Letter to the Editor: Second Hospital Needed

Sunday, April 27, 2008

I have lived and worked in Loudoun County for many years. I have watched the county triple in size and businesses slowly move here to take care of the needs of the growing population.

Loudoun is no longer merely a bedroom community for Washington. Yet, we are the only county in Northern Virginia that does not have at least two hospitals. We have plenty of veterinarians, car repair shops, builders, retail and more. The only thing we lack is hospital care and doctors. So why is there any question about granting HCA’s special exception request to build Broadlands Regional Medical Center?

During my 12 years on the Loudoun County Planning Commission, I watched as Loudoun Hospital was rebuilt at Lansdowne. At that time, I told them the best place for a hospital would be right off the Dulles Greenway, which was being planned.

The greenway is still the best access point for the county and is the center of current and planned residential units. HCA has a certificate of need from the state health commissioner to build Broadlands Regional Medical Center at Exit 4 along the greenway.

We Loudouners deserve the best health care possible, and that requires more hospital access, more competition and more doctors. The opportunity is within our grasp. It is simply a land-use decision, and the county planning staff said Broadlands Regional Medical Center met all the special exception criteria the first time through the process. We need this hospital now.

Over time I have developed some health issues that required hospitalization, physician specialists and treatment from other types of health-care providers. You don’t really know that we don’t have the breadth and depth of hospital and health-care services we deserve in Loudoun until you need them.

I had to go outside the county for my care, and I would have rather stayed close to home so my wife did not have to travel so far to be with me.

Broadlands Regional Medical Center is long overdue.

John Stowers, Lovettsville

Tagged: Letter to the Editor

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