Leesburg Medical Campus Expands Emergency Department

LEESBURG, Va. — On May 2, Inova Loudoun Medical Campus – Leesburg, part of the Inova Health System, opened the first phase of a $39.2 million campus renovation and expansion.

The first phase includes a new emergency department (ED), along with a new diagnostic imaging unit and an expanded lab. The new ED was expanded from 9,539 square feet to 12,823, and includes 14 private exam rooms, four rooms designed for mental health patients and one gynecology room. The private rooms are designed with glass doors for auditory privacy and curtains for visual privacy, and also feature bedside electronic medical records and critical care equipment. Other features are an expanded triage space, a two-bed trauma room, a new CT scanner, a medication preparation room and outdoor mass decontamination showers.

Phase I also added a new brick façade to the existing building and installed more windows for extra natural light. The hospital now offers electronic medical records, linked to all Inova facilities.

The renovation began in January 2012. The building was gutted to its concrete floors and steel, and the ED now stands on the complete opposite side of the building from where it stood previously, project manager Deb Crosley said to The Washington Post.

Later this month, renovated facilities for behavioral health, child advocacy and the Loudon Free Clinic will also open at the site. At that time, some of the campus’ older buildings will be demolished to create parking spaces.

Loudoun Adult Medical Psychiatric Services will serve the entire county. “We are very fortunate to have a mental health unit at our hospital,” said Edward Puccio, medical director of the ED, to The Washington Post. “Hospitals that don’t have that struggle with getting mental health patients admitted, and our process is very efficient.”

Planning for the renovation and expansion of the Leesburg facility has been in the works since 2005, when it merged with Inova. Last year, the previous ED treated 17,000 patients, while the new one is expected to receive between 40,000 and 50,000 people thanks to the added space and equipment. The ED will be managed by 25 doctors and physician assistants, as well as members of the nursing staff.

Chantilly, Va.-based Scott Long Construction Company was the construction manager and RTKL Associates Inc., with offices in Baltimore, served as the architect. Phase II of the project is estimated for completion in 2014.