Bon Secours gets approval for replacement DePaul hospital

NORFOLK

Plans to replace Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center with a 124-bed hospital at the same location received final state approval, Bon Secours announced Thursday.

The development solidified a compromise between Bon Secours Hampton Roads and city leaders, who have worked together on the project after disagreeing less than two years ago about the aging hospital's future.

At one point, Bon Secours had proposed reducing its size to 30 to 60 beds, but city officials insisted that a larger hospital was needed.

"This is enormous good news," said Mayor Paul Fraim. "At one time,

people were forecasting the demise of DePaul Hospital. This is a complete turnaround in approach to their role in Norfolk."

The Virginia state health commissioner's office authorized a plan for a new 300,000 - square-foot, full-service hospital on the DePaul campus.

The $200 million facility would replace the 66-year-old hospital building and would be completed in late 2014.

It is to include larger private rooms, better-designed nursing units and new equipment, said Michael K. Kerner, CEO of Bon Secours Hampton Roads.

Bon Secours also anticipates renovating or replacing at least two medical office buildings on the campus within 10 to 15 years, said Kerner. He estimated their cost to be about $75 million each.

DePaul has made strides since 2007, when its future was uncertain, company officials said.

The hospital lost $12 million between fall 2007 and summer 2008 but made $900,000 beyond its costs the next year, said Lynne Zultanky, a Bon Secours spokeswoman. In that time period, the number of surgical procedures performed at DePaul increased by 200 to 5,500 and the number of emergency-room visits rose to 42,000 from 38,000, Zultanky said.

DePaul revived by focusing on bringing physicians back, Kerner said. The hospital hired 70 new nurses and made plans to upgrade, replace or purchase equipment for C T scans, radiation therapy and catheterization. They renovated the emergency room and a 32-bed unit of private rooms.

"DePaul's always had a very good reputation," Kerner said. "What we're doing now is bringing the facilities up to the level that the care has been."

Under the new plan, the hospital would shrink from its current 238 beds to 124. Kerner said healthier people and medical advances add up to fewer hospital stays. However, the bed count may be altered in coming years if trends in patient admissions show a need, he said.

About 34 of DePaul's allotted patient beds will be transferred to a hospital under construction near Princess Anne and Dam Neck roads in Virginia Beach, Zultanky said. The hospital, which has state approval for 154 beds, is a joint venture between Bon Secours and Sentara Healthcare. It's scheduled to open in 2011.

Kerner said the DePaul plans show Bon Secours' commitment to continuing the hospital's "almost 155-year tradition of providing care to the people of Norfolk," he said. "We're excited that this is on the horizon."

Pilot reporter Harry Minium contributed to this report.

Amy Jeter, (757) 446-2730, amy.jeter@pilotonline.com