Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Springs wants permission to expand in order to go to only private patient rooms.
Eileen Cahill, vice president of government and community relations at Holy Cross, says giving every patient a private room will help control the spread of infection and improve the hospital’s efficiency.
“That’s really where all health care is going — with pushing for private rooms,” Cahill said. “We can’t assign male and female patients to share rooms, so if you need to place a male patient from the emergency room, but only have a female room open, you’re kinda stuck.”
Hospital officials met with Silver Spring-area residents last fall to map out potential expansion plans. Residents say they’re largely happy with what the hospital hopes to do: build a new tower behind the hospital and put a garage on the east side of the building. The expansion must fit within the current site.
“The plan basically conforms with what we told them last fall, it is good they are considering our ideas upfront,” said Adam Pagnucco, incoming county government liaison for the Forest Estates Community Association. “They say they are bursting at the seams with patients … this is a hospital, a good thing, and we in the community want them to do well.”
Cahill said Holy Cross has seen a 15 percent increase in patients using its emergency room over the past year, due to the growing number of elderly and uninsured residents.
Holy Cross leaders have expressed concern about capacity if neighboring Washington Adventist Hospital is allowed to move to the Calverton/White Oak area. Cahill said the expansion is only to meet existing need, not prepare for Adventist’s move. Over the summer, Cahill says, the hospital will have cost analysis and civil engineering studies done to assess the feasibility of the expansion. The next step would be to apply for zoning permits and permission from the state hospital board.
