Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 6, 1995 TAG: 9507060079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
A new two-way hospital war has broken out in the New River Valley over how big a hospital to build in the Radford area and who should put it there.
The 52-year-old Radford Community Hospital in downtown Radford is seeking state permission to replace its aging 175-bed facility with a modern 100-bed hospital on a 110-acre site just outside the city, in Montgomery County.
Now it has competition. Pulaski Community Hospital has joined with Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg to apply for state certification to build a 50-bed hospital on a 35-acre site in Radford on which it has purchased an option, off Virginia 177 near Ramey Chevrolet and Food Lion.
It is unlikely that the state would grant a certificate of public need for both proposals in the Radford area, especially since existing hospitals are not using all the beds for which they already are allotted.
Radford President and Chief Executive Officer Lester Lamb could not be reached Wednesday, but he has said previously that the hospital must move because it has no room to grow, modernize or provide additional parking. He said not moving would cause a decline in use leading to eventually closing.
The hospitals at Radford and Pulaski have been traditional competitors, most recently in a battle lasting more than two years over which one would get state permission to build a cancer treatment unit. Pulaski won approval for that project in March.
Radford is affiliated with Carilion Health System, while the other two hospitals are owned by Health Care Corp. pls check on this-pjm
Pulaski hospital officials said Wednesday that their proposal with Montgomery makes more sense in terms of costs and number of beds, both factors the state would have to consider in making its decision.
"We believe there's a more cost-effective option for a facility in the Radford area than what has been proposed by our competition," said Pulaski Chief Executive Officer Chris Dux.
The joint 50-bed 100,000-square-foot facility is projected to cost $26 million. It would have its own administrative staff and 237 full-time equivalent positions, which means it would actually have more than that number of employees if some worked part-time.
Radford's proposed 255,000-square-foot relocated hospital would cost about $60 million.
"Our proposal is intended as an alternative to their proposal," said Kevin Meyer, marketing director at the Pulaski hospital.
Meyer said approval of the joint proposal would not affect Radford's existing 175-bed hospital. But he admitted it would probably halt Radford's new hospital project, which Radford's administrator has called necessary for the hospital's long-term survival.
The new project would take 25 beds each from those now state-approved for Pulaski and Montgomery. This would not affect the two hospitals, because they already are using fewer beds than the number for which they are approved.
"We've got 100 beds, between the hospitals, that we don't use," said Katie Kirk, human resources director at Pulaski Community. Pulaski is approved for 153 beds and has 95. Montgomery is approved for 146 beds, with about 90 in use. If there was an unexpected surge in numbers of patients, the hospitals would be allowed to build up to their state-approved maximum bed numbers but current patient numbers mean fewer beds are needed.
"We just believe it can be done on a smaller scale at less cost," Kirk said.
She said hospitals generally began seeing their beds being under-used during the past decade.
There has been more emphasis during that time on outpatient service, rather than admitting patients to hospitals. Incentives from Medicare, Medicaid and insurance companies have encouraged the less-expensive option of treatment without admission. Advances in medical and surgical techniques also have helped make it more feasible.
Plans for the proposed 50-bed hospital have been under discussion for several years but got their final touches in the past few weeks. Radford has been planning its move for more than five years.
A decision by the state on the two proposals could be more than a year away.
by CNB