Martha Jefferson Hospital set to complete move to new facility

A new dawn arises today for patients and staff at Martha Jefferson Hospital.

By the end of the day, every patient will have been moved into the new $295 million, state-of-the-art facility on Pantops Mountain, and lights will go out at the location where the community hospital has served residents for 107 years.

It’s a bittersweet move for many, but something hospital officials say will prepare them for the future.

“The new hospital will allow our physicians and staff to provide the quality and experience well into the future,” said Ronald Cottrell, vice president for planning at Martha Jefferson. “The new hospital was built on our caring tradition and we plan to continue to deliver that caring tradition.”

Hospital officials are slated to begin moving patients early this morning and will continue until everyone has been relocated.

Despite concerns of rain today from Hurricane Irene, hospital officials said the move will still go as scheduled.

The transferring of patients will involve more than 150 people and 22 ambulance squads from Charlottesville and the surrounding area, hospital officials said.

“Ultimately, we determined that the move will still take place on Sunday,” said Jenn Downs, media relations specialist at the hospital. “We have backup routes for travel, should the roads be flooded, and our No. 1 priority is still patient safety.”

All emergency room services will begin at the new hospital at 6 a.m. as they close at the current facility at the same time. Patients who arrive at the old hospital beforehand will be treated and moved to the new facility if needed, officials said.

For safety reasons, only people seeking emergency services or family members of patients currently in the hospital will be allowed in the new facility until Monday.

“We’ll have staff working at both sites to make sure our patients are served,” Cottrell said. “Patients have always been our No. 1 priority and will continue to be.”

Because of growth constraints at the downtown location, building a new hospital has been in Martha Jefferson’s strategic plan for years.

The new five-floor, 176-bed hospital will house all of the services found at the old facility, but the new space will be bigger and allow for future growth.

“We looked at the long-term needs of the community and knew we grow to accommodate that growth,” Cottrell said. “The new facility allows us to continue to expand clinical capabilities that a community hospital is known for. It will allow us to do more and get better in the services we provide.”

Construction of the new hospital began in 2008 and was completed earlier this summer. Hospital staff have spent the last two months going through orientation and getting ready to open the doors, said Susan Cabell, vice president of human resources at MJH.

“We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the move and preparing our staff,” Cabell said. “By the time the doors open, [all] of our staff will have gone through orientation at the new hospital. Because our business is about patients and saving lives, we had a lot of work to do.”

Earlier this year, Martha Jefferson officially merged with Sentara Healthcare, based in Norfolk. MJH is the 10th hospital in Sentara’s not-for-profit integrated health system.

Hospital officials said at the time of the merger that the deal would allow the hospital to continue providing high-quality service to patients.

Despite the move and merger, hospital officials say the most important thing is their commitment to their patients and the community.

“We’re moving ourselves, our values and our focus, but our quality will stay the same,” Cabell said. “What is staying the same is our people and the services we’re able to offer our patients.”