DATE: Saturday, October 11, 1997            TAG: 9710110482

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS 

DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS                      LENGTH:   31 lines

HUD TAKES CONTROL OF NEWPORT NEWS GENERAL HOSPITAL

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has taken control of Newport News General Hospital and plans to sell the facility rather than reopen it.

HUD officials and local leaders say they're committed to reviving Newport News General as a health care or community center, though no one suggested returning it to a full-fledged hospital.

Newport News General closed Aug. 26, and HUD has started foreclosing on the mortgage. In the meantime, HUD will pay for security and repairs, and will restore its utilities and maintain its insurance and patient records. That's the result of an agreement, signed by HUD and the hospital's board, that went into effect Friday. The Rev. Lawrence Bethel, a hospital board member, said the board voluntarily took that step to ensure Newport News General would be kept in good condition as the foreclosure proceeds. ``We're trying to keep good faith.''

Bethel said he doesn't see Newport News General reopening as a hospital. ``I think it will end up as some kind of specialized medical care or a nursing home.''

HUD officials said they have received inquiries about Newport News General from Riverside Health System and Mary Immaculate Hospital, as well as community groups interested in using it for health care.

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