The opponents to Washington Adventist Hospital’s planned move to White Oak will begin building their case Monday when a state commission kicks off scheduled hearings on whether the relocation is in the best interest of Maryland health care. Adventist says its move from its Takoma Park facilities constructed in the 1950s and ’70s to a 48-acre site near the new Food and Drug Administration campus would be an economic boon to Eastern Montgomery County and allow it to provide better services to more patients.
The hospital’s parent, Adventist HealthCare, released a report last week concluding the relocation would support 4,700 jobs in the area and pump $630.8 million into the economy in 2015 after it opened.
But those opposed, which include nearby Holy Cross Hospital, Laurel Regional Hospital and Montgomery General Hospital, disagree. They plan to show the Maryland Health Care Commission that Adventist would be better served by expanding on its existing site. The proposed move as a centerpiece of Montgomery County’s planned East County Science Center would place it outside the Capital Beltway and closer to its competitors.
The hospital’s Takoma Park location would remain open after the move as an urgent and primary care facility.
Architect Philip Tobey submitted testimony on behalf of Holy Cross with an expansion plan he devised based on a 2005 expansion plan that Adventist has scrapped. Tobey has consulted on Sibley Memorial Hospital’s and Holy Cross’ expansions.
He argues an expansion — rather than a renovation as planned in 2005 before the decision to move to White Oak — would provide the service Adventist wants.
“Building new construction in order to accommodate projected expansion is often more efficient, less disruptive, and more cost effective than attempting to renovate existing facilities,” he said.
But Adventist President Joyce Portela said in her testimony the Takoma Park site’s acreage is too limited for all the planned additions, including more offices for medical staff. Plus, a building expansion would force operating rooms to shut down and impair their cardiac program.
“Years of construction would affect a program that already faces disruption in operations from the current physical environment,” she said.
Meanwhile, Laurel Regional submitted testimony arguing it will lose patients if Adventist relocates three miles closer to it. Consultant Andrew Solberg estimated that Laurel would lose at least 614 admissions annually to Adventist.
The commission is responsible for issuing Adventist’s certificate of need for the relocation. All major local traffic and land approvals already have been obtained.
