December 04, 2007

News Release

Washington Adventist Hospital Seeks Zoning Approval to Relocate Near White Oak to Improve Health-Care Services

Design Plans for 21^st Century Hospital Submitted in Special Exception Filing

Washington Adventist Hospital filed an application for a Special Exception with the Montgomery County Board of Appeals on Nov. 30, the first step in gaining the needed approvals to relocate the county’s oldest hospital from its small, congested campus in Takoma Park to a 48-acre parcel of land near White Oak. The replacement hospital campus is being created in order to preserve and expand access to health care for the communities served by the hospital.

The new location, approximately six miles from the current campus, is in the heart of Washington Adventist Hospital’s  primary service area with major interconnecting roads, making it more central and more accessible to the patients it serves throughout Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. The current hospital campus in Takoma Park is small, difficult for patients and ambulances to access, and does not allow for the amenities and services required for a 21^st century hospital.  The buildings that house the hospital services are inefficient, aging and crowded.

“This is an important development for health care in our region,” said Jere D. Stocks, President of Washington Adventist Hospital.  “We need a new facility on a larger, more accessible campus in order to remain viable for the long term and to ensure that patients in the communities we serve have access to the best possible health-care services.  This replacement hospital and health-care campus, linked with health-care and community services on our revitalized Takoma Park campus, will strengthen the region’s health-care safety net.”

The development of a replacement health-care campus and relocation of the hospital and the reuse of the Takoma Park campus is part of Washington Adventist Hospital’s Vision for Expanded Access, a multi-part initiative designed to improve the hospital’s ability to meet the growing needs of the community. 

As a part of its community outreach, the hospital has interviewed nearly 200 people in the communities it serves to develop ideas and consensus around the reuse of the Takoma Park campus.  The hospital will be sharing those reuse ideas with the community next year.

“The community needs Washington Adventist Hospital to be strong long term and this is an important and necessary development,” said Wilbur Malloy, a health-care advocate who serves as executive director of The People’s Community Wellness Center in Silver Spring.  “The hospital is committed to ensuring that all residents it serves, regardless of income status, have access to the best possible health-care services.”

In 2006, the hospital commissioned the Lewin Group, an experienced health-care consulting firm, to study the impact of the hospital’s relocation and the reuse of the Takoma Park campus.  The study was completed in October 2007 and is available online.

“Overall, geographic access will be improved by the move, as the new location will be closer to a higher proportion of Washington Adventist Hospital’s current service area population,”  the Lewin Group wrote in its report.

"Washington Adventist Hospital will be a valuable asset to the entire community.  The hospital’s relocation and its plan to provide the community with improved patient access to 21^st century health-care services were well received by the citizens of both Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, who live in the Calverton bi-county Community," said Daniel Epps, Jr., President of the Calverton Citizens Association, Inc.

In addition to applicable land use approval, the hospital also will seek state regulatory approval.

The replacement Washington Adventist Hospital campus will be developed into a full-service, tertiary-care facility with the same number of beds that exist at the current facility.  The site is conveniently located near Cherry Hill Road and Route 29, providing multiple means of access.

“Washington Adventist Hospital has been very open and forthright in communicating its plans with the community,” said Stuart Rochester, an active member of the Eastern Montgomery County community on land use and other local issues.  “I strongly support their plans.”

The replacement hospital will have private rooms, state-of-the-art equipment and technology, and more space for clinical services, including cardiac care, emergency medicine, oncology services, behavioral health care and other medical services. The new design also incorporates enhanced patient safety and improved visitor and patient flow throughout the facility.

As detailed in the Special Exception Application, the replacement campus will consist of a main hospital building; an ambulatory care building, which will house outpatient services that are currently difficult to provide at the Takoma Park campus due to space constraints; a proposed faith center; two medical office buildings and two parking structures.

The building and landscape designs are influenced by Washington Adventist Hospital’s faith-based healing mission.  The buildings will be designed to comply with applicable Montgomery County green building requirements, consistent with the hospital’s holistic approach to community health care, which focuses on the well-being of mind, body and spirit of patients, visitors and staff.

Geoffrey Morgan, Washington Adventist’s Vice President for Expanded Access, says, “We have been working, and will continue to work, closely with neighboring communities and groups as this process continues to ensure we provide them with improved access to health care and facilities which meet their needs. We encourage input because we want this access to 21^st century health care to be a great source of pride for the communities we serve.”

Washington Adventist Hospital  is a 294-bed acute-care facility located in Takoma Park, Maryland. Washington Adventist Hospital is Montgomery County’s first cardiac center, performing more than 500 open-heart surgeries and more than 6,000 heart catheterizations each year. Washington Adventist Hospital is part of Adventist HealthCare, an integrated health-care delivery system based in Rockville, Maryland, that is one of the largest employers in the state of Maryland. Adventist HealthCare includes Washington Adventist Hospital, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Potomac Ridge Behavioral Health, Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital of Maryland, Adventist Senior Living Services, Hackettstown Community Hospital and Adventist Home Health Services, the Reginald S. Lourie Center for Children and Infants and LifeWork Strategies.