Pullout From Crystal City Could Spur Counteraction
By Annie Gowen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Arlington County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman (D) last week rebuked Virginia Hospital Center's decision to move its urgent care facility out of Crystal City to a location nearly six miles away and left open the possibility that the county could explore options to block the move.
Virginia Hospital Center announced earlier this month that it will move its current urgent care facility at S. Fern St. into an old hospital site on 601 S. Carlin Springs Rd. that it recently purchased for $2.9 million. The Arlington Urgent Care Center -- which treats about 55 patients a day, for a variety of minor ailments -- was closed Tuesday to make way for a luxury condo development. The new center will open tomorrow.
Zimmerman charged that the hospital was at least violating the spirit of the agreement it made with the county in 2001 to open the urgent care facility as part of the negotiations for its $150 million flagship hospital, which opened in North Arlington in 2004.
"It's clearly in violation of the spirit of the agreement; whether it's technically in compliance is something to be determined," Zimmerman said. "I think Virginia Hospital Center has acted in bad faith. . . . They're not serving the community well."
Zimmerman declined to comment on the county's plans but said, "We're examining all our options."
Arlington County Attorney Stephen A. MacIsaac said the county is reviewing whether the hospital's action meets the requirements of the agreement.
Hospital officials said they tried to negotiate to lease another site in Crystal City, but with rents in the neighborhood rising, they were unable to find a good location. They stressed that the new center is more convenient to residents in south and central Arlington and also will have ample parking, something the other site did not have.
"I'm sure that every neighborhood in Arlington would love to have an urgent care center in their backyard, but we're delighted we've got a location so centrally located," said James B. Cole, chief executive of Virginia Hospital Center.
Cole said he believed the hospital had lived up to its agreement with the county. "We feel we have fully and completely satisfied the site plan condition," he said.
The hospital was part of a joint venture that decided to close what was then Pentagon City Hospital on Army Navy Drive in 1999. To compensate the Crystal City neighborhood for the loss of the emergency room and the 200-bed hospital, Virginia Hospital Center opened the urgent care facility in 2001.
Neighbors who fought to keep the urgent care facility in Arlington expressed disappointment.
"This is nothing short of betrayal of the community the hospital is supposed to serve," said Cheryl Mendonsa, president of Aurora Highlands Civic Association.
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