Riverside Health System has submitted a formal application for a Certificate of Public Need (COPN) to construct Doctors Hospital of Williamsburg as the third stage of a medical campus planned for the Peninsula-based health care system’s Quarterpath property in Williamsburg. Construction is slated to begin shortly on a long-term care facility (stage one), followed by development of physicians offices (stage two). If approved, Doctors Hospital could open as early as 2012.
David Tate, Riverside senior vice president of development, said the new hospital is designed especially to serve the needs of the rapidly increasing 50–plus population in the Williamsburg area.
“Not only is Greater Williamsburg area the fastest growing part of the Peninsula, a large percentage of that growth is among older segments of the population who have the greatest need for comprehensive health care services,” Tate said.
He added that the highest concentration of the 50-plus population is in neighborhoods closest to the proposed site for Doctors Hospital.
Two Hospitals for Williamsburg
“We believe two hospitals for the Williamsburg area will provide the benefits of healthy competition, needed choice for patients and physicians, and easier access to health care for currently underserved parts of the community,” he said.
Tate said that Doctors Hospital has overwhelming support in the Williamsburg area. “Research shows that three-fourths of area residents believe in the need for two hospitals. In 2006, almost 1,800 citizens wrote letters or signed petitions of support for Doctors Hospital. We sense that the level of support is even stronger now,” he said.
Doctors Hospital will include 30 medical/surgical beds, 10 ICU/CCU and 20 observation beds, plus seven-day, 24-hour emergency services (including a heliport) and a full range of diagnostic services for cardiac, oncology, pulmonary and neurological care.
Related:
