Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 1, 1995 TAG: 9506010055
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Hospital officials said Wednesday they plan to relocate to 110 acres at the southeast corner of the interchange of Interstate 81 and Virginia 177 by late 1998. The hospital intends to apply for state approval next month, but doesn't expect a decision for a year.
The site is in Montgomery County, five miles south of the 52-year-old, 175-bed current hospital in the heart of Radford. Both the city and the county, though, will share tax benefits. The land is within the Virginia 177 Corridor Agreement boundaries, meaning the city will receive 27 percent of tax revenue from Montgomery.
The Carilion Health System affiliate chose the I-81 site, first disclosed in December, over 158 acres it already owns that's closer to Radford along Virginia 177. It was an even trade-off between the costs of grading the steep terrain on the 158 acres vs. paying $2 million to extend sewer and water service the extra distance to the I-81 site, said Ralph Hawkins, with HKS Inc., the Dallas architectural firm chosen to design the building.
The newer site, though, won hands down in terms of convenience, access and visibility for patients, all factors that generally help replacement hospitals succeed, Hawkins said.
Radford Community plans to spend $60 million to build the "health center" that will have far fewer beds than the current hospital - possibly fewer than 100 - and will reflect the trend toward outpatient care and prevention and away from long stays. Outpatient-care revenue surpassed inpatient dollars for the first time in April.
"You can't walk around in a 1950s carrying case and deliver 21st century health care," said Lester Lamb, the hospital's president and chief executive officer. Lamb said the hospital faced the choice between moving to a new site or staying as it is - hemmed in with no room to grow and limited parking - and facing a decline leading to eventual closure. "We have no choice," he said.
The hospital has been changing its management philosophy since 1992 to what it calls "patient-focused care." That places an increased emphasis on streamlining care and doing so with fewer, more versatile employees in a more compact, efficient building. As part of that sea change, Radford Community has been reducing the size of its staff, primarily through attrition, to less than 700 currently.
Eventually, the hospital may change its name to more accurately reflect its primary patient base, which is divided equally between Montgomery and Pulaski counties and Radford.
Architectural renderings of the 250,000 to 260,000 square-foot building should be unveiled this summer. Under the preliminary design, drivers on southbound I-81 would see a two-story structure built into a slope with a saw-toothed exterior, each "tooth" featuring a different "pod" of patient care, Lamb said. Support services would be on the lower floor. From the other side, the entrance and 800-space parking lot off Tyler Road, visitors would see one floor that would include those pods and space for doctors' offices.
Radford Community has had options on the 110-acre site off Barn and Tyler roads since the fall and now will purchase it from three landowners for $10,000 an acre, or approximately $1.1 million, Lamb said. The landowners include Lillie Gibson, Blacksburg dentist Wallace Huff and Childress Farms Inc., according to county real-estate records.
The hospital plans to sell the 158 acres it bought four years ago as its original relocation site. As for the current hospital building, Lamb said an architectural study is under way to look at whether it could be converted into a "seniors service center" that might feature assisted living and other housing for the elderly that's below the threshold of a nursing home.
Montgomery County Board of Supervisors Chairman Larry Linkous praised Wednesday's announcement as good for the hospital, the county and the city. The site will become a landmark along I-81, and because the hospital will pay to extend utilities, it will speed development of the Virginia 177 corridor without costing tax dollars. "It will cause some good development out there," he said.
Said Lamb: "It is the intent of Radford Community Hospital to be a catalyst for development in the corridor."
by CNB