Broadlands Regional Medical Center Zoning Application Recommended for Approval by Loudoun Planning Staff

Reston, Virginia, September 7, 2008 – Broadlands Regional Medical Center (BRMC) has passed another important milestone in its approval process and is now one step closer to becoming a reality.

On Friday, the Loudoun County Planning Department Staff endorsed plans by HCA Virginia to build the 164-bed hospital on a 57-acre site at the intersection of the Dulles Greenway and Belmont Ridge Road (Route 659). In recommending BRMC’s zoning application for approval, the county’s planning staff concluded that the proposed hospital is consistent with the land use policies of Loudoun’s Revised General Plan as well as its Health Care CPAM (Comprehensive Plan Amendment) policies.

“We’re extremely pleased that the county’s professional planners have confirmed that BRMC meets Loudoun’s land use guidelines and zoning criteria,” said Margaret Lewis, President of HCA’s Capital Division, with offices in Reston and Richmond. “Loudoun families have been vocal in their support of this hospital; they understand that it will significantly improve their access to expert medical care and give them a choice in providers. The positive findings of the planning staff clearly show that we’ve selected the correct and appropriate location for the county’s next hospital.”

In its report, the planning department reached several notable conclusions:

• BRMC includes proffers for ‘significant transportation improvements’ that ensure the completion of four lanes on Route 659 from the Dulles Greenway south to Brambleton.
• BRMC’s landscape buffers will help substantially screen the hospital from existing and planned neighborhoods on Broadlands Boulevard and Route 659.
• BRMC will generate no more vehicle trips on existing and planned roads than would two already-approved office developments (Fallen Willow Farm and Broadlands Office Park).
• BRMC will be located farther from residential areas than Inova’s existing facilities at Lansdowne and Cornwall

BRMC has been planned to accommodate the community’s needs, including those along Route 50 area, and its development doesn’t preclude the county’s consideration of other proposals for medical facilities along that corridor, in Leesburg or other underserved areas.

HCA Virginia has also pledged to provide walking trails, bus shelters, trees and additional landscaping, storm water management features, energy and water efficiency equipment and other improvements when building the hospital.

Virginia’s Commissioner of Health approved the construction of Broadlands Regional Medical Center in March 2004, citing Loudoun County’s explosive population growth and a shortage of hospital beds and services. The 392,000 square foot facility is approved for 164 total beds, including 12 obstetrical beds, 16 intensive care beds and 40 child-adolescent psychiatric beds. The facility will also have a 24/7 Emergency Department, seven operating rooms, and a cardiac catheterization lab. In June, HCA Virginia and Children’s National Medical Center announced that they will collaborate on designing, equipping, and preparing BRMC to offer the highest-quality pediatric services available in a community hospital setting.

The next step in the land use approval process for BRMC will occur September 25, during a public hearing held by the Loudoun Planning Commission.

HCA Virginia is the commonwealth’s most comprehensive healthcare network with two dozen locally managed hospitals and outpatient centers in Central, Southwestern and Northern Virginia, including Reston Hospital Center and outpatient surgery centers in Reston and Fairfax. Construction is now underway on Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, a 126-bed facility that will be located south of Fredericksburg. HCA Virginia is one of the state's largest employers and healthcare providers, providing approximately $100 million in free charity care to needy patients and paying $100 million in taxes each year.