Sentara's Virginia Beach hospital plan draws fresh criticism

Two hospital projects will receive a public airing Thursday, and one has raised new concerns in the local health-care community.

Bon Secours will ask state regulators for permission to reduce DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk from 238 beds to a 124-bed facility.

Sentara will ask to build a 200-bed Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in the southern part of Virginia Beach. Sentara received approval last March for a 120-bed hospital on its health campus in the Princess Anne area, while Bon Secours was denied approval for a 90-bed facility on its nearby campus.

The two health systems, however, announced in December they would collaborate on the larger hospital that would carry the Sentara name and be managed by the local health-care giant.

Chesapeake Regional Medical Center did not object to the earlier proposals for two separate projects in Princess Anne. Chris Mosley, hospital president and chief executive officer, said he now has reservations about Sentara's newest proposal, which he has expressed in letters to Sentara, Bon Secours and the state agencies that review "certificates of public need" for hospitals.

Mosley said he's concerned the shift toward a larger Sentara hospital will take patients from the Chesapeake hospital and damage competition.

"We provide choice for patients in the region, and we want that preserved," he said.

He said 18 percent of inpatient admissions at Chesapeake Regional come from Virginia Beach, as well as 10 percent of outpatient procedures and 9 percent of emergency room visits.

"We think there are good reasons for us to be concerned," Mosley said. "It doesn't support choice and it doesn't support competition. Even if there's a minority interest, Sentara will be the managing entity of this new hospital," he said.

Deb Anderson, senior planner with Sentara Healthcare, said the original plans from both Bon Secours and Sentara called for more beds than are now being proposed.

The collaboration, if approved, would enable Sentara to shift 158 beds from Sentara Bayside Hospital. The new Princess Anne proposal includes 160 medical-surgical beds, six pediatric beds, 16 obstetric beds and 18 intensive-care-unit beds. The hospital also would have eight operating rooms.

If approved, the facility is expected to be built by late 2010. Sentara would be the major player in a 70-30 percent partnership, and Bon Secours would participate on an advisory panel.

The two health systems would collaborate on some ancillary services on their campuses, which are 3.4 miles apart, but each campus would maintain its own outpatient surgical centers.

The collaboration would help Bon Secours strengthen its presence in the Princess Anne area but allow the health system more resources to replace its aging DePaul facility.

The DePaul Medical Center proposal has generated debate in the past, but its most recent submission has more community support.

Bon Secours had once proposed reducing the hospital to 64 beds, but revised that last year after an outcry from Norfolk residents.

The Bon Secours proposal calls for a 124-bed facility with 88 medical-surgical beds, 16 intensive-care-unit beds, and 20 beds in obstetrics.

The Eastern Virginia Health Systems Agency will make its decision on the proposals at a February meeting.

That recommendation will be forwarded to the state Department of Health for another review and fact-finding hearing.

The state health commissioner normally would make the final decision. But last year, Karen Remley recused herself from the decision on the proposals because she had worked for Sentara prior to her appointment as health commissioner.

Deputy state health commissioner James Burns made the decisions last March, and will this round too, according to a state health department spokeswoman.

Elizabeth Simpson, (757) 446-2635, elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com