|
|
Sentara Obici Bed Addition Approved by VA Dept. of Health
|
30-bed expansion will address urgent need
|
Suffolk, VA -- March 20, 2008 – Virginia’s Deputy Commissioner of Health, Dr. James Burns, has approved Sentara’s application for a Certificate of Public Need (COPN) for the addition of 30 beds at Sentara Obici Hospital.
“This approval helps us meet an urgent need for more beds,” says Rosemary Check, vice president and administrator of Sentara Obici Hospital. “We have needed these additional beds almost from the day this hospital opened in 2002.”
With rapid population growth in Suffolk and Western Tidewater, Sentara Obici has maintained a very high occupancy rate, as high as 85%. Last year, Sentara Obici had the 4th highest utilization rate of medical-surgical beds out of 84 acute care hospitals in Virginia. This high rate of utilization can lead to hours of delay for patients admitted through the emergency department, until an inpatient is discharged and a bed becomes available.
“We plan on breaking ground in late summer,” Check continues, “with an opening scheduled in early 2010, and not a minute too soon.”
The 30 additional beds are already licensed and will be relocated from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, which already serves a significant number of patients from western Tidewater. Moving beds to Sentara Obici will allow those patients to receive inpatient treatment closer to home. In addition, 14 semi-private rooms in the existing hospital will be converted to private rooms and four rooms lost in engineering the project will be reconstructed, giving the hospital an aggregate addition of 48 beds in the new wing.
“We appreciate the support we’ve received from the community for this expansion,” Check concludes.
 Summary of Certificate of Public Need Decisions - Planning District 20
On March 20, 2008, the Virginia State Health Department released the Certificate of Public Need (COPN) decisions on five Hampton Roads area hospital applications.
These five applications included two submitted by Sentara Healthcare. In July 2007, Sentara submitted a COPN application to relocate the 158 inpatient beds and related services of Sentara Bayside Hospital to the Sentara Princess Anne health campus. In addition, Sentara Obici Hospital submitted an application to add 30 beds through relocation of beds from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
Bon Secours Health System submitted three applications in which Bon Secours proposed to develop new hospitals in southern Virginia Beach and northern Suffolk, and to develop a smaller replacement hospital on the current DePaul campus in Norfolk.
The COPN decisions were made by the Deputy State Health Commissioner after an extensive analysis process which included review by the region’s Eastern Virginia Health Systems Agency, the Virginia Department of Certificate of Public Need staff, and the state’s COPN hearing officer.
The Sentara Princess Anne Hospital application was approved for 120 beds, including medical/surgical, intensive care, obstetric, and pediatric beds. In addition, the hospital was approved for six operating rooms, cardiac catheterization, and CT services. This approval complements the services currently existing on the Princess Anne campus: ambulatory surgery center, full service 24/7 emergency department, integrated cancer center with radiation therapy and PET/CT services, and advanced imaging services including CT and MRI.
Among reasons for the application’s approval, the hearing officer’s report cites: the full-service nature of the proposed hospital; the consistency of the proposal with the Princess Anne health campus development plan adopted and promoted by the City of Virginia Beach; the large and growing population of southern Virginia Beach; the opportunity to optimize use of existing beds by relocating them to an area of growth, thereby enhancing accessibility; and consistency with the State Medical Facilities Plan.
Sentara Bayside Hospital will continue to serve as a vibrant acute care hospital and will continue to benefit from the new quality initiatives, innovative technologies and service enhancements that Sentara routinely deploys throughout the system. One example will be the Sentara eCare Health Network that will allow for greater physician collaboration and improved safety. Once Sentara Princess Anne Hospital opens, Sentara Bayside will transition to a comprehensive outpatient facility including a a 24-hour emergency department, advanced imaging services, lab services, physical therapy and other offerings based on the needs of the community.
Planning for the Sentara Princess Anne Hospital will be accomplished in collaboration with medical staff and the community. Sentara anticipates breaking ground on the new hospital this year, with a projected opening date of late summer 2011.
The Sentara Obici Hospital application was approved for the addition of 30 medical/surgical beds to Obici through relocation of beds from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
In stating reasons for the application’s approval, the hearing officer’s report indicates that the Obici project is a reasonable, incremental means of responsibly addressing a facility-specific expression of public need. Furthermore, the project is consistent with the State Medical Facilities Plan.
Sentara Obici Hospital has been working with its physicians and staff on the facility design and intends to break ground on the new wing this summer. The new wing should be open to care for patients in early 2010.
The three applications submitted by Bon Secours Health System to develop new hospitals in southern Virginia Beach and northern Suffolk, and to develop a smaller replacement hospital on the current DePaul campus in Norfolk were denied.
Download the decision of the Deputy State Health Commissioner and the accompanying hearing officer report (PDF file).
10/2008
|
|