Frozen ground broken for new Washington County hospital
Freezing rain forces officials to improvise ceremony inside

By JOSHUA BOWMAN - joshua.bowman@herald-mail.com

WASHINGTON COUNTY — Freezing rain seemed like a small hurdle Wednesday for Washington County Health System officials, who were determined to hold the groundbreaking for their new hospital despite bad weather.

Instead of a traditional ceremony at the construction site, the Health System improvised a mock groundbreaking inside Robinwood Medical Center.

Officials held shovels while a video of a bulldozer digging at the site was broadcast behind them.

Health System President and CEO James Hamill said the inconvenience was relatively minor.

"We're having a problem with the rain. That's OK. It's not like we haven't had issues before with this thing," said Hamill, referring to nearly two years of legal challenges that delayed progress for the new hospital on Robinwood Drive.

About 200 people attended Wednesday's event, which kicked off construction of a new 496,000-square-foot hospital near Robinwood Medical Center.

The Washington County Regional Medical Center will replace the Health System's current hospital on East Antietam Street in Hagerstown.

Hamill said the $275 million project is scheduled to be finished in late 2010.

The new hospital will have 297 single-bed rooms, 17 operating rooms, 53 emergency treatment rooms, two trauma rooms and two cardiac treatment rooms, according to a fact sheet provided by Health System officials.

The current hospital has 274 beds and no single rooms, Health System Spokeswoman Maureen Theriault said.

It has been five years since the Health System proposed plans for a new hospital.

Those plans were delayed when, in January 2006, a group of Robinwood-area residents appealed zoning variances for the project.

Hospital opponents argued that the area was inappropriate for the facility.

When the variances were upheld in circuit court, opponents challenged the ruling in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

That challenge and a subsequent appeal were rejected.

Since the initial proposal in 2003, the estimated cost of the hospital project has risen $88 million.

Of the project's current $275 million cost, the hospital will pay about $20 million, Hamill said. The rest will be raised through bonds issued by the state, Hamill said.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, so does anybody have an inclination of what the plans are for the current hospital facility are? It would be a shame if the building just sat their empty. Of course, there is plenty of time for the county to find a buyer for it. I just want it to be put to good use.

Why would the county need to find a buyer for it?

I recall that several years ago, at least, there was a plan for a new baseball stadium, convention center, and improved housing in this area. It was all contingent upon the hospital moving to the new location. It seems that the old hospital is on government owned land, which would be provided, theoretically, for the redevelopment project, thus keeping some costs down. Income from the hotel tax would provide additional funding. Land now occupied by the old motel portion of the Venice Inn would also have been part of this.

Anyway, there was a draft master plan of sorts for this area on the east side. It was proposed and/or sponsored by the current owners of the Suns. Of course, negotiations concerning the hospital move dragged on for years, and this plan seemed to fade away. But I wonder if it might come back in some form?

One thing I believe is certain. There needs to be a plan to address reutilization of property currently occupied by the hospital, taking into account significant short term and long term needs of the community. Maybe such a plan already exists??

Were going to need a nice place for our aging population. Make a good cost effective "old folks home".

Not a bad idea! It would seem to be setup quite nicely for just such a function. Maybe even some of the medical facilities could remain in place. This would certainly reduce the high costs of transporting senior citizens from nursing homes to medical facilities. Might be a promising use.

Agree: the space should be recycled into usable space. There are limits or issues on what would be appropriate and cost effective. I am sure the powers that be would need to assess if it would be cheaper and more effective to raze the site or recycle the building or skeleton of the structure. Hopefully, we will learn of many possibilities. There are many ways to involve the public sans additional long court battles. I look forward to learning about creative solutions.

I mention senior or disability services since it was thrown into the discussion. I imagine the site has many other possible uses. If focusing on senior or medical options for the space, there is the issue of institutional vs community based care for special populations. Especially if the focus is residential. I see a mixed usage of the space.

A large structure like the old hospital could be viewed as more institutional and warehousing vs more normalizing and less expensive care options. Currently, there are guidelines and regulations to ensure adequate care for special populations. They also take cost and quality of care into consideration. I would imagine a lot of factors would come into play re: recycling the space. I look forward to hearing about innovative and practical usage of the space. It could be a daunting task, but worth the effort.