Southside Regional Medical Center in Virginia Loses CON Appeal for Open-Heart Surgery

Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg, Va., has lost an appeal contesting the denial of a certificate of public need to offer open-heart surgery, according to a Progress-Index report.

The hospital filed a COPN application to provide open-heart surgery in July 2008. Chippenham Johnston-Willis Medical Center in Richmond, Va., operated by Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America, had opposed the COPN on the grounds that the service would siphon patients away from its open-heart surgery program.

While the Central Virginia Health Planning Agency and the Department of Health's Division of Certificate of Public Need recommended partial conditional approval of the project and the state health commissioner's adjudication officer recommended approval, the application was denied in June 2009 by the commissioner. State Health Commissioner Karen Remley said SRMC's program would reduce utilization of nearby hospitals' open-heart surgery programs. She also noted that SRMC had staff vacancies and unused surgical capacity — indicating potential difficulty recruiting and retaining staff for the program — and there was no demonstrated need in the community.

SRMC appealed the decision to the Petersburg Circuit Court, which upheld the denial. The hospital then appealed to the Court of Appeals, which has also upheld the denial, based on the availability of the service in nearby districts and what it considered to be unlikely volume projections for the service by SRMC. Mike Yungmann, CEO of SRMC, said the Petersburg health planning district does not have any hospitals that offer open-heart surgery, and the community's need is increasing. He also said many residents have to travel one hour or more to access open-heart surgery in the Richmond area, according to the report.

The hospital plans to reapply for the COPN this July.

More Articles on Certificates of Need:

South Carolina Reverses Hilton Head Hospital's CON Denial
Cone Health Plans to Submit New Application for NC Surgery Center

New Hampshire House Votes to Exempt Specialty Hospitals From CON Process

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