Loudoun County citizens need more services of almost every kind to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population of young families and hospital services are among the most critical elements in a truly resilient service infrastructure. Inova, the new owner of Loudoun's Lansdowne Hospital and Medical Center, is keeping its promise to deliver greater quality, quantity and diversity of medical care, according to Pat Walters, Executive Vice President of Inova Health System and Interim CEO of the organization.

"We have increased and improved our Pediatric Emergency Services to provide 24-hour care, we now have 155 beds and we will soon offer 25 new intensive care units and 16 new regular beds," Vice President of Strategy and Development David Goldberg said. "We don't have to turn anyone away from our ER, ER support, obstetric or new and neonatal services."

"Last year we served 49% of the county's inpatient admissions," according to Goldberg who explained that the remaining 51% leave the county for services due to physician location and privileges, proximity to other hospitals, access and geography, services offered and EMS transport.

Many Loudoun citizens were shocked when Inova decided to fight to keep Hospital Corporation of America {HCA Broadlands} from building a second hospital on The Greenway to serve Loudoun, but both executives emphasized that, although there is need for a second hospital, they believe The Greenway is the wrong location.

"We oppose the Greenway location because it will overbed Eastern Loudoun. Dulles South is where the need exists," according to Pat Walters.

Both executives underscore the differences between services offered by Inova, a not-for-profit organization, and HCA, a for-profit company.

"We are proud to have organized our services to be able to respond positively to pre-natal and maternity patients who do not have healthcare," Pat said. We are effectively owned by the community and we must serve every citizen with quality staff and services. Last year HCA's Reston Hospital served 15 women without insurance who required pediatric services, we served 400."

"Inova provided Loudoun with $6.5 million of charitable care last year and we provided $60 million of charitable care across the system," Goldberg said.

Inova Loudoun's plans for the county include a community health center in Dulles South to open during the first quarter of 2007 and for advanced cancer care, heart and pediatrics as they scale up their services to meet community needs. The new Inova campus planned for the Shockey property between Routes 50 and 15 will include medical offices, a medical campus and, eventually, a hospital facility.

The primary care facility Inova's directors plan for Middleburg is on hold until they find an appropriate building to lease.

"We were confident we had the perfect space to lease in Middleburg for our new facility, but there are issues about the access and egress on the property," according to Goldberg. "But we are committed to open primary care facilities in Middleburg and in Lovettsville," he continued.

Pat, whose entire career has been in healthcare, responded emphatically to a question about the county's emergency preparedness and the hospital's ability to meet the needs of Loudoun citizens and individuals from Washington, D.C. in case of an attack.

"The Northern Virginia Healthcare Alliance receives federal funding to support emergency services for the entire region," he said.

"We are very well-equipped with supplies, beds and staff for an emergency. We can quickly double our Lansdowne emergency and ICU staff with a complement of specially trained doctors who can observe patients both real-time and over our new electronic systems. We can flex our hospitals quickly in any situation to care for our community."

"I grew up in Springfield and have been in this area in the healthcare services sector for my entire career," Pat concluded.

"We are dedicated to Loudoun County's health and well being in all circumstances."