ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512180020
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
Construction has gotten started on a 10,500-square-foot cancer treatment center at Pulaski Community Hospital.
The center is expected to draw patients from Pulaski, Montgomery, Floyd, Wythe, Carroll, Giles and part of Smyth counties and the cities of Radford and Galax. Cancer patients from this area must now travel to Roanoke, Salem, Richlands or Bristol, Tenn., for treatment.
Ground was broken on the project last week, despite snow having blanketed the area. The only concession made to the weather was that the ground-breaking ceremony was held under a tent.
The cost of the center was projected at $2.79 million when competing applications for a state certificate were filed by Pulaski Community and Radford Community hospitals.
Although the Southwest Virginia Health Systems Agency in 1993 recommended that the project go to Pulaski, it asked both hospitals to see if they could work out a joint project. The hospitals were unable to reach an agreement, and both made presentations as to why their project should be chosen at a fact-finding hearing in Richmond in 1994.
Meanwhile, Wythe County Community Hospital in Wytheville joined the competition with a proposal backed by the Radford hospital and Twin County Community in Galax and Giles Memorial in Pearisburg. But Acting State Health Commissioner Donald Stern ended up choosing the Pulaski proposal early this year.
Since then, the Radford and Pulaski hospitals have clashed on another project. Radford wants to replace its existing 175-bed hospital with a more modern 97-bed facility, costing $61.7 million. Pulaski and its sister hospital, Montgomery Regional, responded with a proposal to give up some beds and build a $26 million, 50-bed hospital in Radford.
Both projects recognize that there are more hospital beds in the New River Valley than are generally used.
The hospitals have been able to cooperate on some projects, such as helping to fund a new emergency medical transportation program in Pulaski County combining paid staff with volunteer rescue squads.
Radford is part of the Carilion Health System. Pulaski and Montgomery belong to Columbia/HCA Healthcare.
After Pulaski got the commissioner's go-ahead on the cancer center, its parent company, HealthTrust Inc., merged with Columbia/HCA, which delayed the start of the project until now. It was not until the end of November that the capital allocation was made for the project by the new company.
The project is scheduled for completion next fall.
LENGTH: Medium: 53 linesby CNB