If the recently announced partnership between Loudoun Healthcare Inc. and Inova Health System sounds like just another Dulles corridor high-powered merger to you, you may want to take another look. For Middleburg residents, this merger has teeth. With the new partnership between the county's hospital system and major Northern Virginia health system Inova comes very good news for Middleburg. One of three proposed new community health centers will be built here, as well as in Purcellville and Lovettsville, to more conveniently serve western Loudoun County.

Mark Tate, owner of The Coach Stop and former vice-mayor of Middleburg, has been instrumental in bringing the new health center to Middleburg. Mr. Tate claims to be "very, very excited about this great opportunity for our citizens," stating that the Middleburg area has long been underserved in terms of medical personnel. He says that for too long the closest hospital has been 40 minutes from town, and, because of the county's growth, it only makes sense for health care to be more accessible.

The Middleburg community health center will provide primary care as well as diagnostic services. This means more doctors and better emergency care closer to you. So those 40-minute drives to Lansdowne in the middle of the night because your child broke her finger will be history.

Mr. Tate calls the initiative to bring better, more convenient healthcare to western Loudoun "generous," and he looks forward to working with the new partnership. He anticipates that the healthcare group will not waste any time breaking ground on the new initiative. While he can't say exactly where the new center will be built, he does say that he and the town will work closely with Loudoun Healthcare and Inova to "find what's best for the town" in terms of placement.

The people of Middleburg may welcome a new health facility, but what is the real reason behind the expansion of Loudoun Healthcare? Tony Raker, Director of Community Relations for Loudoun Healthcare Inc., says, "The Middleburg community has had limited health care services available in its immediate area. The sites themselves are designed to provide immediate access to primary and some appropriately planned acute care for issues ranging from bumps and bruises to very treatable illnesses, cuts, breaks, etc. It will also act as a triage point where more serious cases may be stabilized and transferred to a hospital for more specialized care. We were very pleased that the mayors proved enthusiastic and recommended adoption {of the plan} by the Board of Supervisors."

Rodney Huebbers, president and CEO of Loudoun Healthcare, Inc. commented, "Our vision is to build a hospital system designed for many tomorrows, and one that is within reach of every single resident of Loudoun County."

And those residents are growing in number by the day. The county's population grew 30% between 2000 and 2003, with some of those new residents cropping up in the western part of the county, and Loudoun healthcare was not able to keep up with the newly burgeoning population. So the idea of the community health center arose to serve as a point of contact between residents and Loudoun Healthcare. Inova, the biggest healthcare provider in Northern Virginia, jumped at the chance to help Loudoun expand its services in this way.