands is tied to zoning, while this is directly related to the C-Pam that the board adopted, courageously so we think.” Huebbers said that whatever happens, the delivery of healthcare for the citizens of Loudoun will be improved."

Nice spin by Huebbers. Apparently he can take more postions on the same issue than John Kerry can. First Loudoun did not need another hospital. Then it did but only in the west or south. Now apparently it doesn't matter what happens. On top of that he says the issues with Broadlands hospital are tied to zoning, of course that is the issue today, but only after HCA managed to overcome all of the other LHI tactics until now. And to hide behind the CPAM, which as it realtes to healthcare is based completely on an amendement authored by LHI, is disingenious.

I also found this quote interesting

"According to one Loudoun physician Wednesday, reaction among the 400 doctors on the Loudoun Hospital Center staff is likely to be favorable. The addition of substantial cash will help improve the hospital’s ability expand its range of services. Loudoun’s explosive growth has placed an untenable burden on the hospital’s fiscal ability to provide those additional services. “It helps us out with a fiscal weakness that has been generated by growth,” he said, adding that the hospital’s financial situation was “solid for a population of 180,000,” rather than the current estimate of more than 220,000."

Here is the link to the entire article http://www.leesburg2day.com/current.cfm?catid=28&newsid=9622

 

"Oct 21, 2004 -- Loudoun Healthcare Inc. this week reached agreement on a $200 million merger with giant nonprofit Inova Health System of Fairfax, which regionally owns five hospitals and a number of other healthcare facilities. ..." Source: www.leesburg2day.com

"Not a take-over a merger (sic)"??!? Since when is it a merger when a "giant" takes you over. Get real, this is a huge life ring to LHI. And that is a very good thing.

Inova bailed out LHI years ago, after LHI approached financial ruin due to the Landsdowne campus construction. It is not surprising they are rescuing LHI again.

We should all be grateful that LHI was forced to face up to their shortcoming, via HCA. Or maybe it was Inova providing the reality. LHI obviously didn't have the assets to compete. As many of us have stated all along "competition" does great things. Even the ever present threat of competition does great things.

With that said, we still need another hospital. BRMC may still be that. I'd suggest not abandoning the value of competition. The competition just got stronger HCA v. Inova.

This certainly opens up a whole new area of opinions, analysis and debate. One that will be very interesting.

Sure sounds like the County citizens are benefiting, and there appears to be a much brighter future for healthcare options and services to us all.

 

Donna, The takeover is a good thing as it will undoubtedly improve LHI. Our family had several very good experiences at INOVA Fairfax. We also had a great experience at Reston (HCA). The doctors and care were top notch. The suggestions that HCA only cares about profits and does not have high quality care are just wrong. Today I would choose Reston or Fairfax hospital over LHI any day. I am convinced that competition among local hospitals - for profit and/or non profit - is a good thing for patients. BRMC has already forced LHI to work harder to improve services without even breaking ground.

Assuming the BOS denies BRMC the special exception, we will be waiting until the next decade for another hospital in Loudoun. It is perfectly clear from news reports that a 2nd hospital that might be built by INOVA on Route 50 would be something for the distant future. There is no way it could be in opreation before 2010. Loudoun is projected to add 90,000 people between 2003 and 2010. LHI is not ready or able to handle that huge amount of growth.

Do you agree that we need a 2nd hospital in Loudoun before 2010? You and others kept asking why HCA would not build a hospital on Rt. 50. It was clear to me that it was not financially viable. INOVA's proposal to put in an urgent care center there with a plan to build a hospital some day in the future should end any questions that this was not the case.

 

Barbara, Maybe they did not throw it together in a couple weeks but they didn't take much longer. Here is a quote from Rod Huebbers in the Times Mirror confirming that fact:

Merger talks got serious several months ago, said Huebbers. "We (Loudoun Healthcare) calculated we can only take on another $20 in debt, and we have $40 million of projects to get started on. We saw we needed a partner."

If they could arrange a merger in several months they certainly could draft the CPAM in the same amount of time. CPAN is another example of LHI reacting to BRMC. At least BRMC is forcing LHI to improve its services and forcing the county to look closer at the need for additional health care. That is what competition is all about.

In any case the merger gets you and Steve Snow an urgent care center but eastern Loudoun will be years away from getting a much needed 2nd hospital.

Most importantly for Broadlands residents will be what gets built on BRMC's property if the hospital is killed by the BOS and loses in court. Bet those folks over near Broadlands Blvd. will love a 5 story office complex with no buffer. Since it would be a by-right development, residents and the BOS would have no leverage to get any concessions or $$ for road improvements. I know you agree that by-right development has not been good for Loudoun.

 

I'm not sure you're correct about this. Its not a 'by right' development. Its already zoned for office/business space under the older development plan, so the planning commission will have some say in how it is sited.


Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

vw--
The county already has a 2nd full service hospital -- it just happens to be located 3 miles on the fairfax county side of the line. Our family has had good experiences at Reston Hospital, but dont't feel we need another HCA facility across Broadlands Blvd from us. Reston is close enough.

 

Spaceguy,

I agree that Reston is a great hospital, but are you saying that we don't need a 2nd hospital in Loudoun because Reston is close? Or are you saying we need a 2nd hospital in Loudoun just not in Broadlands?