ON MARCH 31, 2004, Loudoun Healthcare filed an amendment to Loudoun County's Comprehensive Plan to create a countywide healthcare system development plan that includes three hospitals and five health care centers. Loudoun County should adopt a formal healthcare facilities planning strategy as part of its overall Comprehensive Plan to ensure equal access to health care for its citizens, while ensuring strategic distribution of health care services to encourage sophisticated acute and tertiary service development.

There are five compelling reasons for this amendment:

1. Without formal planning guidance, healthcare facilities will develop in an ad hoc manner without adequately serving citizens in the south, west and northwestern portions of the County.

2. Inadequate healthcare facilities planning at the local level prevents growth of essential and sophisticated treatment services within the County by artificially escalating costs for citizens, and retarding growth at existing healthcare facilities.

3. Comprehensive Planning guidance adopted by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors (Section 15.1-2232 of the Code of Virginia, 1950) advises that local governments should include hospitals in local Comprehensive Plans.

4. The Virginia General Assembly in 2004 passed a law stating that state health care planners should give more weight to local governments in determination of development of healthcare facilities in their areas.

5. Loudoun County has the skills, talents, resources and abilities to make its own healthcare facilities decisions without directives from Richmond planners, who focus on larger regional needs often to the detriment of Loudoun County and local citizens.

What a countywide healthcare system development plan can address, prevent, and accomplish:

• A Comprehensive Plan amendment addresses proper land use, future locations, and timing of construction to ensure adequate health care access for all Loudoun County citizens.

• Hospital facilities placed in the wrong location today without proper planning will block the potential for other facilities to develop in under-served County locations for many years to come.

• In addition to existing healthcare facilities, this amendment proposes location identification for three hospitals in, Leesburg, Lansdowne, and in the County's South Dulles District. Five new Community Health Care Centers, which are community based outpatient healthcare facilities in Lovettsville, Purcellville/Round Hill, Middleburg and Sterling; and, a Special Medical Facility at Washington Dulles International Airport.

There are three primary goals of this proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment:

1. Create a continuum of quality and compassionate health care for all citizens of Loudoun County.

2. Geographically distribute inpatient and outpatient services.

3. Strategic placement of hospitals to encourage distinct, sophisticated acute and tertiary services.

"The Virginia General Assembly cites a need for counties to include hospitals in their Comprehensive Plans," Rod Huebbers, President and CEO of Loudoun Healthcare, said. "In effect, this proposal puts control of placement of health care services under control of County Supervisors instead of leaving it to Richmond. Fire, rescue and the County's Human Resource department all have well defined planning – why shouldn't health care? We have always said we need more health care services. We believe our County planners and Supervisors know best how to ensure that those services best meet the needs of our growing community."