By GEORGE WHITEHURST, JIM HALL and JOBY N. CUNNINGHAM/The Free Lance-Star

HCA, one of the nation's largest hospital chains, yesterday confirmed plans to build a 100- bed, full-service hospital in Spotsylvania County.

Company officials announced their intent to seek state approval for a hospital at last night's Board of Supervisors work session.

"It comes down to demographics," said Margaret Lewis, president of HCA's Central Atlantic division.

Lewis said the Fredericksburg area's booming population, coupled with a spike in the number of residents over age 45, justifies building a second hospital here.

"It's an opportunity for us to provide a choice," Lewis said.

HCA officials said they plan to build an acute-care facility that will include a 24-hour emergency room on 60 acres at the south- east corner of the intersection of Interstate 95 and the U.S. 17 Bypass. It would be about six miles south of Mary Washington Hospital.

HCA has purchased the land from the Silver Cos., Lewis said. It is zoned industrial and would have to be rezoned commercial.

Lewis said the location would enable HCA to serve residents of Fredericksburg and the counties of Spotsylvania, Stafford, Caroline and King George.

Officials estimate that the hospital would first feature about 100 beds, but will be expandable. The company anticipates spending between $70 million and $100 million and plans to hire from 100 to 150 people.

The hospital could open by the end of 2009 or early 2010, Lewis said. But those plans depend on several factors, including rezoning approval by the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors, as well as approval from the Virginia Department of Health.

The Health Department requires hospital companies to get a "certificate of public need" before they expand existing facilities or build new ones. It reviews permit applications twice a year.

If HCA wants to be considered in the next review, it must submit a letter of intent to the state by Dec. 2 and an application by Jan. 1. Lewis said HCA will meet those deadlines.

Construction of a second hospital would challenge the monopoly that Mary Washington has held for more than 100 years.

"We're not going to walk away from Spotsylvania," said Fred M. Rankin III, president and chief executive officer of MediCorp Health System, parent company of the hospital, Monday. "We have a lot of presence in Spotsylvania. We're going to continue to serve Spotsylvania."

Mary Washington opened an addition last year that increased the number of beds to 412. This year MediCorp announced plans for a new 100-bed hospital in Stafford County.

"We've felt and still believe that the Stafford campus is the best next step," Rankin said.

Mary Washington also said it plans to apply for a certificate of public need in the state's upcoming review cycle.

Spotsylvania supervisors asked HCA to consider building a hospital in the county.

"It's important that we provide our citizens with a choice in affordable health care," Supervisor Hap Connors said.

"This is an opportunity regionally to enhance health care, increase the tax base and provide the types of better-paying jobs that we have sought for a long time," Board of Supervisors Chairman Bob Hagan said.

And because HCA is a for-profit hospital, the company could offer proffers to help with road improvements, he said.

Supervisor Vince Onorato, in whose district the hospital would fall, described himself as "immediately supportive" when he learned of HCA's interest.

"It might also cut down on the waiting time at the emergency room people are complaining about," said Supervisor T.C. Waddy.

Lewis said HCA will work with the board on the site's design, as well as the name. And she said the hospital will serve uninsured patients.

Nashville-based HCA is one of the nation's largest hospital chains, and is Virginia's fourth-largest employer, with more than 12,000 employees and a statewide payroll of about $576 million.

The company operates 16 hospitals and surgery centers in the state. In Northern Virginia, the company operates Dominion Hospital, Fairfax Surgical Center, Northern Virginia Community Hospital, Reston Hospital Center and the Reston Surgery Center.

In the Richmond area, it has CJW Medical Center, Henrico Doctors' Hospitals, John Randolph Medical Center, Retreat Hospital, Hanover Outpatient Surgery Center and Tuckahoe Ambulatory Surgery Center.

Date published: 10/26/2005
 
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