Charlottesville Region’s Three Hospitals Provide Convenient, Top-Quality Care
Charlottesville’s trio of health care systems is forging ahead with programs to bring new and better services to patients and their families.
“Even as we rise to the challenge of weathering an economic downturn, we will need to grow to be competitive and successful in the future,” says R. Edward Howell, vice president and chief executive officer at the University of Virginia Medical Center. “This means continuing our investments in the people and facilities we need to remain a leader in health care. And it also requires an increased focus on building wisely, selectively investing in the programs and relationships that offer long-term value and place us in a position of strength. That’s smart growth.”
University of Virginia Medical Center
UVA Medical Center is in the midst of an expansion that will add 72 beds by 2011, bringing the total in-patient capacity to approximately 575. Meanwhile, work continues on a long-term acute care facility in Northridge and an expansion at the Moser Radiation Therapy Center.
Quality is a tradition at UVA, long considered one of the top-ranked medical centers in the country. That tradition continued in 2009 with U.S. News and World Report naming the center’s endocrinology, cancer and ear-nose-and-throat departments as among the nation’s best. Fewer than 4 percent of the nation’s hospitals appeared in one or more of the category rankings.
UVA’s dedication to excellence extends outside the walls of the medical center, as well.
The UVA-WorkMed initiative helps corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations by providing on-site services ranging from drug screenings to executive wellness programs.
Martha Jefferson Hospital
Founded in 1903, Martha Jefferson Hospital sets the standard for quality care with a personal touch. The 176-bed, nonprofit community hospital in downtown Charlottesville treats some 9,300 in-patients each year, and its obstetrical teams attend more than 1,700 births annually.
In 2003, a new outpatient center opened on a 242-acre campus on Peter Jefferson Parkway two miles from the main hospital. The new site is better situated to handle the hospital’s growing number of out-patients and will gradually become the location for all new hospital facilities.
Martha Jefferson is the only independent community hospital in Virginia that serves as a Nurse Magnet Center, a designation of excellence from the American Nurses Association.
Culpeper Regional Hospital
Culpeper Regional Hospital is a 70-bed hospital serving residents of Culpeper, Va., northeast of Charlottesville. The hospital offers comprehensive services, including emergency care, a family birth center, home health, hospice and a cancer center with chemotherapy treatments, wig and prosthesis fittings, counseling, and more. The Powell Wellness Center offers a pool for exercise and hydrotherapy sessions, as well as state-of-the-art cardiovascular and strength-training equipment.
Culpeper Regional Hospital has recently entered into an agreement with UVA Medical Center in which UVA will invest $40 million in the community hospital in return for 49 percent ownership. The partnership was designed to allow Culpeper to expand its services and further extend UVA’s patient base.
Story by Renee Elder
Photo by Antony Boshier
