VCU news

By Erin Lucero
Office of Development, School of Medicine

Officials from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia Hospitals and Richmond Eye & Ear Hospital today (Jan. 6) announced plans to operate an ambulatory surgery center in Richmond’s Stony Point area. The center will be located near the existing MCV Physicians in the Park at Stony Point outpatient facility.

This partnership brings to fruition plans which began in 1992 by Richmond Eye & Ear Hospital to determine how it could best serve the needs of the greater Richmond metropolitan community.

"The success of our current Stony Point facility is evidence that our patients appreciate the convenience of having access to our physicians’ expertise at a suburban location serving both sides of the river," said Carl R. Fischer, chief executive officer of MCV Hospitals. "This opportunity allows us to expand the kinds of services that we offer to patients at this location."

The 25,000-square-foot surgery center will contain six operating rooms, four of which will be dedicated to ophthalmology and otolaryngology procedures.

"Advancements in medical technology and innovative surgical techniques, as well as managed care cost considerations, have all led to major reductions in procedures requiring an inpatient stay," said James W. Worrell, chief executive officer of Richmond Eye & Ear Hospital. "This partnership will help us continue to provide the type of services needed by our patients in a cost efficient manner."

When complete, the ambulatory surgery center, yet to be named, will be the area’s largest facility dedicated to ophthalmology and otolaryngology patient care and will offer the most current treatments available. There also are plans to expand services at the new center to include orthopedic, gynecological and pediatric general surgeries. A 10-member board of directors will be appointed for the center. A state certificate of need approval for the project has been secured.

The surgery center will be located in a medical office building to be developed by Brinkman MDC, a health-care facilities developer based in Charlottesville. MCV Hospitals and Richmond Eye & Ear Hospital will lease the surgery center space, which they will outfit and equip at an estimated cost of $7 million.

DPR Construction Inc. will begin groundbreaking for the new facility this spring and will take approximately one year to complete the building. The facility is being designed by the architectural firm of O’Dell & Associates. In 2001, Richmond Eye & Ear Hospital will move its entire operation to the Stony Point location, and MCV Hospitals will take possession of Richmond Eye & Ear Hospital’s current downtown facility.

"This surgery center will be a wonderful addition to the services that already are available at the Stony Point location," said Dr. Eugene P. Trani, VCU president and chairman of the MCV Hospitals Authority board of directors. "Today and in the future, medical centers must look for ways to deliver needed health-care services at multiple locations that are convenient to patients."

John Thomas West IV, chairman of the board of directors of Richmond Eye & Ear Hospital said, "The combination of resources from both highly respected institutions makes good business sense for our community." He added that Richmond Eye & Ear Hospital has offered its 60 licensed beds back to the commonwealth of Virginia, which will significantly help the state reduce excess hospital beds in the planning district.

The 700-bed MCV Hospitals is the largest medical center in the state. In 1999, it was ranked as one of the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report’s annual survey, "America’s Best Hospitals," which placed four of its specialty programs among the best in the United States.

Founded in 1952, Richmond Eye & Ear Hospital is the only eye specialty hospital in Central Virginia. With over 125 medical staff members, the hospital is dedicated to providing specialty care and surgical excellence to the community.