News at War Memorial Hospital

26 Feb 2007

HOSPITAL HAPPENINGS
By John Borg, President

Since the announcement that War Memorial Hospital has purchased land for a new hospital, we have received many positive comments about the property purchase. We have also been asked a few questions regarding the location and access to the property. Since you may have some of the same questions, here are the answers to some of these questions.

How much land has been purchased?
War Memorial has purchased 80.5 acres, of which approximately 30 acres will be used for the hospital campus. The remaining land will be used as a buffer zone.

Where is the property located?
The property is located along the west side of Fairview Drive, approximately 1.5 miles from the current hospital.

How much did the land cost?
The Hospital paid a little more than $1.4 million for the property.

How will the Hospital pay for the land?
War Memorial has secured a loan from Valley Health to pay for the property. Hospital revenues will be used to pay back the loan during the next eight years.

What’s the next step?
Now that property has been obtained, the design and financial planning processes can proceed. After these planning steps are completed, War Memorial must apply for and receive a Certificate of Need (CON) for a new hospital from the State of West Virginia.

When will construction of a new facility begin?
The goal is to break ground for a new facility sometime in 2008. Construction of a new facility is estimated to take 12-18 months.

How much will it cost to build a new facility?
A new facility is estimated to cost between $15-30 million. After the design is finalized, a more definite building cost will be established.

What will happen to the existing hospital once a new facility is built?
As owners of the current hospital and property, the Morgan County Commission will decide how the existing facilities and property will be used after a new hospital is built.

Why was the property on Fairview Drive chosen?
Because we are federally designated as a Critical Access Hospital, we had some restrictions on how far we could relocate the hospital from its present location. Of the several locations considered, the Fairview Drive property was the best piece of land available.

How will we affect the residential housing near us?
The effect on residential housing and our new neighbors will be less than on our present neighbors. The present hospital is located on approximately 13 acres of land. We bought 80.5 acres of land on Fairview Drive. We will be using only 20 to 25 acres of land, including the buildings and parking, which will provide about 50 acres for a nice buffer space and prevent interference with the activity of the local residents.

What kind of water and sewer services are in place?
Water and sewer services are available at the Fairview Drive location. Since we are currently users of both services, relocating the hospital will not affect our utilization of water and sewer services.

Will Fairview Drive be widened to accommodate the emergency vehicles?
Fairview Drive is already a State road and complies with all necessary widths and rights-of-way. Emergency vehicles already use Fairview Drive when servicing the community.

How will helicopter and ambulance sirens be controlled?
Presently, ambulances do not approach our hospital or Fairview Drive with sirens going. Sirens are usually only used on main highways unless there is an unusual circumstance. Fairview Drive is already a flight path for helicopters approaching the present hospital so there should be no additional noise. Again, we have a very large buffer zone and the amount of air traffic is less than five flights per month.

If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask us. We will update you periodically as we move forward with plans for our new hospital.