The University Health System plans to begin construction of a specialized medical facility later this year that is designed to accommodate patients with long-term medical needs.
Called the Long-Term Acute Care Hospital, "this is a facility that would be specifically designed for persons who must be in the hospital for [at least] 25 days," said Leonard Sandridge, University executive vice president and chief operating officer.
These patients, Sandridge said, are often ventilator-dependent and require specialized treatment. Most are currently cared for in the intensive care units of the main hospital.
This situation can pose a problem for the hospital, because it limits the number of rooms available for short-term care patients, University Medical Center spokesperson Peter Jump said, noting the average length of stay for a hospital patient is five days.
Moving long-term patients to a separate facility will allow the hospital to accommodate more short-term patients in the intensive care unit, Jump added, noting "it is an issue of space."
The new facility, according to Jump, will have 40 beds, 10 of which will be used for pediatric patients. L-TACH also will employee a staff of about 100 employees, he said, noting the employees will be a combination of both current and new staff members.
Although the new facility will be called a hospital, Jump said, the services provided by L-TACH will mainly focus on the needs of long-term care patients and their visitors. There will be no emergency room or other traditional hospital features, he said; however, there will be more ways to accommodate the needs of patients' family and friends. Each patient will have a private room, which will have more furniture and other amenities for long-term care, Jump noted.
The construction of this new facility is scheduled to begin in June, according to Jump, and is expected to take about 18 months to complete. It will be located near the University's Northridge medical facility and will service other local hospitals in addition to the University Health System, he added.
"It is best to have patients with the same needs in the same location," Jump said. "It will provide improved service for long-term, acute-care patients."
The total cost of L-TACH is estimated at $24 million and will be paid for by the main hospital, Jump noted.
"This is something that we've been looking at for a while," Jump said, adding that the construction of this new facility will provide a greater service to both the University Health System as well as the Charlottesville community, a sentiment Sandridge echoed.
"This facility, along with the relief that it gives to the main hospital, is another example of where we are taking steps to improve the availability and quality of health care in our community," Sandridge said.
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