Study pushed for Shockoe Bottom medical complex
Five members of Richmond City Council are joining forces to issue a resolution seeking to establish a medical complex commission that would study the feasibility of creating a medical, research, education and hospital complex in Shockoe Bottom.
Council members Douglas G. Conner Jr., Chris A. Hilbert, E. Martin Jewell, Reva Trammell and Bruce W. Tyler are patrons of the resolution.
Such a medical complex "is a proven catalyst for enormous job creation, greatly improved health care, cost-efficient health care delivery, expanded educational opportunities, improved public health, attracts new citizens and greatly enhances a state's and city's quality of life," Conner read from the draft resolution this morning.
Next month is the earliest that the resolution to create the commission will be presented to Mayor Dwight C. Jones and City Council.
The idea of a medical complex in Shockoe Bottom has been pitched by Paul Goldman, a former candidate for City Council and for mayor and a policy adviser to then-Mayor L. Douglas Wilder.
Last month, Del. G. Manoli Loupassi, R-Richmond, sent a letter to Jones and the City Council requesting that a commission be appointed to study the idea.
-- Jeremy Glover
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Reader Reactions
Not sure why people are opposed to more medical research in Central Virginia. Bio-Tech is a growing field.
Good thing the commenters here aren’t on city council, or nothing at all would ever happen in Richmond. Go back and read Goldman’s piece. Of course the idea is not to replicate MCV/VCU down the hill. And it this point it’s just at the stage of doing a study anyway. Studies like this aren’t cheap, but they’re a lot cheaper than building something that doesn’t work, and I’m sure that if the city did pursue something like this without a study, you’d find twenty posts on the RTD saying “Why didn’t you do a study first!??“
“Five members of Richmond City Council are joining forces to issue a resolution seeking to establish a medical complex commission that would study the feasibility of creating a medical, research, education and hospital complex in Shockoe Bottom.“
Don’t we have ‘a medical, research, education and hospital complex’ downtown? Isn’t it called VCU Medical Center?
Well, as usual, posters on this site are against something prior to receiving any details. What a bunch of whiners…
I’m all for efforts of this kind for Richmond—but as others have noted, downtown Richmond already HAS a MAJOR medical complex, so why does the city need another one? One would think that the reporter would address this CRUCIAL point, but we’ve all learned not to expect any real reporting from the T-D. Is this supposed to be a real newspaper story or a blog?
Another acute care facility would be a complete waste. There are already way to may for our population (I say this as a current healthcare provider). What we could actually use is a primary care facility so people could stop using 911 and the ERs for little problems. I would strongly support that kind of facility to be built.
Like others here, I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. Am waiting for the punchline on this. And furthermore, just as recently as 8 days ago Shockoe Bottom was declared hallowed resting ground, in addition to previously being labeled the site of frequent catastrophic floods. I am really confused now!
There is some merit to the idea:
VCU is the largest medical research institution in the state. Research and cooperation feed into each other producing an environment that’s conducive to attracting more research and more personnel. It would be building on an existing labor force that’s well connected within the international research community.
The university has posted positive research growth every year for the last decade plus—And there simply isn’t an empty room in the entire complex; every new building in the current group has been reserved at capacity virtually before the construction phase was even started.
Even on the clinical side, the main complaint source is that MCV operates at capacity in every sense.
Beyond VCU/MCV, there’s VDH, Phillip Morris, and Wyeth Corp.—The opportunity for public and private research in Richmond is potentially expansive. There’s a lack of facilities, but a surplus of ability. I think this is a serious contender for the space.
So instead of all the gunshot and stabbing victims going up the hill to MCV, they can just stay in the bottom. Anyways, makes no sense unless MCV is totally swamped and overcrowded? I don’t live in the city to built it! I’m not paying for it.
How does this benefit Richmond citizens? MCV is already serving the needs of Richmond with healthcare (both insured and non-insured), research, medical education, and research. And Bon Secours has a hospital in the Churchill area.
Try again City Council !!
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