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Stafford Hospital Center has received state permission to open a cardiac cath lab Date published: 11/5/2009
BY JIM HALL MediCorp Health System has been cleared to open a new heart service at Stafford Hospital Center. MediCorp will spend about $550,000 for the necessary equipment and plans to open Stafford Hospital's first cardiac cath lab in January. The new lab expands the scope of services at the hospital and means that Stafford residents will be able to get treatments closer to home. Currently, patients who need treatment at a cath lab must travel to Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg or other hospitals. "It brings care to their community," Stafford Hospital Administrator Cathy Yablonski said. State approval for the lab came last Thursday over the objection of HCA, the company building the new Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center in Massaponax. HCA opposed MediCorp's plan throughout the approval process. It argued that the Fredericksburg area doesn't need another cath lab, given the number of procedures done here. Mary Washington has three cath labs and expects to do about 4,500 procedures this year. Spotsylvania Regional also will have a cath lab when it opens in June. The state requires a health care provider to obtain a "certificate of public need" before adding a major service, such as a cath lab. State regulations say that existing and approved cath labs in a region should average 1,200 procedures a year before adding a new one. HCA representatives have argued since June that with 4,500 procedures and four labs, the Fredericksburg area does not meet the standard. In her decision last week, Dr. Karen Remley, state health commissioner, said a new cath lab is warranted because of the growth in Fredericksburg area and the increase in the number of cath procedures being done here. An HCA spokesman said yesterday that the company has not decided whether to appeal her ruling. "We're still discussing internally the commissioner's decision and what it means," Mark Foust said. The Stafford Hospital Center lab will be located on the first floor of the building in the interventional radiology suite. Physicians from the two cardiology groups that work at the hospital, Virginia Cardiovascular Con-sultants and Virginia Cardiovascular Care, will do the procedures. At the start, they will do scheduled procedures only during normal business hours, Yablonski said. Heart attack patients who would benefit from treatment in a cath lab will continue to be transferred to Mary Washington's lab, she said. Jim Hall: 540/374-5433
I was transported to the Stafford Hospital early Oct and needed the cardiac cath procedure immediately. Of course, I had to be further transported to MWH for the procedure. Look how much time was wasted because of the profit takers decision to keep it in their own back yard.Come on guys, give us northern Stafford residents a break and back off.
Kudos to the state for making the right decision and not caving in to the crass profit-driven objections of HCA. Because of the unique traffic conditions in the area, Stafford hospital should be allowed to offer a full range of medical services to those of us who live here, despite the objections of Medicorp's competitors.
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